You know what ruins Christmas? When Fox News gets your elderly parents all worked up on this cynical bullshit. pic.twitter.com/TIW817rqPI
— Bob Schooley (@Rschooley) November 8, 2015
Our annual year-end reminder that the worst offenders against common civility are the WATBs complaining about “political correctness”. Here’s Jezebel‘s explainer:
Some Starbucks’ customers are outraged over the coffee chain’s new holiday cups, just because they lack a Christmas-themed design. In the past, the company released cups depicting images of snowflakes, reindeer, white doves and ornaments. This year, the cups are plain red — and people are really pissed.
According to the Huffington Post, some Christian customers feel the coffee chain is oppressing their religion. In a viral Facebook post, one gruff-voiced customer dressed like Fred Durst circa 1999 wrote, “Starbucks REMOVED CHRISTMAS from their cups because they hate Jesus,” then brags about “pranking” Starbucks by having them write “Merry Christmas” as his name on the cup. He also flashes a gun he brought into the coffee shop, disregarding Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’ request that customers no longer bring firearms into their stores, even in states where open carry is permitted…
“In the past, we have told stories with our holiday cups designs,” said Starbucks’ Vice President of Design & Content Jeffrey Fields. “This year we wanted to usher in the holidays with a purity of design that welcomes all of our stories.”
That’s right, folks — a corporate decision to not-take-a-side has been declared offensive by people who insist that a side not taken is a declaration against their side. To quote a line from that book they talk about so much: Jesus wept.
Sidebar:
As the holiday season approaches, we must be ever-vigilant in the War on Jewish Christmas. #neverforget https://t.co/ptxI0sTZ4T
— Daniel Drezner (@dandrezner) November 9, 2015
It’s a trivial little holiday-cookie nothing of a story, but the earnest cluelessness of the commentors explaining that Americans of-all-faiths-or-none are entitled to go to a movie and a Chinese restaurant on December 25, because freedom!!!, should be preserved in a time capsule as an example of the Way We Live Now.
Mike in NC
Still holding out for the book called “Killing Bill O’Reilly” to arrive in the holiday pile at Costco.
redshirt
I wish we could turn X-Mas back into a pagan winter holiday.
I’m already sick of it and it’s 11/8.
srv
I can’t wait till these godless latte drinking millinials cut your SS benefits and your life support.
lefthanded compliment
Because nothing captures the Christmas spirit like packing heat.
redshirt
MY Paganmas would involve fire, ale, food, dancing and singing, and general merriment.
Omnes Omnibus
The International Standard Version of this is horrible.
NotMax
There may be some things less worth expending any brain function on than the so-called TWOC, but not a lot.
Omnes Omnibus
@NotMax: Dryer lint?
lamh36
Saw earlier that coach and players were in solidarity with the Black members. This of course here come this.
Uh hmm, if you are not willing to stand with team, then don’t, but if it’s a player in the picture that was sent along with the solidarity message, then fuq that be a man and attach your name.
Renie
I want to know what Baud’s position is on this? Will he have a War On Christmas Czar? Or just a Happy Holidays Czar?
NotMax
Although maybe we can spread a subset meme, The War Against Tinsel.
NotMax
@Omnes Omnibus
Lint of any type (dryer, navel, whatever) is definitely higher on the list.
The Other Chuck
Since it’s a new open thread and I only mentioned it in passing: I’ve got a fix for the comment backlinks, making them behave like normal links again. Involves installing another browser extension, then a script, kind of the same process as with MBBJ.
So if you’re on Firefox, install the GreaseMonkey extension, and if you’re on Chrome or Safari, install Tampermonkey (that link is for Chrome, Safari users should probably just Google for Tampermonkey). Then install the Even Betterer Balloon Juice script, and that will fix the backlink behavior.
(Note, you’ll want both of MBBJ and EBBJ installed, as they do different things)
redshirt
If you’re going to wage a war on Christmas, you’ll have to take the North Pole.
I’d start with a couple of months of propaganda and media manipulation, while assembling forces.
Then I’d launch a 48 hour air campaign of heavy smart bombing on Santa’s palaces and the Elven factories and munition stores.
Then launch a special forces assault on North Pole Bay, taking control of the port and the airfield. Deprived of these resources, Santa can neither gain reinforcements nor launch any counter attacks.
From these cold beachheads I’d land and then deploy legions of my finest stormtroopers to attack and hold every Christmas village that doesn’t surrender all the way to Santa’s throne.
Mike Toreno
How is RED not Christmas?
Well, actually I guess if you’re using the liturgical color, the Christmas color is…
WHITE
lamh36
@lamh36: The question is, is he saying that the protest wouldn’t be happening if they had a winning season, or the team solidarity wouldn’t be happening?
The Other Chuck
Why isn’t the media covering the War On Sol Invictus?
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: Sorry, any military plan that does not involve artillery is doomed to failure.
Origuy
@Omnes Omnibus: Dryer lint building up in your vent can cause a fire. Definitely more important than the cup holding your vente peppermint mocha.
Renie
@redshirt: Don’t forget your ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner.
NotMax
@redshirt
NORAD tracks him every year, which makes it easy to take him out.
Omnes Omnibus
@Origuy:
My what now?
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus: Air power has made artillery more of a counter-insurgent activity, or a niche method of softening up.
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: You are daft.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@The Other Chuck:
Should probably mention that MBBJ is More Better Balloon Juice, a stylesheet that requires the Stylish add-on. (Easy to install; non-techies, don’t be intimidated.)
Tara the Antisocial Social Worker
If you’re looking for a deep spiritual experience around the birth of Christ, why exactly would you be looking at Starbucks?
srv
@Renie: Let me be the first to announce an Impeach Baud movement.
Steeplejack (tablet)
@redshirt:
Eh, they’ll be greeted as liberators and have tinsel strewn at their feet.
amk
bj is still borked. doing heckuva job, tommy.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus: lol. Of course there’s artillery. Isn’t that implied by landing ground forces and seizing Christmas Villages?
Renie
@srv: now why would we want to do that?
redshirt
@amk: It’s Alain’s fault, apparently.
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: It wasn’t mentioned in your OPORD. You need a Fire Support Plan.
Mike J
@NotMax:
My station didn’t get the tapes one year, so I had to have onen of my roommates do the NORAD voice.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus: There’s lots of details left out – it’s a high level executive summary. I should have done it in bullet points.
For instance, during the propaganda phase there’s a concerted effort to fund an Elven assassination of Santa and extended family. But that’s not something to mention in an executive summary.
srv
How is it that decades of godless marxist Soviets never managed to shoot Santa down?
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: I don’t care about any of that. I just want to know what the guns get to do. Parochial? Maybe. But fuck it.
NotMax
@redshirt
Don’t fire on the gingerbread men until you can see the dragees in their eyes!
Seanly
This complaint about the Starbuck cup color is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. And why are we f**king talking about this 7 weeks before Christmas? Uggh, it’s going to be a long season. I’m gonna have a few cocktails & get in my grain storage meditation chamber.
redshirt
*Good Ship Lollipop reports for duty*
Mike J
@Seanly: Shaped like West Point!
Satby
@The Other Chuck: you are my hero. Thanks.
Satby
@Steeplejack (tablet): and so are you (my hero).
Omnes Omnibus
Does anyone know if Cole has dealt with Tommy’s threats from last night?
dmsilev
@Tara the Antisocial Social Worker: Modern biblical scholarship has determined that the Star of Bethlehem was actually the Starbucks of Bethlehem and the Magi were mainly interested in their lattes; baby Jesus was just something to pass the time while they waited for their drinks to be made.
benw
@redshirt: holy shit are you getting a lot of coal in your stocking this year! :)
NotMax
@Omnes Omnibus
Have seen people here slapped with a time-out for less.
Wouldn’t that be ironic?
Southern Goth
@redshirt: Nuke it from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
redshirt
@benw: Clean Coal powers the War on Christmas!
Satby
I’m trying to decide if the moar better speed of loading the blog balances off all the server timeouts. Thing’s like a ping pong ball.
Omnes Omnibus
@NotMax: I know at least one female commenter who will not appear here while Tommy still has the keys.
srv
@Omnes Omnibus: I think the blog has reached the end of its run. Question is where will all the 2nd tier FP’ers end up.
The 1st tier are all twitterati now.
Punchy
These are the same chuckleheads who would bitch incessantly about the “disrespect of Christ” or some shit if Starbucks put pics or quotes of Jesus or Mary on the cups. Hell, they could put a communion host in every Grande Mocha Spice and hire the local bishop to baptise every Venti Latte leaving the store and these fuckers would protest the “War on The Commercialization of Christmas”…Hypocritical fucks, the lot of ’em….
benw
@Southern Goth: wait wait wait! The North Pole represents millions of dollars of value. Redshirt’s just a grunt!
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
@Omnes Omnibus: Unfortunate, but not surprising. I hope things change and she feels comfortable coming back.
benw
@redshirt: Jesus hates solar power, I mean, sinners!
Diana
@Origuy: wins the thread
divF
@redshirt:
Will Peter Arnett be covering TWOC for CNN ?
redshirt
@benw:
Such a great character. I could never trust Reiser again after that role.
Brachiator
@benw:
I always thought that Jesus was solar power. Just saying.
NotMax
@benw – redshirt
Made me remember this.
Suzanne
@Omnes Omnibus: What happened last night? I MISSED DRAMA.
Damn work.
benw
@redshirt: every single actor knocked it out of the fucking park in that movie. Even that asshole Gorman!
Mike J
The rain has started. It won’t stop until June. Do I want cocoa or brandy?
Omnes Omnibus
@Suzanne: Short version: Tommy said he is in God Mode and can ban anyone and even find them and fuck with them elsewhere on the net.
ETA: He also said he would never do it, but he could…
Face
TWOC? Twitchy Warlocks On Crank? Tennessee Woman Offers Coitus?
Suzanne
@Omnes Omnibus: Oh, Tommy is such a dick.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mike J: I think you know my answer – cocoa strongly laced with brandy.
Ruckus
@Seanly:
Even better. In the also viewed area is a Mother Ship Pyramid. For the tidy sum of $241.95. For those of you who can’t afford $249.99.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus:
That’s a little extreme. Tommy was just “aw shucks” detailing – as he does all things that have ever happened to him – the power he now holds in his hands. Nothing necessarily nefarious in it.
Omnes Omnibus
@Suzanne: No, he is a sweet guy. He likes his niece and his parents are very nice even if they are Republicans. The fact that he hazed pledges as an undergrad and threatened people with outside of blog attacks is really insignificant.
Yeah, it really bothered me. I have never seen a person with FP access ever behave that way – and commenters have been horrible to almost everyone except DougJ and Tom Levenson.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
@Suzanne: Additionally, IIRC it was said directly to someone who was challenging him. It wasn’t just him saying “yeah, it’s a rough job, I could go postal over it but I won’t.” It was essentially (paraphrasing, obviously) “you’re lucky I won’t do this to you because I totally could; you’re safe from stalking and harassment only because if my choice.” It was bad.
NotMax
@Suzanne
It was, um, interesting when he also announced his main business was designing commercial sites which are “never visited.” Not exaggerating; his words.
@Omnes Omnibus
In actuality, the threat was not limited to stalking only on the net, which made it even more abhorrent.
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: Bullshit. It was an implicit threat. Fuck the aw shucks shuck and jive.
Ruckus
@Suzanne:
I believe that Tommy has admitted that he sometimes partakes of alcohol and this may provide him with a bit of inability to remain civil. Not an excuse for sure but it can lead to words spoken and not really intended. Seemed to me like that may have happened last night. Once again not an excuse and he’s a big boy so he should have learned how to play in public by now and how to drink with out putting his foot in his mouth.
redshirt
@NotMax: I think he meant static corporate sites that are not message boards or have any type of comments. Most corporate sites don’t have comments.
Ruckus
@NotMax:
@Omnes Omnibus:
This.
I’ve seen blogs with this type of attitude from front pagers before but they don’t last long.
My issue is I’m not sure how it was really intended, which given the subject and presentation is not important. But yes it was ugly.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus:
Again, I think you’re being extreme here, unless you can somehow prove your contention.
Mike J
@Omnes Omnibus: I went for both. Brandy and cocoa strongly laced with brandy.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ruckus: A lot of people who comment on this blog drink. I do. Threatening people with banning for something outside of Cole’s ban rules and suggesting off-blog consequences are not excused by “I was drunk”; a “Fuck you, you stupid fuck” or a ” I misread your comment” can be excused by drinking. Like I said, I know of at least one well liked commenter here who won’t come back while Tommy holds a set of keys. He can find out who people are and where they live based on info he has access to.
amk
To me, tommy is this guy:
NotMax
@Ruckus
Yes.
That one even puts it out as a viable option and then tries to qualify it with a “not that I would ever do so” afterthought speaks volumes.
Also the implication that we all began using the internet yesterday and don’t know jack about such things was patronizing in the extreme.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mike J: Good choice. Right?
@redshirt: Go back to the thread. It was a threat. “I can do this if I want to, but I won’t because of my decency” is a threat.
Steeplejack (phone)
@redshirt:
Yes, it was a “he misspoke” moment.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus:
John Cole vetted and hired Tommy Young for this job. And approved of his work. Anyone John approves of gains instant access to whatever private data you are hiding here – and why do you have any private data here, really?
You agree de facto in releasing that info to anyone John wants to give it to. Like Tommy Young.
normal liberal
@redshirt:
Although defending Tommy is not my usual setting, and he did go a bit postal last night, let’s keep in mind that several people have been relentless in the bitching, moaning, carrying on and specific nastiness directed at Tommy since the site reboot went live. Last night he made it clear that he just wanted to comment without being dragging into others’ endless complaints about the site, and some people just would not let it go. I think his freak out last night was a badly couched “I’m not your bitch” reaction.
Edited to remove a distraction.
NotMax
@redshirt
Even Mr. Cole is not infallible.
;)
BillinGlendaleCA
@redshirt:
Many here seem to have missed this fact.
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: I would suggest that Cole fucked up by hiring Tommy. What ever his technical chops, the threat episode should disqualify him from having keys.
Suzanne
Damn. Sounds like I should be happy that I spent the weekend at work.
Mingobat f/k/a Karen in GA
Here’s what he said. It started at 9:51 p.m. in the Saturday Night Open Thread,.
And in response to Corner Stone:
Personally, I think he went beyond just exchanging insults.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus: Tommy can of course be doxxing (as it’s called on the internet) you right now. Or me. Or any of us. But then, so could John. So could Mistermix. What’s the difference?
Omnes Omnibus
@normal liberal: He threatened people with banning and outside the blog consequences. Fuck him.
@BillinGlendaleCA: Cole may well have made a mistake, I am not worried about the work the Tommy and company have done. I am concerned about Tommy’s threats last night.
NotMax
@BillinGklendaleCA
Missed the whole Freddie deBoer period?
Darkrose
@Mike in NC: Funny you should mention that.
At this very moment, I’m listening to Jeb Lund and J. W. Friedman mocking O’Reilly’s book “Those Who Trespass”, which they describe as “The only person who can stop a bad Bill O’Reilly with a gun is a good Bill O’Reilly with a gun.” It’s hilarious, and includes the name of my new band: Abrupt Panties.
Link here. The podcast is called I Don’t Even Own A Television, and they mock bad books. It’s hilarious.
kc
@Ruckus:
I missed last night. I remember ABL making a point of telling us she could see our IP’s. It’s not a surprise to me that FPers can see our IP’s, but I would hope they’d have some integrity about it on a blog that allows pseudonymous comments.
Omnes Omnibus
@redshirt: None of the others have ever threatened to do it. Tommy did.
NotMax
Almost makes me wish for a litany of Hamilton comments now.
:)
BillinGlendaleCA
@NotMax: Nope.
Ruckus
@Omnes Omnibus:
I stated that it was not an excuse.
I used to drink, don’t any more by choice. I don’t knock people who do unless they don’t know their limits or give a shit that they abuse rational limits. Tommy went over the line. And I don’t feel like he was provoked by the person you mentioned at all.
What I’m saying is, I agree with you about this. Just pointing out a possible explanation not an excuse.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ruckus: Okay. Understood.
redshirt
The real answer here is you can NEVER trust giving your personal info on the internet. And thus you must always act as if that info is sensitive and precious and will be used elsewise. For example, if my name were Ichabod Whipple I would not use my custom Ichawhip.com domain as a link here at BJ. I might use my fanfic headless horseman site instead, which I know is free of personal details. Get the difference?
Trust no one.
BillinGlendaleCA
@NotMax: Don’t say that 3 times.
Ruckus
@Suzanne:
Don’t know if I’d go that far.
NotMax
Have seen neither Mary G nor Higgs in quite a while. Hope nothing nasty going on in real life with either.
Omnes Omnibus
@NotMax: Mary G was around earlier today.
BillinGlendaleCA
@NotMax: Mary G’s been around, Higgs is over at LGF.
Ruckus
@redshirt:
I’m one who thinks it makes little difference other than how long it takes and how easy it is to find/do whatever to you. You have no real privacy, not on the internet. The only thing you have going for you is if no one gives a shit about you or finding you isn’t worth the time.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus: Damn you and your nibble fingers, Omnes.
Omnes Omnibus
@BillinGlendaleCA: Nibble?
redshirt
@Ruckus: Security by obscurity. It probably works for the vast majority of folks. But IF you get noticed, either by one or many, woe be unto you if you are not prepared.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Ruckus: Yup.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus: Nimble. Damn It.
BillinGlendaleCA
I’m finally getting around to watching Rachel’s forum; Bernie’s still yelling. Is it a Vermont thing?
NotMax
@BillinGlendaleCA
More of a Brooklyn thing.
redshirt
Here’s some common sense easy tips to create a bit of security on the internet:
1. Have a few email addresses and use them strategically for different purposes. For example, one address is used for e-shopping, another for forum comments. Keep your personal email address limited in use with trusted respondents.
2.
BillinGlendaleCA
@redshirt: 3. PROFIT?
normal liberal
@Omnes Omnibus:
For pity’s sake, Omnes, this is Tommy under pressure in a place where (surprisingly, considering how he’s often treated here) he usually feels safe. At this point we know far more about him than it’s likely he knows about us. And John has made it clear how he feels about everyone thwacking Tommy about grievances, substantive or not, about the site.
Can his ongoing iterative autobiography shtick get tedious? Oh, hell, yes. In the past week has he morphed from Awkwardly Oversharing Guy to Fiendish Blog Threat? I doubt it. Do you have a fairly openly expressed lack of tolerance for the guy? Well, yeah, which might just be clouding your reaction.
Mine, too, but I still think last night was poorly expressed frustration from someone with known social limits rather that actual threats. Obviously, your mileage varies.
BillinGlendaleCA
@NotMax: I’m a life long west coaster, maybe that’s it.
Omnes Omnibus
@normal liberal: We disagree.
Ruckus
@redshirt:
That’s the point. You can be prepared but if someone is relentless and skilled they can get to you. Like any lock can be defeated, what we do for security is to slow down a thief. With everything encrypted to the highest current level a desktop computer can be assembled that can crack it. Yes it takes time and a willingness to waste that time. There are such people, they aren’t doing this for sport or to figure out how to make things more secure.
NotMax
@BillinGlendaleCA
Fuhgeddaboutit.
;)
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus: Send an all caps email to John. I hear tell he longs for such missives.
BillinGlendaleCA
@redshirt: It’ll probably cure his cold.
redshirt
@efgoldman:
As a born again Super Hippy I can’t help it. All life is precious, and we’re all confused and muddling through this strange chemical experience we call “ALIVE”.
kc
Can’t we all just get along …
Gin & Tonic
@redshirt: I’ve been sysadmin on a number of systems, as have other people posting here. Meaning I could read people’s e-mail, delete their files, make their lives miserable. They of course knew it, but they trusted me not to (and similarly people trust other sysadmins) in part *because* I didn’t say that I could do it. Part of the reason the old BOFH stories were funny is because everyone reading them knew that was something you could never say or do. Sure, I use part of my real name in the e-mail I registered here, and it’s uncommon, so with that and my IP address mistermix could doxx me. I know that, and he knows that, but he never came out and said so. That’s a big difference.
redshirt
@Ruckus:
As with everything, there are degrees. And since I doubt any of us are handling nuclear secrets or the like, there’s only a few commonsense degrees most people here should be aware of: Your email address reveals a lot, so consider that before giving it out. And two, your links reveal a lot, so consider that before linking.
normal liberal
@efgoldman:
Without specific reference to redshirt and your views on same, I find myself wondering about comparative responses to ABL when she had the keys and went mildly batshit with them. Without checking, I seem to recall lots of excuse-making.
And I’m out, with the suspicion that my flu bug and associated fever are distorting my perceptions and/or coherence.
Ruckus
@normal liberal:
Last night I was more in agreement with your view. Not in full agreement. But upon reflection I see the why is not as important as the what. That’s why I’ve posted here about this tonight and didn’t last night. Tommy was wrong. Full stop. Been drinking? Shouldn’t be a factor. Pressured by commenters on a blog? Shouldn’t be a factor. We are, best as I can tell all adults in a social situation. We swear, we get pissed at each other on occasion but we don’t get to threaten each other. That seems to be John’s rule, that’s the line.
Tommy pole vaulted over that line.
BillinGlendaleCA
@redshirt:
It’s best to think that. :)
Omnes Omnibus
@normal liberal: So the fuck what? I wasn’t a part of those discussions. I am specifically talking about what happened last night. I posit that it was unacceptable. Others disagree.
Omnes Omnibus
Anyway, I am off to bed. Have fun fighting it out.
redshirt
@Gin & Tonic: So a kind of etiquette is the difference?
Peale
@kc: no. Not until comments are numbered again, and not a moment before.
redshirt
@Omnes Omnibus:
Pretty early for you.
I assume it’s a Sabbath thing.
Peale
@kc: no. Not until comments are numbered again, and not a moment before.
Mike J
La Strada comes on the teevee in 45 minutes.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Peale: So nice it needed to be said twice?
Ruckus
@redshirt:
You seem to not be seeing the big picture. If anyone seriously wants to find you and fuck with you, multiple emails and a pudendum will get you jack shit. Kids with too much computer, too much time and a four foot wide streak of asshole can find you. It might take them a day or a week but find you they will. Someone with more money can do the job faster. That’s the only difference. High level encryption is far more secure that any thousand email addresses, and that can be broken somewhat easily today. All it takes is desire and time. And you won’t know until way after it’s too late.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Mike J: Your rain seems to traveling south.
Gin & Tonic
@redshirt: Certainly a part of the difference, yes. Do you know any real martial arts masters? Or special-ops type guys? I can answer affirmatively to both; they could disable or kill me without spilling their beer. But they are composed enough that they’ll never say that. Obviously they won’t do it, but they’ll never even point out they cold. Like the discussions that have come up from time to time about people who’ve seen combat don’t talk about it.
redshirt
@Gin & Tonic: I studied under one of the 8 Grandmasters of Tae Kwan Do. The best one too, outside South Korea.
NotMax
@Gin & Tonic
Key difference between a professional and a rookie or dabbler.
redshirt
But then see I just gave some piece of myself away to the internet, that is now searchable and recordable. Digestable.
Gin & Tonic
@NotMax: Precisely.
BillinGlendaleCA
Hillary’s a much better candidate than she was 8 years ago.
redshirt
I’m psyched to vote Hillary now.
amk
@redshirt: Is that you being secretive on teh innnernetz?
redshirt
@Ruckus: What’s to find?
redshirt
@amk: Roger 10-4
piratedan7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8puI5KX4yRg
Mnemosyne
@Ruckus:
I’m still on the fence. Corner Stone has a particular talent for pushing people’s buttons, which is why he’s the sole denizen of my pie filter. I find mclaren less irritating. So I don’t really excuse it, but I can see why that particular commenter might have pushed Tommy to say things he really, really shouldn’t have.
Mnemosyne
@BillinGlendaleCA:
My friends in San Jose say there was unrelenting rain at their daughter’s soccer game today, so hopefully some of that is making its way down here and won’t dissipate before it gets here.
Mnemosyne
@NotMax:
To be fair, you did ask for it. ;-)
Juggling the Details of the ‘Hamilton’ Juggernaut
(Theater geeks and techies will be particularly interested in the above.)
Ruckus
@redshirt:
I don’t know but then I couldn’t care less. Others are not so unconscious. The point is not what could they find but if someone wants to find you and/or fuck with you they can. If there is nothing of value to find that still doesn’t mean someone can’t fuck with you.
Anne Laurie
@Tara the Antisocial Social Worker:
Maybe that’s the franchise at their favorite local megachurch?
(The thought of a ‘church’ large enough to have a coffee franchise still makes me shake my head)
minachica
@The Other Chuck: Wow, that seems to work! Losing the ability to move back up a chain of comments and then forward to find my original place is the only thing that has bothered me about the upgrade. So this is awesome – thanks!
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne:
I have a few in my pie filter. Most are pure trolls with noting to add to the conversation and most of them no longer comment here. I have 3 actives in the filter, mostly because they are a pain it everyone’s ass almost constantly and on the rare occasions they add anything to the conversation, some one will reply and quote it. But it saves my BP a couple of notches. Just like I rarely comment on FB because I’ve run in a relatively large circle for the last 40+ yrs and some friends of friends are raving wingnuts. It just isn’t worth it.
They are lost causes nothing more. I’d rather marginalize them than beat my head against the wall.
Suzanne
Fuck Tommy. Threatening to expose people in real life because someone was mean to him is not funny.
This blog looks and works worse than it did 2 updates ago.
Anne Laurie
@amk: And here I thought being the Cliff Clavin of Balloon Juice was my role!
(Not really; I know I’ll always be your Carla Tortelli.)
Tommy Young
@redshirt: This might be so unamerican of me. But to this day I hate x-mas. I want to give you gifts and I don’t need a special day to do it.
As to my comments last night. Yeah wish I could take them back. But I don’t think any of you know how brutal you can be. I do not think you understand that.
Mnemosyne
@Tommy Young:
I understand how CS can get under your skin and make you say things you don’t mean … but you really do need to apologize. Probably in a front page post. Sleep on it first.
redshirt
@Suzanne:
While I agree with your stance against authority, I can’t agree with this quote of yours quoted above.
The side arrows are cooler than any BJ feature to date.
Tommy Young
@Mnemosyne: You know I am not going to do that. A few weeks ago if I would have been told I pissed off a few people I would have been horrified. Now not so much.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Mnemosyne: Agreed. I’ve been in Tommy’s position, so I’m sympathetic. This is Cole’s blog, he saw these changes, he approved them. Some commenters have been absolutely brutal about Tommy and quite personal about their criticisms, this is equally as uncalled for as his comment.
Brachiator
Got some error messages earlier when trying to log on, but a bit better now.
I saw 60 Minutes tonight. Wow. Just wow!
Really liked the episode about the Broadway show based on the atomic particle that exploded out of nowhere to become a big deal. Who knew that anyone could have turned that into “Higgs Boson: The Musical.” And damn that showstopper, “Pull My String Theory” is really catchy.
That was the segment that everyone was raving about, right?
ETA: really liked the Hamilton episode, especially the little clip of the White House performance of the embryonic start of the musical. And it was interesting to see how steeped the creator of the show is in the entire Broadway musical tradition. You understand more how the show Hamilton is an extension of that tradition, not a freak exception or radical break.
OTOH, Charlie Rose looked as ancient as the founders. 60 Minutes needs some younger blood.
Ruckus
@Tommy Young:
I think most of us do know.
You like stories, here’s one.
I worked in professional sports. Part time official for 20 yrs then professionally for over a decade, paid and everything. I interacted with the public a bit and the participants a lot. What I did could lose them an event, cost them lots of money or even a career. I learned over the years that people get hot headed or worse when they think you are stepping on their piece of sport. I had to sometimes deal with angry people, because really, boil it down and my job was to say no. People didn’t always like to hear that.
But I knew a very important thing. You can’t let that get to you. Walk away, turn off the computer, watch TV, go for a walk, whatever. But get away before you cross that line. It’s your only defense. Any thing less is way less than professional.
And I think you owe the blog an apology. It may not take away the sting of last night but it’s a start.
BillinGlendaleCA
@redshirt: I really like the side arrows as well.
Ruckus
@Tommy Young:
Sleep on it. Talk to John away from the blog.
Be better than, not equal to the worst. In the long run you’ll be a better person. Always a mark to aim for.
You tell us about the people in your life who try to be better, be one of them.
Tommy Young
@BillinGlendaleCA: Yes. I lost my temper. I don’t know any other way to say it. I lashed out. Try to do something and get beat bloody non-stop and see how you feel.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Ruckus: I found that it’s sometimes a good idea to unplug the ol’ keyboard, to use a rather outdated saying. Some our fellow commenters might also take note of that as well.
Mnemosyne
@Tommy Young:
I’ll tell you the same thing I told my 9-year-old niece after her dad and his girlfriend had a fight at Disney World and we all had to leave early: sometimes, you have act like an adult even if everyone else is being childish. You’re going to have to Man Up and do it.
But you should sleep on it and maybe talk over exactly what to say with Alain or someone else more cool-headed (ie NOT COLE), because a lame-ass “sorry not sorry” would only make things worse.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Tommy Young: Tommy, I used to do software development. I’ve been there.
ETA: I will admit some of the commentary here was downright brutal and uncalled for.
Mike G
Who among us does not have a shrine to Jesus and Billy Ocean in our home?
https://twitter.com/tbogg/status/663537476716244992
Ruckus
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Agreed.
Many commenters are, well let’s face it, assholes. Just like in meatspace some people wear their asshollyness with pride. The ones that do it all the time are in my pie filter. That gets them off my radar and that helps. And there are times when I just walk away. It’s a learned trait for most of us but without it life can become one big disaster and life is hard enough most days. Most of the fights and bullshit we get involved in are just that, bullshit. And the only reason to be knee deep in bullshit is if you are a bovine. Or at least own a dairy farm.
Tommy Young
@Mnemosyne: You might have to talk to me like I am a 9-year-old. Kind of where I am. I think I was the adult until last night. But then it just got to be too much for me.
Anne Laurie
@Ruckus: Thanks, Ruckus — you’re saying it way better than I could.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Tommy Young: You’re right, you handled it well, better than I would have, until last night. But you stepped in it last night, put on the big boy pants and do what is right.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Ruckus: To be quite honest, most are more assholes here than in meatspace. IRL they would either be punched or shot for some of the crap that’s said here.
Tommy Young
@Ruckus: I made a huge mistake. I felt loving this community I would be the person to help redesign the site. No, no that was wrong. If I had to do it all differently I’d do it that way.
Tommy Young
@BillinGlendaleCA: There is rarely a thing you say I don’t agree with. Few people here I think of that way about. So when you tell me I am wrong I listen. I listen. Will think of a way to say I am sorry.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Tommy Young: I thought that would be an asset as well. The problem was, in part, that there should have been a “Chinese Wall” between you as a developer and as a commenter. There should have been ONE THREAD, and a persistant thread at the top of the page, for issues. And site issues should have been ONLY discussed in that thread, with John enforcing that rule. Instead we got a clusterfuck of stuff spread over a week’s worth of threads.
Ruckus
@Tommy Young:
Tommy, most of us here are on your side. Or at least were until last night.
I’ve had three careers in my over 55 yrs of working life. One was handling several complicated mfg projects at the same time and dealing with craft people to make those projects happen. Another one was the one described above in professional sports. Major events, many on live TV, they had a lot of moving parts, we all had to do our end to make things work. The third was a small retail business that had (hopefully!) a lot of customers, many with custom projects. Now I’m back working in the first field.
One of the major things I learned in all of that.
All of those had some customers with issues. All of them. We all have job issues. All of us. We all have had to bite our tongues and walk away or worse stand there and take shit. Most of us have had to apologize for things we didn’t even do wrong. And don’t even get me started about the military. That was a learning experience to say the least. Or a major pain in the ass if you didn’t learn well.
The point is: We all make mistakes, what we do after that is usually more important in the long run. When I fuck up at work, and I do just like anyone else, I apologize, I fix it and move on.
Ruckus
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Probably right. Although I’ve run across some assholes in meatspace that would make our assholes here die of humiliation at how bad they are at it.
Tommy Young
@BillinGlendaleCA: Yes. Yes. Yes again. I stepped over the line yesterday. But think one people knew I was venting. Two, totaled by many here on the client side told to tell people to fuck off. Amazed I sit here and take the in coming.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Ruckus: I used to have lawyers as clients.
magurakurin
just apologize on the front page, dude. Shit happens. It’s just a fucking blog. If your apology seems genuine the overwhelming majority will say “bygones” and the rest will say “fido,” and them move on. Life’s too short.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Tommy Young: Sometimes you have to take it, it sucks but that’s life. On a more pleasant note, have you ever used the Nik Collection with Lightroom or Photoshop? Damn, you can really make photos shine with these filters.
Tommy Young
@magurakurin: Life is in fact to short. Looking for a front page “I am sorry” is not going to happen in this life time.
magurakurin
@Tommy Young: I didn’t mean to say you should, just, you know, if you were worried about it, that was something you could do. If you aren’t worried about it, well, then you’re good to go I guess. I don’t really give a fuck. I can’t even remember what the old blog looked like anymore. Didn’t care that much then, don’t care that much now.
Tommy Young
@BillinGlendaleCA:
I have not. Photoshop is a program I use daily but I don’t really understand it. I might on a good day use like 1% o f what the program does.
Ruckus
@Tommy Young:
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Sometimes you have to take it, it sucks but that’s life.
We gave it a good try. I’m out of tries.
PurpleGirl
My 2 cents: Everyone, and I mean everyone, should shut up about what Tommy said yesterday. As I remember the WHOLE day, he just wanted to spend some time reading and commenting as a regular person, not has the developer. And there are people who just can’t shut up and stop complaining about the redesign and keep on complaining. And they really should — the same complaints have been made over and over again. The developers have listed the comments in a way they can use to work. Stating something for 500th time isn’t going to get it done any faster.
So everyone should just STFU, period. Now go to bed and sleep it off. (Or as I do when the politics gets too annoying, find and watch a kitten cam.) Have a good Monday morning.
Tommy Young
@magurakurin: I try really hard not to offend people. I try with all in me not to do this. But if I do, well it is intended. It is hard for me to say I am sorry when I am not really sorry. I was so wrong on a point or two, wish I could take that back. But not worried in the least of my thinking ….
NotMax
Well looky there. Redundant META tags at the top of posts are no longer there right now.
Good on you, Tommy. Muchisimas gracias. Looks and reads a thousand times more harmoniously.
Tommy Young
@PurpleGirl: My eyes just leaked a little. I just wanted to come to this site and chat. I love this site. I feel I will never be able to come here again and not hear about the design. It pains me. Thinking of a different screen name.
BillinGlendaleCA
@PurpleGirl: I think you said it better than I, thanks.
Tommy Young
@BillinGlendaleCA: People here think I don’t listen. I got a .txt document with all of the edits suggested. Many I am going throwing and doing.
NotMax
@Tommy Young
And thanks again. That is the type of clear communication which is not only informative but also can be readily cited to placate those in different later threads who may not have seen it.
Tommy Young
@NotMax: To think I am not paying attention hurts my head. I am not a fucking idiot. I pay attention. If anybody thinks I don’t listen to what is said here they are fools. I often, well always cut and paste comments here and I review later. Many times I find that person to be right.
J R in WV
@Omnes Omnibus:
You guys are so full of shit I can’t believe it. I’ve seen it before, insecure people having a paranoia about someone who clearly knows so much more about something tricksy and important, and using any angle to attack that person.
That’s what is going on here. Tommy has done more for this blog over the past – months, even, than any of you bellicose whiners. All you guys do is blah blah blah, and Tommy is working on the guts of the thing, and you hates it. So everything that goes wrong with a complex software stack made by dozens of people over years of disorganized work is tommy’s fault >? Hah!
And Tommy’s making threats? He’s joking with people who have lost their sense of humor, or who never had one in the first place.
The improvements already implemented were sorely needed, and the other improvements being talked about will be great. And there’s teams of people working together, Tommy’s just the front man because many of them are too shy to speak up. And why are they so shy? Because people act like total asses, showing them why their reticence is justified!
I’m dumbfounded by the assholery being flaunted as if it was a good thing. No common sense. Get over yourselves! And quit’cher bitchin!
J R in WV
@Tommy Young:
You are doing a great job. Don’t let guys with insomnia AND insecurity get you down. Just continue to be yourself and hang in there.
Keep up the good work. And get a good night sleep in the morning! I ate too much popcorn during the football game, and it started working on me about 2. I’m glad I was here to rain on their parade. Those guys know better, I don’t know why they’re being flamers tonite.
I know how hard it is to work on someone’s existing code objects, expecially when they’re a whole stack of stuff, all different styles, with overrides instead of fixes going back years. Try to keep all of it pictured in the back of your mind, nearly subconsciously while you think about your next immediate goal.
Thanks for what you’re doing!
BillinGlendaleCA
@J R in WV:
I’ve been as well, it’s been quite remarkable.
magurakurin
@Tommy Young:
no one will even remember what the old site looked like by Thanksgiving. It’s not as if the old site was a Rolls Royce. Switched an old Toyota for a new Honda. No worries. In a month everyone will be used to this and a few more bugs will be worked out. It’ll pass.
J R in WV
@BillinGlendaleCA:
Been there – you can’t get a straight answer from a lawyer about what’s for lunch!
I had major systems under my fingertips with the ability to fix things that staff managed to insert so wrong I couldn’t tell what right was supposed to be. Sometimes they were doing something the rules denied, and trying to bypass edits built to enforce those rules.
That’s when I went to their supervisors and explained my understanding of the rules, and why the rules were the way they were, and how the situation got to be the way it was.
Then we would decide how much needed to be deleted, torn out by the roots, to allow it to be done over again in compliance with the requirements. I would write the SQL to do the ripping.
It was worst when there were lawyers involved with those decisions!
Again, hang in there Tommy, you’re doing fine. Ignore those who squeak and squawk!
Satby
@BillinGlendaleCA: The most cursory of vetting would raise serious questions.
BillinGlendaleCA
@J R in WV: I ran IT for the legal department, there were ALWAYS lawyers involved. Some lawyers seemed to think that the only reason somebody didn’t go to Law School and become an attorney was they weren’t quite smart enough, as opposed to the possibility that they just might not find that career interesting. Some seemed quite surprised that these IT folk had advanced degrees.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Satby: Then you should take it up with Cole.
Satby
@Satby: And I took that seriously, because my nym is also a link to my online business. Tommy called me a troll and an asshole because I asked about the link in his nym. Which he put there, I assume for us to view his business. He wasn’t just addressing CornerStone, he made that clear.
Most of the comments that have been slung aren’t surprising to tech folks and are mild compared to stuff I used to hear daily as a service delivery manager, fronting for the developers and hardware guys.
tybee
OO has had a bug up his fourth point of contact for some months about tommy so to see him act all offended/insulted is quite humorous.
corner stain, never very pleasant, took a turn more into the bitterness when his marriage went south.
yeah, i know, imagine someone letting go of that “prize”.
tommy has taken a lot of shit and some attacked him for attempting any changes at all (looking at you, amk) and although his flying off the handle was not well done, he HAS apologized and since his outburst wasn’t on a front page thread, i see no reason for him to apologize on a front page.
Satby
@BillinGlendaleCA: No, as Soonergrunt said on Twitter (about I don’t really know what) “I’m out of fucks to give”.
Not my circus, not my monkeys.
BillinGlendaleCA
@tybee:
Good point.
different-church-lady
Fuck Christmas. Fuck it up its stupid ass.
Just One More Canuck
@srv: Why – because of Baud-ghazi?
Emma
I’m so glad I was sick last night. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. I have watched people I thought of as both rational and friendly turn into rabid jackals because OMGICAN’TFOLLOWACOMMENT that I’m starting to think someone engineered an electronic version of kuru. Christ almighty with all due respect to everyone, there’s nothing so essential here that merits the abuse you’ve heaped on Tommy. He blew up, he apologized. Enough said.
amk
@tybee: meh, dood talked big and ended up borking a reasonably functional blog.
Josie
@The Other Chuck: You are the man! I installed the two thingies, and it solved the problem of the missing back space. If even an old like me can do it, it is possible for everyone. Thanks so much.
amk
@The Other Chuck:
They both worked in firefox, thanks.
Any fix for ‘connection was reset’ in firefox? Have to click 4 to 7 times just to get to the FP. A recent phenomenon.
Steeplejack
@amk:
That’s a server-side issue, I believe, related to the current work going on behind the scenes. It seems to come and go (at least for me).
The Other Chuck
@amk: The “Conection was reset” thing isn’t firefox, it’s the WP instance being restarted when some change is made to the backend. At least that’s my suspicion. I’d have expected it to be a 503 Service Unavailable error, but well, FYWP, or perhaps FYWhateverReverseProxyBJIsUsing.
.
Less technically, it’s not your browser.
amk
@Steeplejack:
@The Other Chuck:
Thanks, hope the bugs are all fixed soon so that we can get back to our usual
whiningblogging.amk
@The Other Chuck:
Just a feedback, now the editing of the comments doesn’t stick. After the edit and save, it says “Comment Successfully Saved” but doesn’t get back to the comment like it used to before the greasemonkey fix. I go the FP and click the thread and find the edit has not stuck.
Ken
@redshirt:
Getting there. After all, the gun-toting Facebook guy thinks that “snowflakes, reindeer, and ornaments” are Jesus symbols, and I’m sure he’d lump in Christmas trees, holly, mistletoe, and Santa Claus.
Paul in KY
@Tommy Young: Keep on truckin, Tommy. Maintain a professional detachment.
Nancy
@Tara the Antisocial Social Worker:
Trust a social worker to go straight to the heart.
And if I’m a barrista and some guy says his name is ‘mary christmas’, wouldn’t I just write ‘mary’ or at most ‘mary c’? Since I’m in the business of making coffee drinks for customers while watching out for their heat.
Nancy
@Ken:
Another astute noticing.
kc
@Tommy Young:
I’m sorry this has been such an ordeal for you & I hope none of my grousing has been hurtful.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Is it time for the War on Christmas? Yay! My favorite time of year!
Let me go get my guns and my box of “Happy Holidays” cards, BRB
benw
@CONGRATULATIONS!: let us know when you’re back. For my part, I’ve been waiting to use these stamps with menorahs on them ALL YEAR. Take that, Christmas!
CONGRATULATIONS!
Read the thread. Apparently some folks decided to beat up on Tommy for the site redesign.
Well, kids, I’ve been here since 2008 and this site is much better than it used to be, that’s for sure. Does it have problems? Hell yes, and it’s going to have problems a year from now. If you could start from a clean slate that might not be the case but the blog owner has spoken and that’s not happening. So fucking deal with it. You idiots hollering about the shit that’s broken, well, that’s nice, maybe it will get fixed, maybe it won’t. It’s not like Tommy came over to your house and shit in your cornflakes.
I don’t see anybody volunteering to kick a few thousand bucks Tommy’s way for all the work he’s already done and will be doing months from now, as far as I’m concerned y’all got more than what you paid for it, consider yourselves lucky and lay off the guy who is trying to make your lives better.
Tommy, you’ve apologized all you need to. And far more than I would have. Quit apologizing, get on with your life, and tell the freeloaders where they can shove it.
– a developer who knew better than to even offer to help with this pack of howling, bored jackals
scav
Well, we’ve been told our place. Feeloading moochers should just shut up and accept what we’ve been told is better for us. (Clients were always grumpy in at least the world I was used to. — also, often irritating if inarticulately right about what their needs were. So expecting different behavior from this lot? confusing.)
Another Holocene Human
Check out the t-shirts!
Missouri Hunger Strike Teen Task Force
The kids are all right.