I remember once when I was a kid, a church down the street from us had a “live” nativity scene on Christmas Eve, with actual humans portraying Mary, Joseph, Baby Jeebus and the three wise men as well as real cows, goats and sheep to represent the alleged Holy Family’s barn-mates. Sheep weren’t common in that part of Florida, so this live nativity dealio was my first opportunity to pet a sheep. The texture of the animal’s coat wasn’t what I expected. Rather than furry plushness, it was like touching a sofa. The wool fibers fused together to form a somewhat rigid surface.
I was reminded of that when I read this Buzzfeed report on the saga of a stray, unshorn sheep that was recently captured in Australia. His coat had not been shorn for five years:
A team of professional sheep shearers were called in, and they removed a record 89 pounds of wool from the poor critter, who now looks like this (the pink is antiseptic spray, according to Buzzfeed):
The sheep, who was named Chris by his rescuers, will be someone’s pet now. He must feel lighter than air now that he’s not toting nearly 90 pounds of sofa cushions around. Fascinating photos of the epic shearing process at the Buzzfeed link above. It’s somewhat akin to shucking an oyster.
In other animal news, my beloved boxer dog Patsy Marie is having surgery this morning to remove a cyst. It’s a minor thing, but worrisome. Both dogs were outraged when the food and water bowls were taken up last night (no food or water after midnight before a surgery).
I put the bowls back down when the mister left to take Patsy to the vet, but our other dog is too pissed off about being left behind and puzzled by Patsy’s absence to eat or drink.
Patsy Marie should be back home this afternoon, possibly with a Cone of Shame. If so, I will share pix.
Open thread!
PS: Are you a dog-person matchmaker? Hilzoy needs some advice on selecting the right dog.
Baud
I assume that’s not blood on the shorn sheep.
Betty Cracker
@Baud: Buzzfeed says it’s antiseptic spray. I choose to believe them, but given the effort involved in removing that much wool, I’d be surprised if the poor sheep wasn’t nicked a time or two in the process…
Mustang Bobby
Reminds me of the old Carnac routine:
Answer: Sis-boom-bah.
Question: What is the sound of an exploding sheep?
Baud
@Betty Cracker:
Hmmmm.
Patricia Kayden
Good luck to Patsy Marie on her surgery. And Chris the Sheep must be glad he’s got that weight off his shoulder. Looks like he could barely see with that tuft on his head.
C.V. Danes
One has to wonder how these sheep would survive in the wild, where there is no one to shear them.
Baud
@C.V. Danes:
Isn’t that what wolves do?
Emily68
The poor sheep must have been really, really hot in the summer time.
Ryan
I’m grappling with the concept of evolution, that is, if this is what sheep look like without man’s intervention. OTOH, perhaps sheep have changed over time because of selective breeding by man.
Wag
@C.V. Danes:
I would think that wool like that would act as armor against predators
Just One More Canuck
He’s that most dangerous of animals – a clever sheep
Betty Cracker
@Ryan: I’m pretty confident domestic sheep were selectively bred to overproduce wool. There are wild sheep, and they don’t look like walking wool-boulders like the poor fellow in the “before” picture.
Ryan
I figured as much, though it’s never occurred to me that wild sheep was a thing. This gives me something amusing to ponder this morning.
Catherine D.
@C.V. Danes:
Domesticated sheep have been bred not to shed. Primitive breeds of sheep do shed.
raven
10 hrs till kickoff sweet pea!
Thoughtful David
@Betty Cracker:
Yes, this is true. In fact, most of our domesticated animals would only last hours to days if not cared for by humans. Domestic chickens and turkeys are particularly poorly suited to wild life. Probably best are goats, but some others can do pretty well.
Baud
Generations from now, people will be astonished when they learn that watermelons used to contain seeds.
Baud
@raven:
Holy cow. I just realized that they are all playing tonight.
Never mind. I think my ESPN app is borked.
MattF
@Catherine D.: Ah.
Reminds me of the old Taxi episode where Tony bought a pair of minks and was waiting for them to shed so he could make a profit.
MattF
@Baud: And they used to be ellipsoidal rather than rectangular.
mtiffany
A possibility to which I and other awful people look forward to…
gvg
Apparently it happens in Australia and New Zealand now and then. both are rather unpopulated. I was told about Shrek the sheep when we visited New Zealand about 6 years ago. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrek_%28sheep%29 And my mother bought the childrens book on Shrek the sheep.
WaterGirl
Betty, I have stopped reading the papers you have to sign before leaving any fur kids for surgery, no matter how minor. It’s hard to leave them anyway, but once you’ve read all their CYA stuff, it can be terrifying!
I’m glad she will be back home with you today.
@Baud: I wasn’t exactly thinking blood, but that does have the look of somebody getting too close to the skin. Poor thing!
RSA
Why can’t losing weight be that easy for people?
*clueless grumbling*
sparrow
@Catherine D.: Thanks, because that was bothering me too. Duh!
WaterGirl
@Baud: I always get the watermelons WITH seeds, they are much sweeter.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
I’ve recently noticed that. I might switch back to seeded.
gvg
Also New Zealand doesn’t have much in the way of predators. It’s a new land geologically speaking, and it’s plant and animal diversity is low, not to mention simply not having as many. It’s so new, that weather and plants haven’t yet broken down the rock enough to have deep soil and sometimes the trees on their mountains loose hold and slide off the mountains. The soil is so shallow that the trees grow intertwined roots to hold each other in place so they are like a giant carpet over the steep mountains. When enough trees weaken, a whole sheet of trees fall down the mountain and expose bare rock in large sort of avalanches. They have a special name for this but I can’t remember right now. I found it kind of uncomfortable as to how empty of species it is. The place is quiet because it actually doesn’t have as many insects, amphibians, birds and small animals as I am used to making small noises in the wild or even around cities. In Florida, there are millions of tiny lives, often biting, but somewhat noisy, all the time. I hadn’t really realized how much life there is around me until the contrast.
EconWatcher
Trump really is smarter than he looks. He’s now attacking Jeb? for speaking Spanish on the campaign trail, saying Jeb “really should set an example by speaking English while in the United States.”
A pretty sizable number of people in the US–and not just pure wingnuts–seem to resent any use of Spanish that intrudes upon their tender ears. And Jeb’s ability to speak Spanish enabled him to deliver somewhat different messages to different audiences, with less chance of spillover because the soundbytes are in different languages; he just got called on it. It also calls to mind when W made fun of a reporter for speaking French, which adds a nice extra twist when it gets turned on W’s brother. Plus, it’s just another way to mess with Jeb’s mind. All in all, what’s not to like? (Of course, other than xenophobia, pig ignorance, etc.)
This guy Trump’s got some talent, you have to admit.
Baud
@EconWatcher:
He is the king of trolls.
MattF
@EconWatcher: Also, Jeb! just keeps doing dumb things. Like responding to Trump by pointing out how T’s statements contradict Republican policies. As if Republican policies were the reason that people vote Republican. It puts Jeb! in the position of stating openly that R candidates want to cut social programs and transfer wealth to plutocrats. Jeb! really needs to have a serious sit-down with someone who has a clue.
EconWatcher
@Baud:
Has anyone ever actually met Dougj? Maybe he has an orange-hued combover…
Baud
@EconWatcher:
Ha. I think some people have. But maybe Trump has a son he never knew about.
MomSense
I wonder if that wool would even be usable given how matted and full of vegetable matter and manure it must have been.
At any rate, Chris must be relieved to be rid of all that mess.
MomSense
@WaterGirl: @Baud:
Seeded tastes much better. Besides, spitting seeds off the back porch is one of the best pastimes of summer.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Just One More Canuck:
rikyrah
LOL to this article.
18 Things Today’s Kids Will Never Experience in School
http://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/family/18-things-todays-kids-will-never-experience-in-school/ss-BBm3heU?ocid=HPCDHP#image=2
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone :)
Cervantes
Having had some experience with sheep — primarily the Churros in the Four Corners area, reared by the Diné and nearly exterminated by that nice “frontiersman” Kit Carson — I’m glad they found this beast.
@C.V. Danes:
Merinos are not wild and can have only a precarious existence as feral animals. With all that wool — it never stops growing — the heat stress alone can be disabling and if they fall over it’s not easy for them to stand up again. This particular animal is lucky to have survived so long.
@Ryan:
Yes, Merinos have been bred since the seventeenth century to be the way they are now. They need annual shearing — and generally they get it, as the wool is valuable.
Betty Cracker
@MattF: That’s the most fascinating aspect of the Trump phenomenon. The average wingnut doesn’t know or care about the Austrian School of Economics and other conservative dogma. They’re attracted to the GOP brand because it was the handiest expression of their self-pity and disdain for The Other. Trump is giving them the red meat straight up without all those yucky vegetables.
debbie
@MomSense:
I remember my grandmother telling us not to swallow the seeds lest watermelons start growing in our stomachs.
rikyrah
Loved me some Fresh Prince.
…………….
‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ cast: Where are they now?
If you’re in the mood for a little nostalgia, we have something for you: It’s been 25 years since “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” debuted on television — seriously. While Will Smith hasn’t gone anywhere, the rest of the cast haven’t necessarily stayed in the spotlight. To celebrate this big anniversary, find out what the stars of the classic sitcom have been up to since the show ended.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/the-fresh-prince-of-bel-air-cast-where-are-they-now/ss-AAdSu01?ocid=HPCDHP
MomSense
@debbie:
My grandfather said the same thing. He taught us how to spit the seeds for distance. Lots of fun!
SiubhanDuinne
@EconWatcher:
That French-speaking reporter was David Gregory :-)
Roger Moore
@C.V. Danes:
They wouldn’t. Wild sheep shed their hair like other animals; continuing to grow an enormous fleece like that is something we’ve bred into them.
Cervantes
@debbie:
If you dry the seeds and split them, the innards are delicious raw or toasted.
Germy Shoemangler
@Cervantes: roasted pumpkin seeds are a wonderful thing, as well.
Roger Moore
@Thoughtful David:
Cats. Domestic cats are on the list of worst invasive species because they do very well indeed when they get released into a new environment.
greennotGreen
Now I want sheep. I’d already been thinking about it.
That Trump-backers and other conservatives dislike having to hear other languages probably fits in with their general fear and paranoia – they suspect that those Hispanics or Asians or whatever in line behind them are talking about them when they’re probably just complaining that the cost of whatever has gone up or should they order fries with their Big Macs.
Roger Moore
@MattF:
Where will he find someone with a clue who wants to help him? Those two things seem diametrically opposed.
gnomedad
Jabba the Sheep.
WereBear
Sounds like at least one of the rescuers is a Father Ted fan.
Chirpy Burpy Cheap Sheep
rikyrah
GO POPE FRANKIE!
When Pope Francis celebrates a canonization Mass for a Spanish-American missionary in Washington this month, he will do so in a language that the new saint, Junípero Serra, would recognize: Spanish.
There’s a number of reasons for that, said Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington who will be hosting the pope on the Washington leg of his three-city U.S. visit later this month.
First, Spanish is the pope’s mother tongue; he was born in Argentina.
“But it’s also a recognition of how large the Hispanic population in the United States is,” Wuerl said. “And also because he is canonizing a Spanish speaker. And he’s coming as the first pope from the New World, and the language, the predominant language of the Western Hemisphere, is Spanish.”
http://www.12news.com/story/news/politics/2015/09/02/papal-mass-washington-spanish/71580850/
Paul in KY
@Baud: They do get nicked, when they are shearing a bunch. Would have hoped they took more care with him.
Paul in KY
@C.V. Danes: I think these sheep are a mutation, bred for the wool. Probably not a wild variant of this brred of sheep.
Could be wrong here.
Paul in KY
@gvg: Due to the giant flightless birds that used to be in NZ, they had a couple of huge raptors, extinct now, that used to prey upon them.
Paul in KY
@rikyrah: Good morning!
Cervantes
@rikyrah:
Serra and his missions kidnapped and enslaved Native Americans, destroying their cultural heritage in the process. Canonizing him at all is a grievous mistake and it matters not a whit to justice what language is used in the ceremony.
Paul in KY
@Roger Moore: An environment beyond the Wallace Line. Domestic cats don’t do nearly as well when released into wild Africa or India.
Bobby Thomson
@C.V. Danes: heh.
Bobby Thomson
@Ryan: insulated armor. Obvious evolutionary advantage.
rikyrah
Hmmph
Hmmph
I just wanna ask…..how come every article the NYTimes is doing on Detroit involves White People?
………………….
Last Stop on the L Train: Detroit
By JENNIFER CONLINJULY 10, 2015
Detroit, Just West of Bushwick,” read the first billboard that popped up in Bushwick, Brooklyn, this spring, with a working class scene from one of Diego Rivera’s “Detroit Industry” murals. “Detroit, Be Left Alone,” a second one preached soon after, again in Bushwick. And then a third sign appeared, in two locations in Brooklyn and two in Manhattan — “Detroit: Now Hiring.”
No one quite knew where they were coming from or who had put them up.
But when an unrelated photo popped up on Instagram — “Move to Detroit” spray-painted on a girder of the Brooklyn Bridge — the campaign’s anonymous crusader finally revealed himself.
“I rent billboard spaces where others don’t see value. That is how I saw Detroit on my first visit four years ago,” said Philip Kafka, the 28-year-old man who then put his passion behind the billboards with his SoHo-based company, Prince Media. “I saw great buildings, a deep and rich cultural history, and met amazing people.”
He now owns six buildings in the Motor City, one of which will house his new restaurant, Katoi, across the street from Detroit’s most photographed “ruin porn,” the Michigan Central Station. “I want people to know that in Detroit you can afford to make art, be a chef, buy houses, start a business, do anything if you work hard,” he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/fashion/last-stop-on-the-l-train-detroit.html?smid=tw-nytstyles&_r=0
SFAW
Re: unsheared (unshorn?) sheep: you kids, you think you got it tough.
I remember, back in the old days, when I was a shearing bum in New South Wales, shearing sheep as big as whales, with leather necks and daggy tails, and fleece as tough as rusty nails.
Them’s were the days, and we dint use no pansy-looking pink ant-eye-septic spray.
rikyrah
TUESDAY, APR 8, 2014 01:34 PM CDT
Gentrification’s insidious violence: The truth about American cities
Too many claim white people are at risk in communities of color. Really, it’s those communities that are threatened
DANIEL JOSÉ OLDER
A few years back, when I was still a paramedic, we picked up a white guy who had been pistol whipped during a home invasion in Williamsburg. “I can’t believe this happened to me,” he moaned, applying the ice pack I’d given him to a small laceration on his temple. “It’s like a movie!”
Indeed.
While film narratives of white folks in low-income neighborhoods tend to focus on how endangered they are by a gangland black or brown menace, this patient was singular in that he was literally the only victim of black on white violence I encountered in my entire 10-year career as a medic.
“What is distinctively ‘American’ is not necessarily the amount or kind of violence that characterizes our history,” Richard Slotkin writes, “but the mythic significance we have assigned to the kinds of violence we have actually experienced, the forms of symbolic violence we imagine or invent, and the political uses to which we put that symbolism.” Slotkin was talking about the American frontier as a symbolic reference point for justifying expansionist violence throughout history. Today, we can see the mytho-political uses of symbolic violence in mainstream media portrayals of the “hood.”
It’s easy to fixate on physical violence. Movies sexualize it, broadcasters shake their heads as another fancy graphic whirs past sensationalizing it, politicians build careers decrying it with one side of their mouths and justifying it with the other. But institutionalized violence moves in far more insidious and wide-reaching patterns. “Gentrification,” Suey Park and Dr. David J. Leonard wrote in a recent post at Model View Culture, “represents a socio-historic process where rising housing costs, public policy, persistent segregation, and racial animus facilitates the influx of wealthier, mostly white, residents into a particular neighborhood. Celebrated as ‘renewal’ and an effort to ‘beautify’ these communities, gentrification results in the displacement of residents.”
Gentrification is violence. Couched in white supremacy, it is a systemic, intentional process of uprooting communities. It’s been on the rise, increasing at a frantic rate in the last 20 years, but the roots stretch back to the disenfranchisement that resulted from white flight and segregationist policies. Real estate agents dub changing neighborhoods with new, gentrifier-friendly titles that designate their proximity to even safer areas: Bushwick becomes East Williamsburg, parts of Flatbush are now Prospect Park South. Politicians manipulate zoning laws to allow massive developments with only token nods at mixed-income housing.
http://www.salon.com/2014/04/08/gentrifications_insidious_violence_the_truth_about_american_cities/
SenyorDave
@EconWatcher: This guy Trump’s got some talent, you have to admit.
I underestimate his shrewdness and his abject lack of caring about any damage he does. A while back there was a biopic of Wallace with Gary Sinese. Early on in his political career Wallace was fairly moderate by deep south standards and he lost an election to a hard core racist. Afterwards, he tells a confidante that “he will never be out ni**ered again”. Trump has decided that when it comes to hating Latinos, nobody will top him. He doesn’t bother with code words or dog whistles, he’s an in your face hater.
I always though that the Koch brothers and Rupert Murdoch were the bottom of the barrel of the billionaires, but Trump beats them both.
Truly a revolting person.
SFAW
@Just One More Canuck:
Trees in Australia ain’t tall enough or strong enough to hold sheep like the one in the pics, smart guy
SFAW
@SenyorDave:
He’s revolting, but it’s not clear that it’s anything other than performance art. (Not that it would make it any less revolting.)
Gin & Tonic
@SFAW: Kind of reminds me of when Andrew Clay, a minor actor, decided to become Andrew Dice Clay, outrageous “comic.”
bemused
Recently at a zoo, I overheard someone talking about a camel rescued from living in a garage. The story seemed to be that some people buy animals for their church nativity reenactments with no thought of what happens to those animals after that. I don’t know how true this is but I wouldn’t be shocked if it was considering how stupid people can be.
guachi
@EconWatcher:
I have met him at one of those BJ meet ups in DC. In appearance he’s an unassuming middle-aged white guy.
JCT
@MomSense: That always reminds me of this classic SNL skit:
Sleepover
Amir Khalid
@MomSense:
The outermost layer is all dirty, especially the bit around the bottom that’s encrusted with dried poop. But to judge from the photos of the shearing process, that should still leave plenty of usable clean wool.
schrodinger's cat
@SFAW: Trump did not think of anchor babies and repeal of birthright citizenship on his own. GOP “intellectuals” like Reihan Salam was peddling that idea in Slate sometime back. They don’t like immigrants period, they want to decrease legal immigration too. Rationales for the same are being trotted out at the Corner and other “respectable” right wing outlets as we speak.
SFAW
@Gin & Tonic:
Never heard of him pre-conversion, so I guess his cunning plan worked.
Amir Khalid
@SFAW:
Are you by any chance quoting from a song or poem?
Paul in KY
@rikyrah: I will note that a certain population of white people (mostly dudes), feel that physically they are not in shape or big enough or whatever to be able to ‘have a chance’ in a fistfight with a generic black dude. It seems to color their thinking on resorting to force enhancers.
gene108
@SFAW:
The quote is from a Monty Python’s bit
schrodinger's cat
Do the rubes who are fleeced by the GOP grifters feel as relieved as Chris must be feeling after his shearing?
SFAW
@schrodinger’s cat:
Fair enough, but not sure if that supports or knocks down the “performance idea” thing.
At some level, he’s a louder version of Mitt – willing to say whatever he “thinks” will play well to the rubes. But does that, of itself, make it “performance art,” or merely amoral pandering from a rich guy? I can see it either way, and I guess it COULD be both.
If Trump were less narcissistic, I could see it being part of a long con designed to kill the Rethugs as a viable Partei.
Cervantes
@Amir Khalid:
The Lime Juice Tub, as rendered by Bert Lloyd.
Roger Moore
@Paul in KY:
I assume some of that is because of native competition; wild cats are already widely distributed in Africa- that’s where they were probably first domesticated, after all- which keeps them in check. FWIW, other domestic species that make the 100 worst invasive species list include goats, rabbits, and pigs.
schrodinger's cat
@SFAW: I don’t really care. The longer Trump stays in the race the more toxic and virulently hateful it becomes, for others in the race feel the need to out Trump him.
SFAW
@gene108:
Really? Isn’t that interesting.
On the other hand:
Where the hell do you think I came up with the idea of sheep in trees? Or do sheep normally perch in trees in your neighborhood?
SFAW
@Amir Khalid:
See Cervantes’s reply. (The “I remember” line is not part of the song.)
I first heard Tommy Makem (and the Clancy Brothers) sing it, but I expect it’s from long before they became popular.
Iowa Old Lady
@gvg: I’ve read that New Zealand had no native mammals, but was an island of birds.
Betty, hope all goes well for Patsy M.
SFAW
@schrodinger’s cat:
I’m worried that the latter-day “Reagan Democrats” will be more than happy to join with the Teabaggers, because Trump is “the only one willing to tell it like it is.”
I tend to worry more than most about stuff like this, however.
Joel
Goodell defeated again.
http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/9/3/8804543/tom-brady-suspension-appeal-nfl-roger-goodell-deflategate
Cervantes
@SFAW:
It’s from late in the 19th century.
rk
@SenyorDave:
Can someone please explain to me how this is ever going to help him get elected as president. What’s his agenda? Aren’t republicans supposed to need at least 40% of Hispanic votes to win? He’s a loathsome racist, but his appeal is supposed to be his “business experience” and running of his successful business. If the goal of his business is to become POTUS, then his current business model is doomed for failure. Unless his plan is to just throw a bomb into the entire republican primary, I’m just not seeing what this guy’s game is.
SFAW
@Cervantes:
Is that prior to Makem and the Clancys?
Anyway, thanks.
Cervantes
@Iowa Old Lady:
Bats — plus dolphins and the like.
Cervantes
@SFAW:
Funny.
gogol's wife
This reminds me of my favorite mini-series (other than 1995 Pride and Prejudice) — Far from the Madding Crowd, with Nathaniel Parker and Paloma Baeza. Lots of distressed bleating.
Praying for Patsy Marie.
Cervantes
@rk:
1. It’s probably not.
2. Right now? Winning the Republican nomination, apparently.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Amir Khalid:
Fleeces always have to be washed — after all, it’s been growing on the outside of an animal for at least a year. So there’s probably even more usable wool there than you’d think.
We have fiber festivals in the U.S. where a team challenge is “sheep to sock” — they bring in professional shearers to shear a sheep or two and teams compete to be the first to successfully card, dye, spin, and knit the wool into a sock. For obvious reasons, it is sometimes difficult to find an indoor venue that will allow it.
SFAW
@Joel:
Thanks, Obama!
SFAW
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
And they bring in the right-wingers to make sock puppets?
ETA: That competition actually sounds interesting. Maybe I should get out more?
Joel
@SFAW: When he gets fired, maybe Rog can be Trump’s veep candidate!
WereBear
@Mnemosyne (tablet): And are these socks something people would want to wear? Or are they for hanging on the mantel for Santa?
/allergic
SFAW
@Joel:
Good one!
What’s next, “When the Republicans become sane”?
ETA: And if there’s any firing to be done, it’ll be The Donald that does it. And it’ll be yooooge.
shell
@Betty Cracker: \Im pretty sure the clippers they use cant nick the skin. Kinda like the little rotary saws doctors use to cut off a plaster cast cant cut the skin.
catclub
@Ryan: Read “Guns, Germs and Steel”, a great look at domestication of plants and animals.
And luck.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Cervantes:
While the missions were quite damaging to native cultures and people in California, the worst damage was actually due to the genocidal war that happened during the Gold Rush:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldrush/sfeature/natives.html
The statistic I’ve usually seen is that there was an estimated native population of 275,000 before the missions, 150,000 after the missions, and 30,000 after the Gold Rush.
The missions get more than their share of blame because people don’t want to admit that California’s native people were massacred out of straight-up greed.
shell
@SFAW: Paging Wallace and Gromit
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@SFAW:
It was fashionable a few years ago, but I’m not sure how common it is right now. If you’re on the East Coast, Rhinebeck is the Burning Man of fiber festivals.
@WereBear:
Human-size for quicker production. Those Christmas stockings take FOREVER to knit.
lgerard
speaking of sheep
evidently there is quite a crowd of Westboro Baptist style religious nuts outside the courtroom to see Kim Davis off to jail
https://twitter.com/cbertramHL?ref_src=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author
gene108
@SFAW:
Thought you meant the trees weren’t strong enough to stop the sheep, as in if a sheep leaned against the tree or walked into the tree the Australian tree would fall down. Up thread someone posted about how weak the soil in New Zealand is and tree roots aren’t that deep. I figured you were referring to something similar in Australia, where the trees are not deep rooted and prone to falling over at the slightest touch.
SFAW
@gene108:
Ah. Your point (in 107) never occurred to me. Clueless is as clueless does, I guess. (Meaning me,)
My sincere apologies for giving you a hard time about it.
Betty Cracker
Goddamnit. We dropped our dog off at 7:30 AM, and the vet’s office said they’d call us when she was out of surgery and arrange a time for us to pick her up this afternoon. Unable to endure the anxiety any longer, we just called to see how she’s doing, and they haven’t even taken her in to surgery yet.
Ours is a good vet, so I’m sure there’s a great reason for the delay, but it makes me sick to think of the poor critter all alone, hungry and thirsty in some fucking cage. She must be so scared and confused right now. :(
JPL
@Joel: Cool! ESPN still needs to apologize for all the lies they put forth.
maya
One of my fave movies, The Sundowners, with Debra Kerr and Robert Mitchum, has some interesting scenes about sheep shearing in Australia. Also has Peter Ustinov in it too. And, yes that is antiseptic. Sheep do get nicked in shearing.
I’m sure Patsy Marie will be fine. Had cysts removed from both a dog and cat and they were better than new afterwards. I believe most vets give the dog some mild sedative well before the actual op so she’s not feeling any pain in her prison. Relax.
Origuy
The ancestor of domestic sheep is the mouflon. They are still around, although endangered.
Gin & Tonic
@Mnemosyne (tablet): For obvious reasons, it is sometimes difficult to find an indoor venue that will allow it.
The reasons are not obvious to me, but I am not a shearer, spinner or knitter.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@maya:
As I understand it, no one has been able to come up with a way to mechanize sheep-shearing, other than using electric clippers instead of hand shears. You still have to have a human shear the sheep by hand.
Cervantes
@Gin & Tonic:
Smell, among other things.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Gin & Tonic:
Indoor venues can be picky about allowing unhousebroken animals onto their convention floors.
Cervantes
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
I don’t think so. Serra is being canonized, after all.
MomSense
Ha! Judge threw out the Brady 4 game suspension.
Suck it Pats haters!
/end of obnoxious fan rant
SFAW
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
Yeah, the Rethugs always have a tough time finding a venue for their national convention.
MomSense
@Amir Khalid:
They said it would probably be enough for 30 sweaters. Wow.
schrodinger's cat
@SFAW: We just have to get out more people to the polls like Obama did both the times he ran.
Cervantes
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
Richard Viguerie.
SFAW
@Cervantes:
Given current public sentiment, one would think it would be cannonized.
(Yes, I know he wasn’t a brown. Wingnuts wouldn’t care.)
schrodinger's cat
Chris must be really fragrant with all that wool!
SFAW
@Cervantes:
Good one!
schrodinger's cat
@SFAW: How does one define brownness? Jorge Ramos is pretty light skinned and has light eyes too.
Gin & Tonic
@Cervantes: I can think of plenty of smelly events.They hold rodeos indoors. Monster truck rallies are pretty smelly. The New York Knicks play indoors.
SFAW
@schrodinger’s cat:
No problem, DWS has that all under control. And if she need the help, Steve Israel will pitch in..
shell
Betty, I know its absolutely miserable waiting to hear any news, but you know its gonna be okay.
SFAW
@schrodinger’s cat:
You and I define it somewhat differently from the wingnuts.
Benw
@Betty Cracker: hang in there! I think most vets give them a sedative in the morning and let them get good and sleepy before putting them under. So most vets don’t do surgery until early afternoon. Then they want to check that they’re okay after they wake up. So not picking up your pet until late afternoon after surgery is pretty standard. And that’s been my experience, too. But I feel ya, just having them go under anesthesia is nerve racking.
maya
@Mnemosyne (tablet): Yes. Out my way (NorCal) they have machines that can remove buds from cannabis stalks, thus removing the trimmer human labor pool (that may have GPS locating cell phones on their person) from the equation.
You’d think they’d have something like that for those poor dumb sheps. It’s a back breaking job too
Amir Khalid
@schrodinger’s cat:
You can’t define brownness (or, for that matter, whiteness or blackness or whateverness) with any precision; race is not and has never been a precise concept.
Paul in KY
@MomSense: Grrrrr!!!!! ‘BRADY!!!!’ (shaking fist at sky)
bluefoot
@Mustang Bobby: Wow, I thought I was the only one who remembered that bit. I loved how Carson could barely keep a straight face when he did that one.
Thoughtful David
@Roger Moore:
Not entirely. In North America feral cats don’t actually do that well outside of urbia or suburbia. Too many coyotes. Hogs are another one that does really well feral.
schrodinger's cat
@Amir Khalid: It was a rhetorical question.
different-church-lady
http://i.imgur.com/nmHrUcX.gif
Amir Khalid
@schrodinger’s cat:
I, um, I knew that.
Betty Cracker
@Paul in KY: So the ambulatory chin dimple skates. Do the Patriots still lose a draft pick and have to pay a fine, or does that go away too?
JPL
@Betty Cracker: Kraft didn’t challenge because he had been led to believe, that the NFL would let it go. He should have appealed that because the entire thing was bullshit. They only measured four of the Colts balls and three were under inflated. It was cold.
Germy Shoemangler
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
I think the problem is getting the sheep to stay on the conveyor belt.
shell
So, two things we’re waiting on today: News and pics on Betty’s pup. And the outcome of Kim Davis’ summons to court on contempt charges.
Calouste
@gvg: One of the early European explorers to New Zealand (Cook IIRC, but could have been someone earlier like Tasman), commented that there were so many birds and they made so much noise that they could clearly hear they even when they were anchored 100 or 200 yards offshore. The lower population these days is because of humans and human-introduced predators like pigs and rats.
SFAW
@bluefoot:
I remember it too, but I have always contended that the answer should have been “Bah-sis-BOOM!”
redshirt
TOM BRADY!
Fuck Goodell!
Germy Shoemangler
@shell: Kim Davis deputies say they want to issue marriage licenses but are too afraid of Davis.
“Davis is acting alone. Her conduct has terrorized not just her staff but everyone who works in the courthouse.”
different-church-lady
@SFAW: There’s one in every crowd…
SFAW
@Betty Cracker:
Actually, I heard that Goodell has declared their punishment to be that they’re 2015-2016 AFC Champions, and that they just need to wait for the NFC to pick the other Super Bowl team.
Roger Moore
@rk:
There are three takes on that. One is that he’s focusing exclusively on the Republican nomination and will worry about the general election later. A subset of this idea is that the fundamentals are against the Republicans to the point that only some kind of catastrophe on the Democratic side could hand them the election, so the best hope is to go for the nomination and hope that the Democrats destroy themselves. It may not be the smartest strategy, but at least it’s explicable.
The second take is that he’s hoping there’s an unexploited vein of anti-immigrant sentiment out there, either as currently unmotivated voters who will want to come out for a xenophobe or whites who will be peeled off the Democratic side by his rhetoric. If that group of anti-immigrant voters is big enough, it might be enough to overcome whatever disadvantage he accrues by attacking Latinos. That makes more sense in light of the rest of his economic populism. Again, it’s a risk, but if the alternative is a replay of 2012, that may be a risk worth taking.
The third possibility is that he isn’t really in it to win. It could just be a big ego thing where he wants to attract as much attention as possible, or he might be engaged in a massive troll/ratfuck where he tries to get the Republican field to act as crazy as possible to ruin their chances.
SFAW
@Germy Shoemangler:
So Huckabee is giving aid and comfort to terrorists? Outstanding!
Hey, Huck! ISIS on line 6, they want you to join them, stat!
Another Holocene Human
Is anyone else enjoying the Not Diane Reim Show with Not Diane Reim? The host is Tamara Keith, who pronounces it Tam’ra, although a Jewish guest called her Tamar. That amused me greatly.
Way more fun and interesting topics, much less Village wisdom and insidery crap.
Calouste
@SenyorDave: Hating on Latinos is a two-fer for Trump. It riles up the base, and it weakens the positions with the base of Cruz, Rubio and Bush3, who are Latinos or married to one, and who were at one point contenders (Rubio was leading in polls as late as May).
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Cervantes:
We both know that Serra’s canonization is hugely controversial and has been for decades. Please don’t play dumb.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/25/pope-francis-junipero-serra-sainthood-native-american-controversy
I will repeat my point since you seem to be in the mood to play stupid this morning: the missions are given the lion’s share of the blame for the destruction of California’s native population, which allows people to conveniently ignore the deliberate genocide that happened during the Gold Rush.
Joel
@Betty Cracker: The team punishments are not subject to the CBA so I’m assuming that there’s nothing to be done about it. In fact, given the lack of regulatory bylaws, the NFL could arguably remove team draft picks for just about any reason they like, as long as the majority of owners support it.
lgerard
I read somewhere that Trump’s animosity towards /JEB might stem from /JEB blocking his casino deal with the Seminole Tribe shortly after he became governor, despite the fact that Trump gave him $$$ (and thus bought him).
He certainly enjoys trolling /JEB more then anyone else.
Paul in KY
@Betty Cracker: I don’t know, Betty. But I think those levied against team stand, as there is no collective bargaining appeals process (I hope).
benw
@SFAW:
God dammit! I KNEW the NFL would pull some shit like this! Now we have to listen to every goddamn ESPN talking head tell us how much of a genius Belichick is all goddamn season long, AGAIN. And “oh, isn’t Tom Brady such a plucky underdog!” Barf. Fuck Brady, fuck the Patriots and FUCK GOODELL.
Go Chargers.
Paul in KY
@Roger Moore: If he is engaged in a troll/ratfuck, it will make me an everlasting fan of The Donald.
Right now, I am not a fan.
redshirt
What a day! What a lovely day!
I’ve got my big time Fantasy draft tonight too, so I guess today is the day football season starts.
Yay!
Another Holocene Human
@Baud: Sheep are prone to some evil parasites.
Paul in KY
@benw: Go Bolts!!!
Brachiator
@schrodinger’s cat:
Trump is exactly what you get when people refuse to distinguish between legal and illegal immigration. Trump is exactly what you get when people pretend that immigration laws don’t matter and de facto open borders should be the accepted standard. Trump is exactly what you get when “comprehensive immigration reform” is neglected or shunted aside by Congress.
When otherwise reasonable people get pushed to the extreme while elected officials preen and posture and promise much while delivering nothing, don’t act surprised when bigots and nativists are waiting to embrace frustrated citizens.
And people like Reihan Salam are playing with fire. He appears to hold all kinds of contradictory positions. He supports restrictive immigration policies, supposedly in order to encourage assimilation and integration. But he also supposedly believes it is “racist” for people to date only those of their own race. He is of Bangladeshi descent and his parents immigrated to this country in 1976. It’s not like a hundred years ago, his family is relatively fresh off the boat. It’s hard to see how he could exempt himself from the crap that the worst conservatives advocate, and because he clearly does not look like a “real white American” he would be swept up in a heartbeat if there were to be a racist pogrom in this country.
Another Holocene Human
@Baud: Bananas used to be almost all seed.
Peale
@rk: Honestly, I think they are going to have to do that. Clinton is proposing programs, but there isn’t a big program that is going to capture the interest of Democratic voters this time around. Fix Obamacare and make it better isn’t exactly going to address a problem in an exciting way. Student loan debt forgiveness! Revise Common Core!
I think the republicans and especially Trump are hoping that if they run an election on the issues that they’ve been slaughtering democrats on in Mid Terms, they can win by having an electorate show up that is closer to a mid-Term electorate. The War on Women except in a few high profile cases has been a loser for Dems. As has “path to citizenship” immigration reforms. Voters have rewarded extreme anti-abortion positions and batshit “Mexicans are beheading babies in the desert” appeals and “repeal and replace” promises.
My guess is that the Republicans are wrong in that assumption, but it looks like they’d rather shout about immigration issues to drive up their own voters and hope that, like in mid-terms, Democratic voters won’t respond by coming out to the polls.
SFAW
@benw:
You are one sick bastard.
“Plucky”? Can’t say as I ever heard Mr. Bundchen referred to that way. But maybe he’ll change his last name to “Purcell.”
Cervantes
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
Not really interested in what you think you know.
I was responding to the following:
Matt McIrvin
@Gin & Tonic: And, as I recall, he cried big baby tears on talk shows when people called him an obnoxious, sexist creep. The Diceman was a character! Well, his audience wasn’t appreciating the character ironically.
Another Holocene Human
@Roger Moore: Cats? No love for pigs? They’re a complete menace when let loose (as they were, all over the SE United States).
SFAW
@Brachiator:
Salam thinks Niemoeller only applies on a different Continent
benw
@Paul in KY: WOOO!!!!
@SFAW: Hey, this is Philip River’s year! I can feel it!
Another Holocene Human
@rikyrah: Uh… I know at least one native Californian (not Native California, mind you) who curses Serra every time she sees his name. It’s odd Serra wasn’t canonized before (church politics?) but it’s not a move guaranteed to please everybody on the West Coast, especially those of a leftier persuasion.
To be fair, Roman Catholics think Serra was a great guy and all that, but from what I gather the California Public School System curriculum pulls no punches on him and the missions. IMO it’s a little too cute because Protestants did MORE than their share of genociding, including during the 20th century right there in California! They’d cover that too, I’m sure, but look! A squirrel!
Jerzy Russian
@Paul in KY:
It looks like they might be going to LA in the near future (I am sure that is not what you meant).
SFAW
@benw:
Year for what?
Another Holocene Human
@rikyrah: Gentrification goes back at least 20 years, when they started dismantling rent control and decided that upper middle class units could pass as “affordable housing”.
Since then it’s been bare-knuckled capitalism.
This is capitalism.
If you don’t like it, you may be tempted to change the topic to kyriarchy, but it is capitalism that is upending your world.
Roger Moore
@Jerzy Russian:
That’s going back to LA. For those who don’t know, the Chargers started in LA and moved to San Diego. I’m sure that will be ignored by people complaining about LA stealing their team.
Jerzy Russian
@Roger Moore:
Yes, I know. Stay, or go, I won’t be complaining.
Paul in KY
@Another Holocene Human: There are wild boars & crosses between them & ex-domestic pigs wandering around in the woods. The wild boars escaped from canned ‘hunting’ farms. Both types of animals are regarded as nuisance beasts & can be shot on sight, no seasons, any caliber legal weapon, can be spotlighted, lured with bait, etc.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Recognize the antiseptic. Only Hibiclens has that color. Poor guy probably had some skin infections under Wool Mountain. Glad they got him clipped. But not as glad as he is!
Paul in KY
@benw: Just hoping Phil concentrates on managing his offense & not trying to PO the defense with his yakking.
CONGRATULATIONS!
@Jerzy Russian: Cannot wait. San Diego native talking here. They have always been losers, and worse than that, they’ve been losers while shaking the town down for millions per year. Now they want a lot more…but they’re still losers.
I won’t miss them and can’t wait until they leave. “The Carson Chargers” also has a nice ring to it – for losers.
ETA: also, the fans give Raiders fans a run for their money as far as being the most stupid and most annoying football fans everywhere.
Cervantes
@Roger Moore:
Well, now. To be fair, they were based in LA for only one season and that was more than fifty years ago.
Paul in KY
@Jerzy Russian: As on as it’s still the Chargers ball team. Would not want any kind of nickname/logo change.
redshirt
The Raiders and the Chargers sharing the same stadium in LA sounds like such a great idea! /sarcasm
SFAW
@Paul in KY:
I’m thinking “Devil Rays” has a nice ring to it.
Paul in KY
@CONGRATULATIONS!: San Diego has been to more Super Bowls than my Browns have. You can be more loserers than them.
Paul in KY
@SFAW: How about the Los Angeles Casting Couches?
Brachiator
@Thoughtful David:
A co-worker brought back some amazing photos of presumably feral pigs on the beach in the Bahamas. Strange and oddly beautiful. Here’s a news story about them. Imagine. Pigs who are doing so well that they can afford to fly to the Bahamas and go on holiday. Must be the 1 pigcent.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2944893/Pigs-SWIM-Bahamas-beach-bum-oinkers-paddle-300ft-shore-enjoy-24C-Caribbean-sea.html
SFAW
@redshirt:
Are the Raiders moving back to LA?
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker: It’s hard waiting. I try to remember to ask what time they think they might start the surgery so I don’t have to be wondering and waiting all morning when the surgery might not have even started yet.
Hang in there!
rk
@Peale:
That would be a pretty dumb assumption on their part. I think hatred can work both ways. I’m pretty sure that all this anti-immigrant rhetoric would drive up the Hispanic vote against them as well. Subtle racism is one thing, but open racism is scary for a lot of non-whites. This is purely anecdotal, but I actually don’t know any non-white person who is for Trump. But I can’t claim to have any special knowledge about how non-white voters overall think (or even white ones for that matter)
SFAW
@Paul in KY:
Are the fans the ones that get boinked?
April
Betty, does Patsy Marie have a problem being temporarily crated? I’ve only had one of my seven dogs over the years that was troubled by it and my vet helped accommodate her fears by letting me pick her up early while still groggy but she still had to be in by 7:30 am for the surgery by 10:30 at the earliest. I believe the other dogs were distracted by the strange animals in crates next to them and the vet techs coming and going. Don’t automatically give Patsy your anxiety.
That being said, it is hard to think of your independent big cutie not having her freedom for a few hours. Rest assured she is getting the care she needs and she will be well worn out when she gets home so she will get the rest the doc wants her to get.
Regarding the cone “of shame”, none of my critters were ashamed of wearing it, but the other dogs really teased them about it. Like poking them in the side and the coned dog can’t get them back or see what they are being bugged about. I purchased a soft cone that is padded especially around the neck just for my boxer since her hair is so thin.
Best wishes for speedy healing. I am glad you are able to be with Patsy as she recovers.
Another Holocene Human
@Brachiator: It’s not contradictory, it’s motivated reasoning.
“Meh, immigrants are getting a bad name and people look at me funny. Pull up the ladder! These greenhorns are making me look bad.”
“Omg, I’m striking out on OKCupid. It would be so much easier if all these white people weren’t dismissing me out of hand. Hm, let me shame them all on Salon.”
benw
@SFAW:
Victory! (you jerk…)
@Roger Moore:
That’s not very fair. It’s not like the Chargers were stolen in the middle of the night from LA in the recent past. They are completely an SD team, in the same way that the Lakers are completely LA, even though they moved from Minneapolis. I am going to be super bummed if they leave SD.
@Paul in KY:
Wait, are you a Cleveland or SD fan? So confusing…
Brachiator
BTW. A thread devoted to sheep, fruit with seeds and domesticated animals is just the place for this.
Have you tried Google’s Fun Facts yet?
Enjoy.
Betty Cracker
Patsy Marie update: She came through the surgery just fine. We can pick her up at 4 PM. She’ll be sporting a Cone of Shame, so pictures will be forthcoming this afternoon / evening if I can manage it. We may or may not have to separate the dogs, depending on whether or not Daisy Mayhem decides to pester the Conehead. Thanks for the encouraging words.
SFAW
Betty –
Sorry it took me so long, but: I hope everything goes great for Patsy Marie. I’m sure the waiting is, to put it nicely, no fun for you (nor her, even if she might be tranked).
ETA: Typical me, late to the whatever. Glad she’s OK.
MomSense
@Betty Cracker:
Phew, we were all starting to worry about sweet Patsy Marie. Glad to hear she is ok.
Another Holocene Human
@Betty Cracker: Very good news.
Elizabelle
@Brachiator: Those are some pigs living large.
Enjoyed learning about them.
SFAW
@benw:
What gave me away?
Paul in KY
@SFAW: I set you up pretty good on that one.
Elizabelle
@Betty Cracker: Hope Patsy Marie wears her Cone with as much style as young Thurston.
She may not want to hear what the chickens are saying behind her back, though.
Paul in KY
@benw: I’m both. Generally an AFC/AFL fan, but have been a Browns fan for many years.
Paul in KY
@Betty Cracker: Glad to hear it, Betty!
J R in WV
@SFAW:
I wonder the same thing. Maybe he’s deliberately over-emphasizing the red-blooded right wing white supremacists’ propaganda in order to set up a reveal after he wins some primaries?
He’s always been a blowhard, with flamboyant tendencies, but he’s never shown racist white supremacy like this before. We would have heard about that kind of thing.
So it’s new to his act. Did he add it to the act for the purpose of slamming the other (R) candidates? Or in order to rip the republican party to bits while stealing the presidency from everyone else? Or does he even care about the office itself? Is it all about holding the (R)s up in the bright light in front of everyone?
What an interesting puzzle added to the normal byplay of the political fray!
SFAW
@Paul in KY:
For which I am grateful.
Gin & Tonic
So a new poll by Monmouth show’s Heb’s favorable/unfavorable has gone from 52/30 in August to 41/39 in September. Meanwhile in the candidate preference, it’s 15% in July, 12% in August and 8% in September.
Does RtR work days, or is that just an after-hours gig for him? Because I really can’t wait to find out what cunning strategy this trend represents.
schrodinger's cat
@Betty Cracker: Wishing her a speedy recovery and eagerly awaiting her photos.
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker: What a relief it is to get the phone call saying all is well!
I prescribe extra TLC for everyone in the Cracker household this evening. Humans included!
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: I just love seeing those photos of Thurston wearing his cone. He just looks so proud and happy, like “look how special I am”. What a precious pup.
mai naem mobile
@Baud: I bet its Hibiclens. It’s a pre/post pink anti-microbial cleanser. It looks more pink than red and hibiclens is pink.
Brachiator
@Another Holocene Human:
It ain’t much of a ladder if your parents got here in 1976.
Yeah, I wanted to be nice and not jump all over the possible sexual neediness thing here. On the other hand, a college roomate was an incredibly handsome and charismatic East Indian who was born in Uganda. White women (and others) would throw themselves at him. And being a nice guy, he would catch as many as he could.
SFAW
@J R in WV:
I’ve been trying to think of someone who did that type of long con – my implication being that he gets to the post-Convention, after winning the nom, and buys 30 Prime Time minutes to say “All that shit I’ve been saying for the last 18 months? That’s about as un-American and anti-American as it can get. And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is why the Republican Party can go to hell, for all I care.” (or some variant of that type of speech)
It’s a nice fantasy, but I can’t see him ever doing something like that.
I still haven’t thought of anyone who did something resembling that, but I think it’s because I’m getting more and more forgetful. The character of Severus Snape comes to mind, to some extent, but I can’t think of anyone real.
So, I guess I just convinced myself that he’s not doing THAT type of long con.
benw
@Betty Cracker: Hurrah!
mai naem mobile
@Betty Cracker: glad she did fine. I have a friend who lost her dog when he went in for a tooth cleaning. Supposedly routine stuff.
Roger Moore
@Another Holocene Human:
There’s a fair amount of this among Latinos here in Southern California. Their families have been here for generations- a few of them since California was part of Mexico- and they tend to blame recent immigrants if they get hassled for looking Mexican. I can definitely see their point, even if they’re letting the racist whites off the hook.
burnspbesq
Getting a little frustrated. Da emessem seem to have dropped a Cone of Silence on the Carl D. Perkins Federal Building in Ashland, KY.
SFAW
@Gin & Tonic:
It’s after-hours for Jeb!; he hands the normal-working-hours stuff over to his right-hand man, Bob Shrum.
benw
@SFAW:
Your big, fat jerk face? :)
@Paul in KY:
Well, you picked a couple of real winners, God help you!
burnspbesq
This was some world-class chutzpah by Shelby County, but the D.C. Circuit isn’t having any.
http://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/CADC-Shelby-County-fee-denial-9-1-151.pdf
Elizabelle
@WaterGirl: Thurston does wear it well. Great pic.
I’m also smiling to see Shrek in his cozy jacket. He might be cold, being used to all that wool. Seems to be smiling in the “after” picture. Maybe he’s thinking of romance, now that he’s more spry.
Roger Moore
@Gin & Tonic:
Getting to know you,
Getting to know all about you.
Getting to hate you,
Because I know you hate me.
Paul in KY
@benw: Only old AFL team I don’t like at all is The Jets. Have I told you I have a soft spot for The Raiders…
SFAW
@benw:
Damn. You DO know me!
J R in WV
@MomSense:
I’m not a big Patriots hater, nor am I a big Pats fan (Go Green Bay!) – but Goodall was clearly way over the line in how he handled the whole case.
First, the Pats scored as easily in the second half after the balls were retested as they did in the first half, so there was no advantage to the alleged deflation. Second, the retesting was so unorganized and poorly done that it was very difficult to show that there was any deflation at all, between poorly documented measurements and a total lack of adjusting for temperature changes leading to pressure changes. Lastly, the two pressure gauges used were quite different, and one was obviously damaged.
Then the procedure of addressing the potential deflation as an equipment violation was totally messed up. They didn’t do many things they should have done, and did do many things they weren’t allowed to do. Like calling an internal investigation managed by their general counsel and “independent” investigation.
So there is plenty of room for people who want to see fairness and evenhandedness in a sport to feel that Goodall messed up so totally that Q-back Brady needed protection from the justice system, as his rights were abused by Goodall and his minions.
I don’t care for Goodall in any way shape or form, and I am glad to see him handed his plate of steaming intestines in public. Hopefully the owners and the NFLPA will help him to move on to some other job where he can no longer damage the NFL, which is pretty good at self-damage, after all, and doesn’t need a CEO in charge of self-destruction.
SFAW
@Paul in KY:
Oh, sod off, will you?
You should have worn your helmet more often.
lgerard
she goes to jail!
praise Jesus!
gian
@Paul in KY:
Where should the bolts go? LA?
SFAW
@J R in WV:
What has she ever done to you?
(And THUS strikes Pedantic Man! Ta-daaa!)
redshirt
@SFAW:
They’re moving somewhere, as the city of Oakland won’t give them billions for a new stadium. LA is the most likely candidate.
gian
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
I rather think the missions were greed too. They were Spanish Greed. Not American Exceptional Greed though
Elizabelle
@lgerard: Is it wrong of me to hope Ms. Davis shares her cell with a transgender woman?
Onward Christian court clerks, marching on to jail …
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: You might be on to something there. My cocker spaniel used to love it when I shaved* him, he would kind of wiggle when he got scritches because he could feel it all the way down to his skin.
The BEFORE photo looks kind of like a bad halloween costume.
* Not totally shaved, just cut is hair very short.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Gin & Tonic:
Indoor convention center =/= indoor sports arena. They rarely hold rodeos inside convention centers during conventions, but they will sometimes shear a couple of live sheep in that area, if the organizers can talk the convention center into it.
SWMBO
My sister had a couple of sheep like Chris at one point in time. We sheared them when I was in on vacation. It was HOT. The barn was hot, the sheep were hot and we sweated until we were soaked. Yes, it is a hot, stinking job. For the record, you can nick a sheep but their immune systems aren’t robust and they need antiseptic applied. Also, their skin under all that fleece is tender and easily damaged. Did I mention that it was HOT?! Those damn clippers get HOT! They can easily burn the skin and require antiseptic. The clippers can get hot enough to burn your hand too. We stopped to rest and let the sheep rest so the clippers can cool. My sister wanted to take the fleece off in one piece for the county fair. Biggest, longest fleece prize mumble mumble I can’t remember. We got about 1/3 of the way through shearing the first sheep and it was “It’s HOT! Let’s get this over with and forget winning at the county fair!!” She left the fleece (and stink) hanging in the barn until cooler weather. Then she cleaned it and carded it and spun it. It took her all of one winter to get this done and it was only 2 sheep. Admittedly, this was the first time she had done this.
Any news yet on Patsy Marie? I hope they’re doing everything to her while she’s under anesthesia. We always had a dental done when our dogs needed something else done. My daughter has her dogs nails trimmed to avoid an episode of The Drama Queen’s Nails.
burnspbesq
http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com
OK. lady, if it’s martyrdom you want, here it is.
gogol's wife
@Betty Cracker:
Oh good!
Paul in KY
@SFAW: I should have, in hindsight.
benw
@Paul in KY:
As a transplanted So Calian to the NYC area I’m desperately trying to like the Jets, but it’s not working. Boo on the Raiders, although I had respect for those old Madden teams.
Paul in KY
@gian: If majority of SD fans want them gone, then LA (I guess). I would like them to stay in SD, or maybe move up to Sacremento.
SFAW
@redshirt:
I have just the place for them, although the parking might be a little rough:
It’s an island, just east of the Golden Gate Bridge, about 15 or 20 acres, reachable by ferry or other boat. They might have to knock down the existing buildings, although preserving them, kind of as a reminder of the Raiders’ history, might be an option.
I can think of no place better for the Raiders.
shell
Yay, hoorey for Patsie! And she may not even have to wear that uncomfortable cone for too long. Depending on whether she fusses at the stitches. I was able to take it off Kate as soon as we got home cause she was oblivious to them.
Paul in KY
@benw: The old Raidhas of the Madden/Flores days were the ones I liked. Feel sorry for franchise that Al Davis went psycho & let it rot (benching Marcus freaking Allen, because he’s pissed at his contract!!! Make him earn that contract).
SFAW
@Paul in KY:
That might be part of your problem. Helmets are not worn on your “hind.”
Hope this helps.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
Found a story from 2011 about the “Fleece to Foot” competition at one knitting convention:
http://m.thestar.com/#/article/news/gta/2011/08/06/at_the_sock_summit_enthusiasts_knit_one_speak_in_purls_too.html
SFAW
@benw:
If it makes you feel any better: I’ve been a Jets fan for 50-plus years, and I’m desperately trying to keep liking them, and it’s not working. But I’m as tribal as the next guy, so I’ll probably stick.
Too bad they can’t fire the owner.
ETA: But at least I’m not a Cheesehead. Lookin’ at you, Omnes.
shell
@burnspbesq: Yeah, but part of me wishes it wasnt jail time right off the bat. Do we really want to see her martyrdom celebrated all over the wingnut sites?
********
But I guess the moral of this story is, better to piss off God than a Federal judge.
Peale
@benw: as a transplant myself, I have to tell you, don’t bother. Just root for the Giants and be done with it. The Jets will never win under their current ownership and Jets fans are about as bad as Red Sox fans and Cubs fans when it comes to worshipping the pain of loserdom and pretending that it shows that they have some kind of superior religious belief to the rest of us. (Yeah, I know the Red Sox had a good run in the past decade, but before that, I swear they liked the fact that they hadn’t won since 1918 because they got to display their grief and that grief made them holy).
PurpleGirl
@EconWatcher: Very late to reading this thread… but, yes, DougJ’s been at two NYC meet-ups. He does exist.
SFAW
@Peale:
Not even close.
Most Jets fans are more along the line of “WTF? What does it take to get someone competent in any position that matters?” Canning Idzik was a start, but as you and I both have said, Woody is the bulk of the problem.
ETA: To be more clear (I hope): I did not mean “position” with respect to players, I meant with respect to management and coaching.
PurpleGirl
@Cervantes: Merino wool is very soft and has a lovely feel to it. It’s wonderful to knit with it. (Or crochet as I do.)
Paul in KY
@SFAW: I hated the old coach, who is now with Bills. Nepotism hire from his dad, IMO.
SFAW
@Paul in KY:
Which old coach? Ryan? Phillips? Gruden? There’s a ton of nepotism in the league.
I know that Ryan is in Buffalo, so I’m guessing you meant him, but I’m also guessing the Jets hired him for his defensive-coaching skills, which were pretty good.
Heliopause
Greetings, Earthlings, I am from Alpha Centauri and have been monitoring your video broadcasts. Apparently it is the case that when one of your species kills another of your species that hundreds of law officers supplemented with dozens of law officers of the Canis familiaris species are deployed to apprehend the killer or killers. Furthermore, your video news broadcasts are obsessed with the killing of this individual to the exclusion of all else. This suggests to me that killing members of your species is exceedingly rare and that the lives of all members of your species are considered sacred. As I am unfamiliar with the cultural norms of your species please inform me if I have judged correctly.
Paul in KY
@SFAW: If his name was Rex Johnson, he’d have never got his 1st NFL job. He has learned some by being around the game, etc., but he’s only in league cause his dad was Buddy Ryan.
Elizabelle
@Heliopause: Well done. Led the ABC news last night. (CBS showed more judgment; don’t recall what NBC did…)
Trump beginning presser.
What would an intergalactic alien think about that?
We can wager a bet on how not legally present aliens feel.
Benw
@Peale: can’t root for the Giants: Eli Manning dissing the Chargers and all that. Although I rooted for them like hell in their two SB wins over the Patriots.
SFAW
@Paul in KY:
Maybe, but he stayed in the league because he learned more than a little about defense.
I don’t particularly like Rex, but he’s a better D coach than a lot of the chumps that have been around. Of course, the Jets’ problems have largely been the fault of having O-cons like Paul Hackett and similar.
ETA: Mornhinweg hasn’t been much to write home about, either.
Heliopause
@Elizabelle:
The Trump Unit is on your planet? He is wanted for war crimes on all three inhabited planets of the Centaurian system. Please confirm, he has identifying tatoos on the top of his skull.
mohagan
@Ryan: Wild sheep lose their wool a tuft at a time when they shed in the Spring. Humans have bred domestic sheep to retain all their wool so it could be cut off all at one time … I see I am a bit late with this info, but better late than never. I saw in the news report they anesthetized Chris the sheep before they sheared him – good work Ozzies!
MPAVictoria
Straight up Hilzoy I think you should adopt an older pug from a dedicated pug rescue. Pugs have great personalities, are relatively sturdy and tend to be very friendly. Plus if you adopt an older one that is being fostered in a home you will have an idea of what kind of personality it has before you take it home.
This is the path my partner and I took at 7 years later we love our senior citizen pug :-)
mohagan
@MomSense: The report said that yeah, they probably would put the wool in a museum (this is could be a Guinness World Record) because the wool would be poor quality. Apparently it is also too long for commercial use, along with being really dirty.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@mohagan:
A quick Google indicates that the longest “staple length” of commercial wool is about 15 inches, and it looks like this guy’s wool vastly exceeds that. (Apparently a “staple” is one of the clumps of wool that makes up a fleece.) Merino usually has a fairly short staple length of about 2 to 4 inches, which is another reason it’s not commercially suitable — it gets too matted and curly above that length.
The local RSPCA could probably make some money selling or raffling off some of the staples. If nothing else, people are curious about it.
redshirt
Dead thread I’m sure but I find it strange, as my whole life is strange, that I mentioned this very sheep last night at book club with no connection to this post. And the next morning, here it is.
SFAW
@redshirt:
When you get a chance, could you do us all a favor and post the winning Powerball number here? Before the drawing, of course
Betsy
@EconWatcher: I enjoyed this comment greatly.
Betsy
@gogol’s wife: Two excellent series!!
Paul in KY
@SFAW: Too much blitzing, IMO. His dad’s schemes only worked at Chicago, because of great players at just about all positions. If you don’t have a bunch of pro bowlers, it won’t work.