Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Museums are not America’s attic for its racist shit.

The lights are all blinking red.

A norm that restrains only one side really is not a norm – it is a trap.

People are complicated. Love is not.

Donald Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

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

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

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

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

People really shouldn’t expect the government to help after they watched the GOP drown it in a bathtub.

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

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

The current Supreme Court is a dangerous, rogue court.

Reality always lies in wait for … Democrats.

Their boy Ron is an empty plastic cup that will never know pudding.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Playing Musical Chairs This Week

Playing Musical Chairs This Week

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What are you guys up to on this fine weekend?

I am playing musical chairs in the house, in preparation for tearing out the carpeting in the sunroom and putting in hardwood floors.  Not that I am the one tearing out the carpeting or installing the hardwood floors – I am not handy like a lot of you, so I have to pay to have things done.

The new floors are Brazilian Walnut, and it turns out that the couch in that room looks terrible with the color of the wood, so I am trading the living room couch for the sunroom couch.  And of course the ottoman that was in the sunroom has to move with the couch, and the coffee table that goes with the (now) living room couch has to move with it.

But of course, the color and style of the bookcase doesn’t work well with the (soon) darker wood of the brazilian walnut so I had to move that to the living room and I’m moving something else into the sunroom to make room for the bookcase.

And then the matching piece that goes with the piece that’s moving to the sunroom has to also move with it.  And the (soon-to-be) living room couch is longer than the current one, so I have to move the existing bookcase somewhere else in the living room to make room for the bigger couch.

And of course as I’m figuring out what can go where, I have to address the pile of stuff that’s been on my dining room table since last fall.  I am now down to about 7 things that I have to find a place for.

The joys of living in a small house!  (1500 sq. ft.)

So that’s what I’ve been up to this week, in addition to a big project for one of my clients.

How about you guys?

Totally open thread.

Reader Interactions

109Comments

  4. 4.

    Martin

    Words matter. The 2 year old US citizen showing up in the news cycle now was not ‘deported’. You cannot deport a US citizen. The 2 year old was ‘exiled’.

  7. 7.

    WaterGirl

    @Martin: I had the same thought when I read the first few words of whatever post was about that.  I was so upset that I didn’t read any further and turned off my computer.

    Just couldn’t take it today.  I hope there’s an uproar over this.  Fucking gestapo.

  8. 8.

    WaterGirl

    @mrmoshpotato: Thanks.  You probably guessed that the piece in the middle has been sanded and has a clear coat on it.  The rest have neither.  Even that little piece is heavy.  Definitely hard wood.

  9. 9.

    WaterGirl

    @laura:  On the plus side, with a small house, unless you want the house to look like you’re a hoarder, when something comes in something else has to go out.

  10. 10.

    SpaceUnit

    I did the musical chairs thing a while back.  I live in a condo and wanted to replace the carpet with wood flooring and so I went room to room ripping up the carpet, padding, and baseboard.  I had to move everything out of each room as I went along.

    Pretty soon I was living among moving, random piles of furniture and belongings with everything getting exponentially more disorganized as the project went on.  It was a living nightmare.  I decided to paint the walls while I was at and of course that made things even worse.

  12. 12.

    NobodySpecial

    Today was another day of finally getting to clearing and straightening the yard, something I mostly left besides mowing the first few years I’ve lived here. My excuse was fairly valid, though – the previous owner had three rather large dogs chained out in the backyard for a long time and the lawn needed to heal.

    My work is complicated because the idiot tree guys the power company sent out to clear the area around the line somehow managed to forget to remove an entire small tree they cut down, along with a couple of 40 gallon canisters’ worth of smaller pieces and branches that they just couldn’t be assed to move, and the 30 or 40 pounds of needles and small debris from all the pines in the yard. At this rate, another couple or three years and it might show up as me actually taking care of it.

  14. 14.

    WaterGirl

    @NobodySpecial: Did you call the power company and get them move all that crap?

    haha, I amuse myself.  Something similar happened when the power company had to do some stuff before we could start on the screened-in porch, and of course when you call they say it was a third party entity and they have no control over it.

  15. 15.

    thruppence

    Car magnets, hmmm. My little Corolla, like a lot of newer cars, has mostly plastic body parts. I’ll have to go out with a magnet and find where something might actually stick.

  16. 16.

    cain

    @WaterGirl:

    I was reading somewhere on reddit that ICE is trying to assert that stopping them from doing their job is a crime including asking for ID.

  18. 18.

    WTFGhost

    I’ve never been able to get good music out of chairs, to be honest. There was the time they did a Stomp! review, but, still mostly percussion, and a lot of bragging. Yeah, they think “wood-winds” are windbags, made of… look, the important thing is, none of them want to expand their artistic expression to anything but various percussion, and lots of bragging. There was this cute, dainty chair with a xylophone back, but an absolute refusal to use anything but respectably sourced cocobolo for mallets, and have you ever priced a chair with cocobolo accents, shaped into xylophone strikers? I haven’t – I know a prima donna when I see one!

    Um. Now that I’ve actual read the post, I have a feeling that you’re not actually trying to form an orchestral group with your furniture, because I see nothing about a proper brass section.

  20. 20.

    SpaceUnit

    @WaterGirl:

    I decided to replace my windows and in-ceiling central AC before putting the floor down so I ended up going the better part of six months living like that.  It was traumatizing.

    I’m really happy with the results tho.

  22. 22.

    Scout211

    @Martin: Words matter. The 2 year old US citizen showing up in the news cycle now was not ‘deported’. You cannot deport a US citizen. The 2 year old was ‘exiled’.

    Or, according to our Secretary of State, they just “went with their mothers.”

    “Their mothers, who were illegally in this country, were deported. The children went with their mothers,” Rubio told moderator Kristen Welker.

    You know, it’s like how you ask your kid whether they want to travel with you or not and they either go with you or not. Because 2, 3, or 4 year olds can apparently choose in which country they would like to live.

    “If those children are U.S. citizens, they can come back into the United States if there’s their father or someone here who wants to assume them.

    Assume them?!

    I just can’t with these horrors.

  23. 23.

    band gap

    “Brazilian Walnut” is a marketing name for American consumers (ditto for “Brazilian Cherry”).  It is not related in any way to walnut trees (or cherry trees) we are familiar with.  The species of wood could be either Ipe or Imbuia – both are referred to as Brazilian Walnut.  Most likely Ipe, which is very hard and heavy and makes good flooring material.  Imbuia is about half as hard and dense, and would dent and scratch much easier.  Both species have similar coloring.

  25. 25.

    sukabi

    walnut floors are very pretty, but with all the changes you’re making to accommodate the walnut, wouldn’t it be easier to change the flooring wood / color?

     

    Unless of course, you’re planning on “upgrading” your furniture in the next year or so to coordinate better with the walnut….

  27. 27.

    Scout211

    Speaking of frustrating jobs in the house, I’ve been on a tear trying to get rid of a freaking mice invasion in my house. Another joy of living out in the country. They have been in our garage for years and occasionally in our cars but this is the first in-home invasion and it’s been a super big pain. I’m trying multiple methods to get rid of them and/or to deter them but if anyone has any expert advice or a great product recommendation, I would appreciate it.

  30. 30.

    Jeffro

    since it’s an Open Thread: on the heels of trumpov’s “lowest approval rating in over 80 years” polling, there’s this

    (gift link)

    trump is selling the White House to the highest bidder

    It’s about corruption, plain and simple (and out in the open), Dems.

    No presidential administration is completely free from questionable ethics practices, but Donald Trump has pushed us to a new low. He has accomplished that by breaking every norm of good government, often while enriching himself, whether by pardoning a felon who, together with his wife, donated $1.8 million to the Trump campaign; promoting Teslas on the White House driveway; or holding a private dinner for speculators who purchase his new cryptocurrency.
     
    Mr. Trump’s blatant transgressions have swamped those of any modern president and even those of his first term. Remember the outrage when he refused to divest his financial holdings or when he used a Washington hotel he owned as a kind of White House waiting room? Those moves seem quaint in comparison.
     
    In his trampling of historically appropriate behavior, Mr. Trump appears to be pursuing several agendas. Personal enrichment stands out: Imagine any other president collecting a cut of sales from a cryptocurrency marketed with his likeness. There is the way he is expanding his powers: He has ignored or eliminated large swaths of rules that would have inhibited his freedom of action and his ability to put trusted acolytes in key roles. And then there’s rewarding donors, whether through pardons or favors for their clients.

  33. 33.

    UncleEbeneezer

    We finally got a second car!  My wife has been wanting another Volvo for ages and we found a 2005 station wagon for a reasonable price.  This will make things much easier for us and will make working, rehearsing and gigging much better since I won’t have to worry about her being stranded while I’m out.

    We drove down to Abiquiu yesterday but all the Georgia O’ Keefe house tours were sold out, closed or not real feasible since it was already getting late in the afternoon.  We did drive up the Rio Grande River Gorge and it was lovely.  The campgrounds were small and mostly RV-oriented (not tent-camping) but it sure was pretty.

    We are heading out to view a Georgia O’ Keefe documentary and have dinner with some friends afterwards.  My new guitar should arrive tomorrow and I’m very excited.  I did however, find out that the man who made my wah pedal (Fulltone) is a MAGA/racist who spewed some disgusting shit during the George Floyd protests, so now I gotta sell it and look for something better.

  35. 35.

    VeniceRiley

    Wateragurrrrl, I cannot contemplate the energy it takes to do your life size Lego project. Our whole downstairs is in a state of laundry drying, folded, ironing redic.

    But, we did get out to the fields and pond with Reggiepup and he got proper splash time and play with other doggies. Never fails many ask what sort of house pony/dog he is and say he’s beautiful.

  36. 36.

    WaterGirl

    @sukabi: The flooring has already been paid for and delivered.  The wood was darker than I expected.

    I just got both new couches a couple of years ago, not buying any more!

  38. 38.

    WaterGirl

    @VeniceRiley: Well, you’re in it before you realize what it’s going to turn into, so you just plod on through.  That’s my approach anyway!

    Dogs and water are so fun!  And other dogs to boot, he thinks he’s in heaven.

    @SiubhanDuinne:  Ha!  (not yet!)

  40. 40.

    cain

    @WaterGirl: ​
     
    Oh they will be stopped. One way or another. As I said, if they have unlimited power to grab you and no courts. Immigrants have nothing to lose and will organize appropriately.

  41. 41.

    Matt McIrvin

    Last week I found out that my first boss out of school, a kind and curious mentor and coworker who I subsequently worked with at several other companies, had died of cancer. His family had a sort of wake/open house and I caught up with a bunch of former coworkers I hadn’t talked to in, sometimes, over 20 years. All of us a lot grayer, a lot of them retired. Many pungent expressions about the state of the industry were expressed. A sad occasion but the kind that brings people back together.

  42. 42.

    lowtechcyclist

    Just got back from a very pleasant ~20 mile bike ride. Sunny, perfect temperatures, absolutely crazy wind at times though – had to gear way down when I was riding into it.

    A good part of my route was a loop that I’d done a few times before, in a clockwise direction, but coming back up from an inlet of the bay that’s in the middle of the loop, the road’s just a killer sequence of short, sharp uphills. So I’ve largely avoided it for years. Today I thought, suppose I do it counterclockwise instead? And it turned out to be a lot more pleasant.

    Obviously if you’re doing a loop, anytime you go downhill, you’ve got to go back up again, but the inclines going up in this direction were much gentler and easier to maintain a good rhythm on them. So now I’ve got effectively a new bike route that’s accessible from home. (Pretty much all my rides start and end at my driveway; I very rarely drive somewhere else to go cycling.)

  44. 44.

    Doc Sardonic

    @UncleEbeneezer: In the past I have used a VOX 847, Dunlop Cry Baby (various models), and several other generic ones. Really liked the VOX, the original Cry Baby was good, but if you get one be aware that the switches may or may not be crap (depends on model and year of manufacture ) and might not last. You also need to blow out the pitch adjuster slide on the foot pedal periodically. The VOX as I recall was a tank, never had an issue.

  45. 45.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    Trying to decompress after hosting my daughter’s slumber party with 5 friends.  Lots of laughs and singing.  No drama thanks goodness. My wife overheard them talking about tariffs and Canada at one point.  They’re 10!  Lol…

  47. 47.

    FastEdD

    I have a 1972 Gretsch Country Gentleman with rotting binding that falls out when you play it. Not good for playing live because when a piece of the guitar falls off, you have to stop and look for it. I took it to a repair guy years ago and he turned out to be a crook. Trying to work on it myself now. I got some binding glue from Stew Mac and I’m watching instruction videos. Don’t know if I’ll be brave enough to put new binding in, but at least parts won’t fall off as fast. I hope.

  48. 48.

    allium

    @Scout211: also, fox or coyote urine granules kept the skunks away from our house during their “find a den” season (February and March where I am).

    Also, we haven’t had much of an indoor rodent problem since we adopted our Great Pyrenees last year. It turns out they keep both mice and large predators away!

  49. 49.

    Scout211

    @Glidwrith: They HATE mint.

    Yes! I do have mint packets and mint spray in all the areas I’ve seen evidence of them.  That actually is helping.  Thanks.

  51. 51.

    Scout211

    @allium: fox or coyote urine granules

    Is this a commercial product? Deters mice?

    I’m open to anything, except for picking up fox or coyote poop. I draw the line right there. ;-)

  52. 52.

    OlFroth

    Several years ago, I bought some morel spawn.  I scattered it under my apple and elm trees.  Nothing happened.  Today, as I was cutting the grass, I found five morels under a black cherry tree!  Made my weekend!

  53. 53.

    Harrison Wesley

    @Glidwrith: I had a rat problem in my apartment recently.  Sprinkled cotton balls with peppermint oil and set them in several places. No more rats.

  54. 54.

    The Audacity of Krope

    On my way home from work and just saw a bumper sticker, “Anti-Elon Tesla Club.” Nice font and graphical design. Not sure how I’ve been in Cambridge for a year and this is the first I’ve seen.

  55. 55.

    Scout211

    @Harrison Wesley: Sprinkled cotton balls with peppermint oil and set them in several places. No more rats.

    Oh, good idea. I’ve been purchasing the expensive pre-packaged mint packets, but your method sounds much easier on the pocketbook. Thanks.

  57. 57.

    scav

    Funny, same party that when it was little ol’ Elián Gonzales fought tooth and nail to override the father’s rights to determine where his child lived, insisting that it was America first.

  62. 62.

    band gap

    @brendancalling: Brazilian Cherry is really a species named jatoba.  Very hard and dense.  Good for flooring, tool handles, and bass fingerboards!  Comes in a wide variety of colors from light brown to dark reddish-brown.

    Many years ago it was considered trash wood.  Used for pallets and railroad ties.  Amazing.

  65. 65.

    band gap

    @FastEdD: That old celluloid binding material was used by a lot of guitar manufacturers back in the day.  It self-rots like crazy.  Horrible crap.  Replacing binding is a long and tedious process and quite expensive if you can find someone competent and willing to do it.  I won’t touch a job like that – not worth the frustration.

  66. 66.

    Scout211

    @zhena gogolia: @WaterGirl:

    Thanks. I have a spray that I got from Ace Hardware.  I’ll check out your link if I need another spray. It does look like the spray at your link is probably stronger than the one I have now, so it’s worth a try.

    I’m going to try Harrison Wesley’s homemade remedy next.

  67. 67.

    cain

    My wife is turning 50 in two weeks. I started doing a website of video happy birthday messages. So I decided to use chatgpt. We are now in the stage of AI where chatGPT is now blaming “the system” when it mis-generates. haa!

  68. 68.

    RevRick

    @WaterGirl: Nice magnet!
    I preached a belated Earth Day sermon, filling in for our pastor this morning, at St. John’s UCC, Allentown. (I’ll leave it to the Googles for any who want to point and mock on the YouTube link).
    Then MrsRev and I went to the Allentown Symphony Orchestra to listen to their performance of Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony, plus a world premiere of “Frankenstein” by our composer in residence, Clarice Assad, and the  Cello Concerto by the Finnish composer, Sallinen.

    Then I went for a walk around the neighborhood, picking up litter along the way.

  73. 73.

    mvr

    @WaterGirl: It is a tropical hardwood (which means it is deciduous, not that it is hard, though it is hard) and has a high specific gravity, so it is heavy. I Googled and found that it is what we used to call “imbuia” or “Imboya” when I was younger and lived in Portland.  It does come from Brazil and is apparently threatened these days in its native range.  It is currently pretty popular in the United States.
    Just saw that I was beaten to the punch on much of this by  . . .​@band gap: ​ who added useful information that it can also be Ipe
     

  76. 76.

    Suzanne

    I actually saw movies this weekend! Two of them! Went with Mr. Suzanne and Spawn the Younger to see Sinners last night, which was excellent. Then I watched Conclave today on streaming, since I have been frantically busy for the last week and I am exhausted.

    This probably fills my movie quotient for about six months.

  77. 77.

    mvr

    @FastEdD: You should be able to replace the binding using their glue if you also use their binding but you might want to practice scraping the new binding on a piece of scrap.  I’m assuming you are using some sort of plastic.  With wood you would just use one of the many glues that work with wood.  Given that you got the video you likely already know this.

    If for some reason you want a photocopy of something on binding or binding repair, I have a pretty good lutherie library and could and could look for it in my books.

  78. 78.

    mvr

    @Scout211: you can buy it but it does smell.  I once ordered some by mail, only to find out that the container had opened in the package in transit.  Spent a good deal of time sweeping and vacuuming fox urine crystals.  Then ordered some activated charcoal air fresheners to trap any remaining odor. Lucky for us we were spending a week away from home so that by the time we got back the smell was all gone.

  79. 79.

    mvr

    @OlFroth: Oh my god!  You are so lucky!  I’ve dumped my morel trimmings in various places in the yard without good results,  Didn’t know you could get the spores as a way to sow them.

  83. 83.

    karen gail

    So orange one is bringing back Columbus Day; since the Democrats are the ones who trashed his reputation and Italians love him.
    He sure has a hard on for criminals; wouldn’t surprise me if he pardons Chris Columbus claiming that it was all lies that he was responsible for enslaving Native people.

  85. 85.

    WaterGirl

    @sukabi: Yeah, I got tired of the kitties puking on the carpet. :-)  I hadn’t planned on making this change at this point, but kitty puke is not coming out of the current carpet like it did with the previous carpeting I had for over 10 years.

  89. 89.

    zhena gogolia

    @Baud: Oh, it’s a horror movie? Pass.

    I read the review but can’t remember a thing about it. Something about twins.

  92. 92.

    Suzanne

    @zhena gogolia: Sinners was excellent. Wholeheartedly recommend. I covered my eyes a lot.

    ETA: I don’t really enjoy horror as a genre, but this was really thematically interesting and creative and well-done.

  96. 96.

    WaterGirl

    @cain: It’s horrifying.  I took the weekend off from news.  The awfulness will be there waiting for me on Monday.

  98. 98.

    WaterGirl

    I have the smallest house of anyone I know. I had no idea I was living in a house so big! :-)

  100. 100.

    Gloria DryGarden

    If I had 1500 square feet, I’d think I was living in a palace.

    im in 650 sq feet, I have one closet. When people talk about reorganizing their linen closet, their coat and sports equipment closets, their garage, their pantry, I have to contain myself.

  103. 103.

    prostratedragon

    Some good news for the moment fromSherrilyn Ifill —not someone apt to cut the thugs much slack— regarding items removed from the Smithsonian:

    I have confirmed twice that these materials were on a 10 year loan and were scheduled to be returned now.

    This has nothing to do with Trump. I’m sorry that Rev. Brown perceived it that way. We need to stay on alert, but not prematurely sound the alarm.

  104. 104.

    Betty

    @Scout211: I also live in the woods and recently had a similar problem. What worked for me was D-Con bait stations. The stations are not accessible except by the little critters.

  105. 105.

    Jay

    @Betty:

    We don’t use bait stations here, indoors or out. Because they use a variety of poisons, none of which are quick acting, the rats and mice can wind up poisoning various scavengers and predator’s.

    When we lived at the place, 40 acres of grass and woods.

    With mice and rats, the first thing is ensuring they can’t get in. Any hole roughly dime sized is like a freeway to mice. Steel wool is the quick and dirty way to block access, later plug access properly.

    Inside, regular kill traps, mice hug the walls, peanut butter is the best bait. If you get a “smart mouse”, one that avoids the traps and bait, or steals the bait, bait the trap, but don’t set it. When it get’s used to a free meal, then set the trap.

    Rodents are one of the cornerstone bases of the food chain, so I was always happy to have them outside the house, other than voles in the garden.

  106. 106.

    Gloria DryGarden

    @Scout211: alternative bait for a trap might be bacon, a friend swears by it. I like the sticky cardboard traps, which you can reuse.
    (needle nose pliers to remove what you catch)

    For extra safety with the snap traps, set it and slide it into a cut open cracker box or milk wax carton. Easier to use in storage areas and tight places.
    I’ve not used it yet, but I hear copper mesh doesn’t rust through or disappear, unlike steel wool (a shirt term fix) and then you use spray foam over it to hold it in place. The foam alone is too easy to chew through.

    At one point I tuck-pointed my entire foundation, mixing brick chips and pea gravel into Portland cement, inserting sausage shaped blobs of it into all pencil sized holes. I’ve also buried hardware cloth in the garden where they like to dig down to the pipe egress holes in the underground foundation wall. That worked for awhile.
    Ammonia wiped across a path they have used, to disrupt their scent messaging to each other.
    Good luck. Such a tiresome and wearying problem.

  108. 108.

    Mai Naem mobile

    @Scout211: the electronic sound deterrent things they have at Lowes work and they’re priced pretty reasonably(IIRC $20 each.)

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