This is a politics free open thread. Any topic but politics. I will open- my shoulder hurts worse than it did yesterday, by a wide margin, and I am in an epic foul mood. I am going to watch the Dog Whisperer and whimper.
Also- if you find your comment moderated in the spam filter, submitting the same comment ten times with “WHY AM I IN MODERATION?” accomplishes nothing but pissing me off.
Chuck Butcher
C’mon WP moderate me so I can pissoff the Cole
El Cid
WHY MUST ALL THINGS BE IN MODERATION?
maye
You might need better/different drugs. Pain sucks. And it impedes healing.
gwangung
Gina Bellman marathon! Gina Bellman marathon! COUPLING! HYDE!
Chuck Butcher
Epic WP fail…
Comrade Mary
Aw, John, that sucks. I had a really bad shoulder day last year — acute bursitis, nothing as bad as what you have — but I still remember how constrained it made my life. Are you still abstaining from drugs because of the itch, etc.? Has any combo of things taken the edge off things?
And yes, p*******-free works for me, too.
I’m watching Cute Things Falling Asleep. Soooo peaceful …
jeffreyw
I want a grumpy john cole mug.
==-+
Is it acceptable to ask “WHY AM I IN MODERATION” when I’m not, in fact, in moderation.
maye
try listening to some Duffy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7ZEVA5dy-Y
Celtic Motown.
General Winfield Stuck
Someone needs a hug. Or a Vicodin.
Annie
Good to hear from you — even in a foul mood. I think most of us at BJ were worried about you all day and looked forward to hearing from you — if nothing else to know that even in a crisis you have retained your unique sense of humor. Kisses to Lily and Tunch.
As for those in “moderation purgatory” my only comment is to get the hell over it…..and move on…..
Michael
Got a new home laptop all loaded up with XP again after my Vista box crashed and burned. Lucky me, saved my pics and music.
SteveinSC
How do you type with a busted wing?
Annie
@General Winfield Stuck:
LOL…..
PS. Has Charlie asked for the car keys yet?
Tx Expat
I know this may sound silly, but I (finally) upgraded my OS to Snow Leopard from Tiger and cannot quit playing with the hot corners. I’ve been coveting this feature for a year and a half and am having an inordinate amount of, yes it’s sad to say, fun with it.
I’m about to watch Shine a Light. Also.
Sorry to hear about the busted wing. Maybe it’s time to ask for better drugs?
James K. Polk, Esq.
Sorry you are feeling so crappy. Have you taken a (single) shot of hard liqueur yet tonight? It makes a big difference…
General Winfield Stuck
@Annie: I think he likes looking out the passenger side window better. Might miss something from having to watch the road and stear.
John O
AZ, Balt, Dall, and SD.
(Against the line, though I suspect AZ and Dall will win outright.)
John, hope you feel better. Hang in there. Your shoulder will one day feel better, but dressing your dog up is just forever creepy.
area man
Everything in moderation! Including moderation!
Speaking of moderation, the other day my uncle remarked that he was getting tired of NPR because “they take moderation to extremes.” Which I thought was funny.
Hope they gave you some good pain meds, Mr. Cole, and that your suffering is minimal.
Svensker
No, sorry, let’s talk politics. Who is more annoying: Sarah Palin, Andrew Sullivan, or Jane Hamsher?
Heh.
Just kidding. Off to watch the last episode of Invasion. The series was cheesy as hell, but really fun cheesy. Can’t believe it’s going to end on a cliff hanger. If anyone knows the producer or writers, ask them what was supposed to happen!
Take care of yourself, John. Plenty of drugs if necessary. Pain is very hard on ya.
Michael
I’m running Ocean’s 13 in the background on the TV till I get to the ripoff scene with the numbers. Meanwhile, I’m trying to drink rum and eat a cheesestick while fighting off 125 pounds of persistent old shepherd. He loves string cheese, and can’t stand it if he’s not getting a nibble.
I can’t bear to disappoint the poor old SOB. He’s 10, and starting to slow up with arthritis and cataracts. He’s ok days and nights, but definitely stiff in the morning.
Citizen Alan
So, anything but politics. Hmm.
I know: Does anyone have a good recipe for baked macaroni & cheese? I used to have an awesome recipe that made mac & cheese so think you could cut it with a knife and serve it with a spatula.
Xenos
Nihil in Moderato.
Freelancer
Sorry you’re in a shit mood, Cole. Wish I could do more to cheer you up.
I feel so insignificant…of course I always feel insignificant!
Comrade Mary
Brains! BRAAAAAAAINS!
Anyway, I haven’t tried this Martha Stewart recipe, but Mark Bittman was very impressed, and I’ve loved several of his recipes, and his commenters kibbitz usefully, so …
EDIT: OMG, it’s not Bittman, but some chick named Emily. It still looks amazing, though. And Smitten Kitten (which fucking RULES) loves it, too. (Really, check out the SK archives. AMAZing.)
John Cole
@SteveinSC: type with my left hand.
@Michael: Get Windows Seve.
@area man: I’m taking a horse pill motrin every eight hours and percocet every four. I absolutely hate pain killers- I hate how they make me feel- lethargic and confused and tchy.
@Tx Expat: I have snow leopard- never used that feature. What does it do?
beltane
It’s been a while since I’ve gotten drunk. Tonight seems like a good night to resume drinking.
Are you getting physical therapy for your shoulder? Last winter I did something bad to my spine while walking the dog and I couldn’t move my neck much for six months. The PT helped a lot.
jeffreyw
@Citizen Alan: can’t beat this one with a stick and fuck the yankees
Nicole
Waah! Dollhouse almost over forever. :(
beltane
@Svensker: That sounds like the beginning of a joke. So, Sarah Palin, Andrew Sullivan, and Jane Hamsher walked into a bar….
Cat Lady
I’m just going to re-post an old post of mine, because there is a link there to the most beautiful movie that no one’s seen, and should. It’s a restful balm for our troubled hearts, minds, souls and bodies.
We’re going to need a bigger boat.
Annie
@General Winfield Stuck:
Ah. A guy after my own heart. Give him a can of Iron City and a Steeler cap, and he would look like the guys I went to high school with… But, way more cute
Comrade Kevin
@Citizen Alan: This one from Alton Brown is good.
Max
@Citizen Alan: Saw this on an epi of Throwdown. Supposed to be the best in Philly.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/throwdown-with-bobby-flay/delilahs-7-cheese-mac-and-cheese-recipe/index.html
ETA – I cannot even begin to quantify how much I want the Cowboys to lose this weekend.
SiubhanDuinne
@jeffreyw #7:
“Grumpy John Cole” sounds like the masculine equivalent of “chunky Reese Witherspoon.”
Quiddity
Okay, I’ll take up Mr. Cole’s offer. Anyone want to weigh in on the Leno / O’Brien story? I’ve always liked O’Brien. Leno is boring and I find the Jaywalking stuff to be really lame. Finding dummies on the street is hardly amusing. Anyway, now that O’Brien is out and Leno is returning to the Tonight Show, any predictions about Jay’s ratings? I think they’ll stink. Also, for how long does NBC expect to have Leno at the Tonight Show? Five years? Ten? And who would replace him?
fraught
I hope we can have a thread about how terrible Tucker Carlson’s new Imitation of Huff website is. It’s like being lost at night in a city that’s been evacuated because of, I don’t know, a lice infestation? There’s not only no there there, there was never any where or what there, ever, either. No one comments on anything, except to drop little turds of neocon humor, which as you might imagine, don’t even have enough juice in them to stink. Tucker has written two pieces, one on the gate crashers, and one on Sharpton and Tawana Brawley which is how you can discern the demo he’s going for. Wolcott has posted twice about the dreadful cold and dim emptiness of it all.
ihop
okay, i have spent the better part of ten plus years tending to critters; sheep, geese, chickens, pigeons, cats and a dog.
the majority have all passed on. so i speak now of the queen kittie; black on top, white underneath, who had no use for us bipeds except for the old woman who fed her, who has also passed on.
after a while, the kittie began to grant me access, as she had seen the other kitties getting scratched and rubbed and was curious as to what there could be in it for her.
but she always kept her space from all of us. i think it was mostly because of the dog, a jack russell terror, who was my true best friend.
he passed three years ago, and then it was just her and me. she became my shadow, never too close but always near.
a couple of months ago she had an episode. i turned to see where she was, and saw her stop, waver and fall over. now mind you, she is old, at least 19 by all reckoning, so if she was at the end, so be it. she moved into the upstairs bathroom and i think prepared to die.
but she isn’t dead. and her patterns of behavior though changed have come back to a semblance of who she had been. but the true (for me) difference is she now sleeps with me. and by with me i mean on my head. and i mean to say that the sound (closeup) of a kittie cleaning herself at 4 in the morning whilst perched as near as on your head as to be well, on your head, i think, sounds like dread cthulhu coming to eat your soul (if a good deal smaller).
i miss my doggie, who would sleep on my chest and just sleep.
WereBear
I do want a mug, I do. Maybe two :) I like cats.
John, I know the drugs provide a double-knit version of reality (with a lot of pulls in it) but they have to blur your concentration or you’ll notice the pain.
Really, it’s amazing the way they work and don’t work.
robertdsc
Three things:
-How does one pronounce the word “academican”?
-I’m about halfway through Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead. I don’t mind it so far, though it started very slowly.
-For any Modern Warfare 2 players,
Maude
Around the time before the pain pill kicks in, that when one gets sharpish.
Percocet doesn’t work well for some people. It didn’t for me.
There are non opiate pain pills.
Well, I just got my MD diploma in the mail.
a as in hat, ka as in hat ma as in hat and dishen
burnspbesq
@John Cole:
One of the most common uses of a hot corner is to make your screen saver instant-on when you drag your cursor to the designated corner.
It’s in System Preferences/Desktop & Screen Saver/Screen Saver.
Steaming Pile
@SteveinSC: What I really want to know is, how do you type with boxing gloves on?
robertdsc
I killed the formatting. FYWP! FYWP!
AhabTRuler
@robertdsc: Akh-uh-dee-mee-ann
General Winfield Stuck
@Annie:
Iron city maybe, if he’s old enough and can hold it. Nolo on the Steeler cap. A fresh bone from The Dogpound for sure.
By the way, have I mentioned lately the Browns beat the Stillers this year? yes siree, they surely did.
burnspbesq
Laettner’s conquest of our household continues apace. Her mind-control tricks caused us to buy her a flea collar today. And I’d forgotten how quickly you wake up when a cat gets up in your sleeping face at 3 a.m. and starts purring like a damn Ferrari V-12.
wb
Okay, who left the strike through tag open?
General Winfield Stuck
@Maude: Oh dear FSM. You got the Big Blue Letter of wordpress calamity. Hep us dear lard.
Jenn
Sorry ’bout the pain and the foul mood — hope you’re feeling better tomorrow!
KDP
I am sorry to hear that you are in pain, healing will happen. Eventually.
Iwant a T-shirt and a mug, especially a mug.
And, today, the Passport office returned my application saying that my pictures were not acceptable, but with no explanation of what was not correct. They were the right size, background, I was facing forward. Two possibilities are:
I was wearing my glasses (the application materials specified no dark glasses).
The exposure on the pictures was a bit dark.
The shop took two new sets, which I’ll send off next week and we’ll see.
There no politics.
PTirebiter
I shattered the top of my right femur (the cone that holds the ice cream scoop that makes my shoulder a cool tool) a little over 18 months ago, so I feel your pain. I slept on the lazy-boy for a year. Vicoden up to the edge of therapeutic coma got me through until the surgery, and then it started to become more manageable. Take care, and you should probably avoid watching the Cowboys taking it to Minnesota.
Xenos
@ihop: DailyCaller is sterile and lifeless. They even had an article by Caitlin Flanagan that was more stupid and pointless than her usual tripe, about teenage drinking. I can’t really blame the writer for the crappy article, because it can be damn hard coming up with material with the right mix of counter-intuitive ultra-conventionalism.
The idea of Carlson, kicked out of St. Georges for excessive and indiscreet partying (which is like being thrown out of parochial school for praying too much) approving that column was just too rich.
Seanly
I just got back from seeing The Book of Eli. I really enjoyed it. All the reviews that apparently don’t like it can go suck an egg. Pretty large crowd in the theater so I think it’ll do well. The guy who kept sucking on his teeth throughout the movie can join Rush & Pat in hell though.
I appreciate that my company is matching employee contributions for Haiti through their corporate charity, but looking forward to meeting with an ex-coworker and his new boss. Long story made short – lead bridge engineer in a small (now < 12) office of a large engineering firm (now part of an even larger contractor) – our office in a small market is dieing a slow death and they don’t seem to give a fuck. Anyway, always flattering to get two cold-calls in one week for prospects with other firms (okay, that’s the first time that ever happened for me).
Also, if I spoke French I’d want to go down and help Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group (AIDG) (http://www.aidg.org/mission.htm). They need French-speaking civil and structural engineers to help assess the condition of remaining buildings. Engineers can even help with collapsed buildings – last thing you want to do is lose more people when they clear rubble without thought to the still standing & potentially unstable remains.
VladCat
Can we find a really attractive woman to bring you a hot, hand-cooked meal? You’re probably not the only one missing your usual weekend menu plan.
Cat Lady
@ihop:
Every sentient being wants someone to bear witness to the end – she’s preparing you for when it’s her time. That’s what I would do if I were a cat.
Bhall35
For the New England theater fans, we saw the Huntington Theater’s production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons last night, and it builds to a devastating climax. Everything it says about morality, social responsibility, and war profiteering is as timeless as the day it was written. If you’re in the area, see it.
SiubhanDuinne
@Cat Lady #31: oh wow, that was you? Couldn’t remember who mentioned it, but on the strength of your recommendation I ordered the whole trilogy months ago, then put the DVDs aside until a more convenient time. Well, I don’t think that time is ever going to just show up, so I am going to *make* time this weekend to watch Wanderers of the Desert, The Dove’s Lost Necklace, and of course Bab’Aziz. This has been such a sad, grim week on so many levels that I really need a sublime viewing experience to help restore some balance. Thank you in advance for the reminder.
Colonel Danite
Roasted Brussels sprouts for dinner. Yum. Of course, I’m eating them in moderation.
Kirk Spencer
Let’s see, no politics. OK, a shotgun approach.
For those severely hampered, Dragon Speaking Naturally is excellent. Actually at first it sucks, but if you stick with it (because you have to, usually) it becomes very very good indeed.
For baked macaroni and cheese, it depends on what you’re really trying to get. My recommendation is the pasta and a bechamel sauce as the base, and then just go with the cheeses of your preference. Notice that this means you do NOT need a melting cheese; stirring in chunks of feta works just fine (though it doesn’t bind as well). If you’re not using a melting cheese, however, add a binder. An egg or two works really, really well. Beat them, temper them, and add them to the bechamel.
Supper tonight was seven layer salad and a potato-onion fritatta. The beverage was hot water to which I added a bit of honey and some spices: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, and fresh black pepper.
jurassicpork
Look, I’m a yellow dog Democrat. If I could get him on the ballot I would, as the definition goes, literally vote for my yellow lab Buddy over any Republican.
So please appreciate the weight and significance of my saying that I’d rather vote for Scott Brown, douche bag though he is, over Martha fucking Coakley. I live in MA and I personally know her. This woman is dangerous and I have some compelling personal reasons for not wanting to see her succeed Ted Kennedy.
General Winfield Stuck
Charlie counting butterflies
for Anne Laurie — my photostream (I have tried embedding photostream before without success, but will try again)
Flickr is squirrely tonight
BGK
Feh. I got used to it after the first week. As soon as it’s lights out, Jack and Ava get in their usual spots on the bed and start their 20-30 minutes of grooming. Jack is pretty quiet, but being large, muscular, and always pressed firmly against me, he shakes the bed pretty well. Ava slobbers and slurps a good deal. Angus, despite being about half the size of the other cats, has an enormous tongue and the sound could be mistaken for a squid walking across the kitchen floor.
When I’m away from home, I find the absence of late-night cat-grooming disconcerting.
Breezeblock
Finished watching the Lancaster film “The Rose Tattoo”.
Sicilians.
Did I freaking spell that right??
Redshift
John, you have the sympathy of my bunny Isis who is recuperating from a broken leg. She’s far enough along that she’s in the “moving around more than she should but there’s nothing we can do about it” stage.
She was not as lucky as Lily (or I was less unlucky); her leg is broken because she got underfoot and tripped me, and then ran right to the place my foot was coming down. I felt terrible about it, but she seems to be recovering well, and it’s pretty amazing that in all the years we’ve had rabbits getting underfoot, this has never happened before.
WereBear
@Bhall35: I loved the movie, with Edward G. Robinson, who really shone.
D-Chance.
I find it hard to empathize with Leno or Zucker. And even though Conan did nothing wrong, he’s getting $20+ mil per year GUARANTEED, show or no show. So I can’t even work a pity tear for him…
They were wrong with announcing a 5-year retirement in a medium where ratings are monitored by the freaking minute. Leno was wrong in the pity pandering when his time was up. NBC made a programming blunder that SHOULD have at least a major exec and a half-dozen others fired for incompetency.
Leno was the right man/personality for the time slot. But once his retirement was announced five years ago, he should have reduced his on-air presence to four nights a week and allowed a 5 year audition of potential guest hosts, similar to what happened in Carson’s final years.
Personally, I don’t watch the late shows regularly like I did with Carson. Maybe a Leno or Letterman monologue, or a “Headlines” segment. Conan and Fallon strike me as being totally unfunny. Of the bunch, Craig Ferguson seems to be the most natural for a post-Leno stint (from the few YouTube clips I’ve viewed). He has the sense of humor, and a gift for conversation and observation that I don’t see in the others.
demkat620
I’ll bite. Never liked Leno. Really never liked him after I saw what he did to Letterman and I think its a shitty thing NBC is doing to Conan.
But that Kimmel thing was just brutal. Not saying Leno didn’t deserve it but man, brutal.
Anything good at the movies? Wednesday was my wedding anniversary and the DH and I are having dinner out without the kids tomorrow. Might be nice to see a movie too if there is anything good.
Midnight Marauder
@jurassicpork:
DID YOU NOT READ THE SIGN, GOOD SIR/MADAM?!
Good day to you!
Elroy's Lunch
Well since it is a politics free thread here goes: Elroy’s sitting on my chest (@ihop) purring away. I just got the last go-round of architectural drawings for the addition on our old house and I’m ready to pull the trigger on getting bids and getting it completed. Should be nice. Not that anyone would care but here’s the politics angle; my architect is Tucker Carlson’s (@fraught) architect. Strange bedfellows I guess.
Tomorrow we’re steaming and frying up a bunch of ‘ursters we’ve been growing. Wish all the Juicer’s could come by an enjoy some.
WereBear
@BGK: That’s hysterical.
I like the sound when I put all three bowls of canned food down. That lappity sound with a hint of purring.
SiubhanDuinne
@KDP #51: You weren’t smiling, were you? I seem to recall that new rules went into effect a couple of years ago that mandate NO SMILING.
demkat620
Is anybody else seeing strikethrough on everything or is it just me being and idiot?
AhabTRuler
Momo will lie on my chest and burrow her head into my hair and shoulder while kneading. Sometimes she even does it when I am awake.
I feel so used.
Annie
@General Winfield Stuck:
“By the way, have I mentioned lately the Browns beat the Stillers this year? yes siree, they surely did…”
What? I can’t hear you. Can you type a little louder? I can’t hear you……..
burnspbesq
@jurassicpork:
Umm, excuse me…
Did you not see the “no politics” injunction at the top of this thread?
Or are you so self-righteous and self-important that you feel no need to respect the wishes of our genial host?
Some people …
soonergrunt
WTF?
Everything, and I do mean everything from the last line of robertdsc’s post on down appears in strikethrough, even after I clear cache and reload. Running IE8 on Win7 64-bit.
Sheesh, I step out to work today and we get a 300+post thread full of trolls, a bunch of other stuff, now threads without politics (wtf?!) and now this?
John, are you sure you didn’t fracture more than your shoulder?
soonergrunt
Bhall35
@WereBear:Funny, we just recorded if off of TMC, and planned to watch it after seeing this production, probably this weekend.
Cat Lady
@SiubhanDuinne:
Yay! The moviemaking is awesome in all three movies but Bab’Aziz is sublime. I went backwards through the trilogy and I got a real feel for the filmmaker’s journey. Also, the interview with Nacer Khamir the director is awesome. I didn’t know very much about Sufism, and as someone who isn’t religious the message in the movie was received loud and clear, but lovingly.
Here’s the trailer.
Max
I’m on a MacBook and this thread looks fine.
New music artist recommendation… Nneka, is a little Erica Badu-ish. Really good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmwXaPW6wG4
Tax Analyst
John Cole said:
Bhall35
@demkat620: Wanna talk about brutal? Try this early 90’s clip of Bill Hicks flaying Leno:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfkvpcjNk7c
Man, I wish he were alive today.
Nicole
@Seanly: Re: Book of Eli- you may enjoy this article from io9:
Book of Eli Reboots Zardoz
That photo of Sean Connery is going to haunt my nightmares.
Doctor Science
I have been paging through the artist pages at a Haitian art gallery. I can see a lot of influence from Henri Rousseau, Fauvism (or maybe visa versa?), and various Central American Indian traditions, but not as much African influence as I expected — though it may just be that I don’t know where to look.
Who is the mermaid-goddess figure who keeps turning up? It’s interesting that the same artists will do Voodun-related images and explicitly Christian (madonna and child, etc.) ones.
Bhall35
@Colonel Danite: I saw what you did there.
Annie
@demkat620:
me, too. wtf?
Notorious P.A.T.
@ihop:
Sounds like a sweet kitty.
Redshift
I never much liked Leno, but I have to say that if someone had written a thriller about a secret plot to destroy the Tonight Show with NBC execs doing what they have done over the past few years, it would be less plausible as fiction than National Treasure 2.
I like Conan O’Brien okay, but only really watched him regularly when he was doing his Finland thing a few years ago. (My better half is part Finnish.) I’ve always liked Letterman the best of the ones in that time slot, but not enough to watch with any regularity.
Craig Ferguson, though, really is brilliant. Real brilliant, not just showbiz brilliant — read his novel; it’s great. (He wrote a novel, not a talk-show-writing-team-having-fun book. And he’s written screenplays, and gotten movies produced, and…) And I just read his memoir, and was astonished to find out that his monologues aren’t scripted; he and the writers toss around some possible ideas and then he ad-libs it. Every night. Wow.
demkat620
@soonergrunt: Oh thank god so its not just me.
Tax Analyst
John Cole said:
Me too, John. I realize that sometimes you NEED to take them, but I have found over time that it’s a good idea to minimize how often you take them. It’s a lesson my late brother could have used, because he basically destroyed his liver by over-medicating himself. But he LOVED how he felt on pain-killers…the bigger and stronger the dose, the move he loved them. “If two are good, four must be better”, and he took every opportunity to dramatize what pain he had (real) to his doctors to get stronger and larger prescriptions.
OK, enough moralizing. I hope you feel better soon, man. Hang in there.
SIA
@Freelancer: That put everything in persepctive. Calmed me right down.
PurpleGirl
John, hope you are able to sleep tonight. That should help with your mood tomorrow. Recliners are great inventions.
When do you have your surgery? Will it include an overnight in the hospital or will you be sent home a few hours later?
SIA
OK this is weird. Does anyone else see strikethroughs on everything? WordPress on Vicodin?
CynDee
@John O: Sound like you’re more concerned with appearances than reality. What is creepy is your judgmental tone. Why would you not want John to do as he sees fit for his dog, and what makes it your business?
SIA
@demkat620: I just posted the same question. Thought I was having a flashback.
Flugelhorn
Test
Ella in NM
This young man just perished for no apparent good reason. I will NEVER figure out how to reconcile the incredible good human beings can do with the incredible evil and pain they can wreak…
“Body burned in car ID’d as Texas student traveling to California”
http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_14197298
General Winfield Stuck
@demkat620: It happens. Was why I mentioned the big blue letter by Maudes comment@General Winfield Stuck: .
I don’t see the strike thrus, but always something weird happens when that BB letter shows up. Usually, it’s everything in italics, or bold. Or other spooky shit.
Ever body praise the great FSM and it’s noodly appendages, usually works, cept when it doesn’t
Tax Analyst
W
ow, everything for the last umpteen # of comments is struck-thru. Let me try something here:Tax Analyst
John Cole said:
@area man: I’m taking a horse pill motrin every eight hours and percocet every four. I absolutely hate pain killers- I hate how they make me feel- lethargic and confused and tchy.
Me too, John. I realize that sometimes you NEED to take them, but I have found over time that it’s a good idea to minimize how often you take them. It’s a lesson my late brother could have used, because he basically destroyed his liver by over-medicating himself. But he LOVED how he felt on pain-killers…the bigger and stronger the dose, the move he loved them. “If two are good, four must be better”, and he took every opportunity to dramatize what pain he had (real) to his doctors to get stronger and larger prescriptions.
OK, enough moralizing. I hope you feel better soon, man. Hang in there.
Flugelhorn
@CynDee: Honestly. Bristle much? He was having a friendly jab at John and you talk about tone and all but condemn him? Geez. Get a life.
Tax Analyst
SIA
Yes, we are all thoroughly strucked-up here.
Tried some italics on that last sentence to see what happens…
Cassidy
Awright, time for the same speech I give all Joes. The Motrin doesn’t do a whole lot in the pain-kiling department. It works for some not for others, etc., but if you really want it to be working effectively, at this stage of your injury, then you need to be taking more than 800mg at night. You need to be taking 800 four times a day. With food. And nor more than that, unless you want to waste it in your urine.
Secondly, if you don’t take your pain meds, then you will be in pain. If you’re not diggin’ the Percocet, or any other opiate, you can request a number of other pain killers, but the percs are really your best chance of getting everythig calmed down enough to start healing properly. A good slug of whiskey doesn’t hurt either.
So, in conclusion, dope your silly ass up. Crack open a beer, pass out in a comfortable position, and continue said treatment for….I’d say 2 weeks with a dislocated shoulder.
MMM
In the court ruling US vs. Fishbine, a man subjected to potential incineration while wearing another man’s suit is entitled to $10,000 worth of airline tickets. It’s an obscure ruling, but a very important one to me.
General Winfield Stuck
Everything is normal here. But I been a good boy today.
SIA
@soonergrunt: It’s not just you – strike throughs start on my page at comment 41.
Annie
@SIA:
me, too. this is toooo weird! I realize that I track my students’ stuff, but, who is tracking our stuff?
General Winfield Stuck
@Cassidy: Yup, thing about severe pain, if you don’t treat it, it will cause other shit to go wrong, mentally and physically.
Annie
@General Winfield Stuck:
I, too, have been good today. But all comments I see have a line through them….
SIA
@Tax Analyst: Well, at least it’s more interesting than what usually happens; I get to the thread late, make a few comments, and watch it die and wither.
Edit: 1) no strike through on the edit, 2) thread should wither first, then die.
jacy
I can emphathize with the grumpy. Politics sucks. Haiti is depressing me so much, I can’t think directly about it any more. TV sucks, with the cancellation of Dollhouse and the immenent cancellatoin of Better Off Ted.
My daughter just went back to college this week, and yesterday I found her kitty, Willow, unexpectedly dead. Cute little Himalayan stray we’ve had about 6 years now. Just keeled over, hadn’t been sick, an inside kitty, don’t know what happened. Now her other kitty, Fate, is depressed, my four-year-old is asking questions I can’t adequately answer, and I have yet to let my daughter know her cat died the day after she went back to school.
Life truly sucks sometimes.
General Winfield Stuck
@Annie: You haven’t praised the Flying Spaghetti Monster, as I have all day, periodically. You MUST BELIEVE, or at least think about it.:)
SIA
@Annie: OK. So. This means something. Only some of us are getting the strike throughs. We are chosen.
@ John Cole, if you can’t handle the meds, try some acupuncture. It can really help with specific pain.
MMM
O God, ease our suffering in this, our moment of great dispair. Yea, admit this kind and decent woman into thy arms of thine heavenly area, up there. And Moab, he lay us upon the band of the Canaanites, and yea, though the Hindus speak of karma, I implore you: give her a break
Notorious P.A.T.
@Nicole:
I gotta see “Zardoz” some day )
Tax Analyst
I blame #40 robertdsc. It started in the middle of his post.
Curses, sir…remove thine Eville Spelle frome thise Balloone Juice threade.
ihop
@ Notorious P.A.T.
yes she is a sweet kittie. all things being equaled, i do prefer a tough, resourceful, reliant, stone cold killer (if retired) kittie to a princess.
SIA
@jacy: Sounds like a rough week. There’s a weird energy out there anyway. I’m sorry about the kitty – that is rough. Hang in there – the pendulum will swing the other way soon.
And since everything I’m typing will be crossed out anyway, I’ll take that as a sign from Dog that I need to step away from the computer.
demkat620
@Notorious P.A.T.: No you really don’t.
MMM
My objective? Well I object to taking a girl out, you know, and buying her dinner and then she won’t put out for you.
Nicole
@Notorious P.A.T.: You and me both- those clips are awwweeessssommme.
Mnemosyne
I discovered two days after my knee surgery that I’m one of the lucky people who gets the “uncontrollable vomiting” side effect from Vicodin (actually, just about any strong opiate). It was especially fun to find this out at 5 am when I was still on crutches.
John, if you have a really good friend or relative who can stay with you for the weekend, I would highly recommend it.
Nicole
@demkat620: Really? Not even a so bad it’s good bad? Just a so bad it’s boring bad?
SIA
@Annie:
TUUUUNNNNCCCHHH!
Tax Analyst
@ #114 Tax Analyst (myself) said:
HEY…It WORKED!! Just 7 minutes, too…not bad.
That was easy…I think I’m in the wrong business.
Anne Laurie
@Colonel Danite: You got a recipe you care to share?
soonergrunt
Well, I don’t know if it worked or not, being rather overwhelmed by this here intertubes thing, but my comment at 78 (for which I requested deletion) had nothing but a close-strikethrough command.
And now Balloon-Juice appears to be fixed.
If the strikethrough comes back when my comment is killed, we’ll know how to fix it!
Of course that’s all bull shit, and I’m not quite that stupid, but I’m taking credit for it anyway!
SIA
/giggle
Annie
@General Winfield Stuck:
Clearly, I praised the Flying Spaghetti Monster wrong. He is putting a line through all of the comments….
Sentient Puddle
BEER!
I’m trying an Anchor Steam beer for the first time tonight. Quite interesting. Tastes sort of on the watery side to me, but in this case, I think it suits the beer well.
That’s where my mind is at tonight.
Tax Analyst
@ #125 soonergrunt said:
Uh-uh. I already claimed credit for it (#123). Nyah, nyah.
Annie
@SIA:
The tracking is gone. It seems Tunch went to sleep, and John is doozing in his recliner…
MMM
You know, there’s nothing better at the end of a long day on the road than a nice warm glass of Hawaiian Punch.
eco2geek
JC: Sorry to hear about your shoulder. Pain sucks. I appreciate the work that you and your partners in crime do in putting together this blog.
So apparently they’re talking about moving the Jay Leno Show back to 11:35 since the affiliates bitched about low ratings hurting their evening news. This would, in turn, move The Tonight Show to tomorrow and Late Night to the wee hours. Must be a contractual thing; otherwise why even offer Leno the 11:35 timeslot back? Leno ought to just retire and go away gracefully like Johnny Carson did.
Politics seems much more interesting by comparison, except for watching video clips of Jimmy Kimmel bashing Jay on his own show, Conan making jokes about the situation, and David Letterman’s gleeful potshots.
SIA
@Annie: All clear here too. Tax Grunt fixed it.
demkat620
@Nicole: Sean Connery in a diaper.
I think that about says it all.
Redshift
@Notorious P.A.T.: Watching Zardoz late at night with a big group of people (and one airhead) produced one of the funniest spontaneous movie-related conversations I’ve ever been involved in. (I’d tell it, but I doubt it would do it justice, especially if you haven’t seen the movie.)
In any case, Zardoz isn’t in the so-bad-it’s-good category if you’re watching it by yourself, but if you’ve got friends with you, it can be.
AhabTRuler
@Sentient Puddle: I prefer Anchor’s Liberty Ale, but I can’t argue with anything from them.
Lincolnshire Poacher
A family member broke his shoulder in a bicycle accident right after midnight. He was flying down a canyon road on the coast and collided into a deer. He said he was only out for 15 minutes, he thinks. It seemingly took forever to heal. Right during term papers too so he had to dictate his theses to someone who typed it up. Get better soon.
As for open topics – pick from – your favorite Ice Cream parlor, which type of hard drives are the best to buy, or which song best describes you at this moment? I am guessing the latter answer for you would be the Ramones, “I want to be sedated.”
Sentient Puddle
Speaking of beer, question for the brewers. Brewed up a new batch two weeks ago, and last Sunday, put it in the secondary fermenter. This being a glass carboy, I was able to see a rather healthy layer of krausen form overnight, and the airlock started churning more vigorously than at any point during primary. My initial plan was to let it sit for a week in there before bottling, but should I let it sit in there another week or so?
I know it did go through primary fermentation in the bucket, having to scrape the crap off the sides after racking. But…I don’t know, could it have not gone through a complete primary fermentation, or something?
svensker
@fraught:
Sharpton and Tawana Brawley? What’s next? Big discussion on Bill Clinton’s running mate?
Bhall35
Here’s a pretty good rundown of Zardoz at Videogum:
http://tinyurl.com/8ecp3z
Colonel Danite
Roasted Brussels sprouts recipe:
1lb Brussels sprouts, cut in half
4 oz pancetta or bacon, diced (pancetta is better)
4 big garlic cloves, sliced paper thin
Olive oil – just enough to coat the sprouts
Balsamic vinegar- just a splash
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400.
Toss all ingredients in a bowl, spread sprouts in one layer on a cookie sheet.
Roast for about 20 – 25 minutes, stirring once at about the half-way point.
Enjoy. In moderation.
Karen
John, my doc told me that if you take painkiller, any time of painkiller, the idea is to take it regularly in the beginning before the pain starts. The body has pain memories and the painkiller doesn’t work that well once the pain starts again.
MikeJ
@robertdsc:
Wish there were some Arma 2 players. Charging in all guns blazing gets you shot, which is a very, very bad thing in Arma 2, just like life.
AhabTRuler
Is not Jello Biafra the perfect asshole?
MMM
I’m going to give you a little advice. There’s a force in the universe that makes things happen. And all you have to do is get in touch with it, stop thinking, let things happen
jenniebee
Any theories on identity of the Monster in the Darkness?
MikeJ
@AhabTRuler: I’ve always been amused that someone named “Jello Biafra” ranting about how much he hates phonies just sails over the heads of the fanboys. Of which I was one when I was 18, but I got (marginally) smarter.
svensker
@Notorious P.A.T.:
Why? Weird fucking movie. The only thing really interesting about it was trying to figure out how Charlotte Rampling was that skinny while still being alive.
Mike in NC
Upgraded hardware for the 2-year-old PC this past week: now have 2 GB memory, outstanding new Nvidia GEForce 8400 video card, 400W power supply unit. Paid under $200 for all that. Any new games I should look into? Liked the Half-Life & HL2 franchise, if that’s any indication.
demkat620
Okay this Sanctuary show just went Bollywood.
I think I’ve had enough. The smallish dog and I are calling it a day.
‘Nite Juicers.
PurpleGirl
Gee, I wasn’t seeing strike-throughs. I feel cheated.
Kobie
@Quiddity: I think that viewer backlash to how NBC and Leno are basically fucking over Conan is going to destroy Leno’s legacy and the Tonight Show in general.
moe99
I got my first vicodin this Monday after vocal cord implantation surgery to try to give me some voice back, as my lung cancer (stage IV) has grown, in part, over my vocal cord nerve and I haven’t been able to verbalize since late August. I have nothing but good things to say about the vicodin, but I have no idea where I put the mail I got on Monday. Ah well.
moe99
I
ps: and I did get some voice back. The dogs are not happy because now I can yell at them–they’ve been getting away with murder!
Cat Lady
Lively Up Yourself. Don’t say no.
Reggae bitchez. We all need it.
Chad N Freude
@John Cole:
Oh. I thought you were hitting the keys with your nose.
Kobie
@Redshift: #88 Craig Ferguson’s standup is really good, too. He’s a very talented, very underrated performer.
Chad N Freude
@svensker: Good Deity-of-your-choice! Zardoz is great. Great! How can you not like it?
Vince CA
Watching Kamichu! which I discovered on this blog from Anne Laurie. Soooo good. Highly recommended, even if you’re not a tweeny Japanese girl.
gbear
John, could you please start a brussels sprouts-free open thread? Thanks.
Something Fabulous
@moe99: Wow. So glad the surgery had some success. You are an amazingly strong person, sounds like. Sending you good thoughts!
and: “Dogs! Get DOWN from there!”
Notorious P.A.T.
I’ve read that drinking caffeine with painkillers amplifies their effect.
WereBear
@Kobie: At least, it should.
MMM
John Cole – Now you listen to me, you son of a bitch. I’ve lost everything but my soul, and you’re not going to take that away from me.
Kobie
@WereBear: If there’s any justice in the world. I really do think that Leno fans are going to stick with him, but the casual late-night viewer who generally gravitates toward certain guests rather than follow a specific host might feel a little queasy watching a slimeball like Leno.
mcd410x
Dr. Zhivago? With Keira Knightly? WHY, LARA, WHY?
@John Cole: Make sure to hydrate when on opioids.
svensker
@Chad N Freude:
Compared to Billy Jack it was great.
If you saw it while having a major drug flashback it was great.
Unfortunately, I’m past the drugs and wouldn’t see Billy Jack if you offered me Sean Connery in his prime for 24 hours. (Well, that’s kind of a lie.)
Actually, I haven’t seen Zardoz since it came out, so I’d be sort of curious to see if it can survive non-stoned viewing.
Tax Analyst
@ #150 Purple Girl:
There. Feel better now?
Brian Griffin
@Kobie: you’re correct, redshift and kobie. Craig Ferguson is a comic genius.
PurpleGirl
LOL. Thank you Tax Analyst.
Chad N Freude
@svensker: It’s really pretty funny. But you have to really, REALLY, like L. Frank Baum, Sean Connery, “Whoa, is this what they’re talkin’ about” movies.
Tax Analyst
Late-night hosts? I like Conan over Letterman by about 1/2 inch of a long red hair strand. I think Craig Ferguson is easily the funniest and most entertaining. Leno used to be marginally OK, but that was yesterday, and yesterday’s long fucking gone. He’s kind of a boring, self-absorbed lingering old turd right now, stinking up everyone else’s gig.
OH…and Fallon is absolutely the worst late-night host since Chevy Chase – and maybe even worse that Chevy, although it’s hard to believe anybody could ever be any worse than Chase was.
DonBelacquaDelPurgatorio
I tried to suggest meloxicam the other day but you ignored me.
I had back pain that would paralyze a horse, and the meloxicam had me back doing tile work in 4 hours. At least try it out.
Nicole
We should ask John for a Bad Movies from the 1970’s Thread. I put forth for discussion, Race With the Devil. Yes, it sucks, but I kind of really love it. And am kind of bitter they’re remaking it. Fonda-Swit forever.
Tax Analyst
@ #169 PurpleGirl
Hey, I’m on fire tonight…Oww! That burned!
Little Dreamer
Try meloxicam. I had back pain that would paralyze a horse, and meloxicam had me back doing tile work in 4 hours.
Yes, it’s me, DBDP, posting as LD with her permission.
You can’t run me off with mod filter games or tacit and unannounced banning. Sorry.
Punchy
Nashville Preds just paid my rent.
I love hockey
MMM
Do you know what smoking does to you? It stunts your growth, it yellows your teeth and blackens your lungs. Is that what you want? To be a yellow toothed midget with lung cancer?
scav
Oh, why not. Tangentially related if brussells sprout and strikethrough free. Complaints Choir, The Movie or am I the only one that finds having international complaints workshops utterly I’m not sure exactly but utterly whatever it is.
Seanly
@Nicole:
I love Zardoz! It did predict the Holographic Versatile Disc (after a fashion…)
rob!
@Nicole:
That movie scared the crap outta me when I was a little kid. I didn’t fully grasp the concept of movies and TV shows featuring “actors”, so I was like, “Why are these bad people trying to hurt Major Houlihan?!?”
YellowJournalism
There are no winners in the Leno/NBC vs Conan debacle, unless you count those of us who are enjoying the comedy gold flowing from Conan giving the comedic middle finger to NBC nightly until he’s gone. I guess Letterman has been a winner in this, too, because he’s also doing some great bits and is quite obviously enjoying Jay Leno and NBC making themselves out to be the bad guys.
I’m on Team Conan all the way, even though his Tonight Show is a toned-down version (until recently, that is) of his hilarious Late Show. And I know that he’s going out with a ton of money, but he’s also losing what really seemed to be the man’s ultimate dream: being in the same hosting position that the great Johnny Carson was once in. There was an entire chapter dedicated to Conan in a Simpsons’ biography that I recently read, and it seemed like he moved to late-night just for that chance to get close to hosting The Tonight Show; it wasn’t about money.
A lot of people argue that Leno is the victim here because he never seemed to want to retire in the first place when NBC offered the Tonight Show spot to Conan to keep Conan in the Late Show seat. However, that doesn’t mean Leno isn’t being a total WATB ever since his 10 pm show started tanking.
And I typed this all with one hand, BTW. Gotta multi-task while feeding the baby.
tesslibrarian
I mentioned this in an earlier thread, but Ultram (generic: Tramadol) might be a better pain killer if the percocet is really causing a problem. It’ll make you feel a little goofy, but it also makes you feel a little looser and relaxed as well blocking pain receptors–and w/o entirely zapping your brain to mush. The pills typically last 6-8 hours, too.
Tramadol pretty much the only prescription pain med I can stand; I did my entire torn calf muscle injury (1 1/2 inch gap between muscle and bone! disgusting!) with advil, since “looser” wasn’t really great for trying to walk to the bathroom.
Comrade Mary
Let me join in the Craig Ferguson love. Smart, funny and apparently a decent human being. I still remember how impressed I was by his monologues about his dad and about Britney Spears and his own alcoholism.
Nicole
@rob!: The movie scared me, too! I remember watching it with my dad on TV when I was maybe 5 or 6 (my family has a genetic predisposition towards adoring horror movies and no comprehension of what age is appropriate for kids to be watching them) and, while I never learned the name of the film, it stuck with me so that twenty-five years later, I was channel surfing, up came a scene of a bunch of people in a Winnebago, and I knew exactly what movie it was.
Hmm… that’s probably why I love it. I associate it with childhood. Same case with The Blob. Steve McQueen one, not the 1970’s one.
YellowJournalism
@Comrade Mary: I’ve actually seen some Ferguson stand-up. He’s very good. He’s also great to watch in interviews. I’ve been thinking of reading his autobiography. These good reviews are pushing me toward it over some others I was looking at.
Notorious P.A.T.
Man, Conan O’Brien is raking NBC over the coals.
L. Ron Obama
@Tx Expat:
Tiger already had hot corners for Expose, screen saver, etc.
You must have had them all disabled.
Comrade Mary
@YellowJournalism: I just put a copy of his memoirs on hold at my library. His novel was quite good, although a little wobbly at the end, but I’d rank him with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie as a performer who also writes decent fiction.
Oh, and he’s damn cute and has a killer accent. Win win win win win.
On edit: I’ll have to catch the Tonight Show on timeshift. Weird, I never really got into Conan, although I loved his writing for the Simpsons. I guess I’m getting old, because the self-consciously smart and awkward Conan doesn’t impress nearly as much as the sincere and witty Craig.
asiangrrlMN
@Tax Analyst: I feel better now. I missed all the strike-throughs as well.
@jacy: Aw, so sorry to hear about the loss of your daughter’s kitty. My deepest condolences to you and your family.
The animals are as cute as ever, and I also like Craig Ferguson. I think Leno fucking sucks, and Conan is meh to me.
I like Brussels Sprouts, and I don’t watch television.
I’m rooting for the Vikes, and I would plaster my house with Tunch-related gear if I could.
And, after reading this thread, I have a sudden hankering for mac-n-cheese.
@Comrade Mary: Ferguson is cute. I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks that. And, Hugh Laurie, too. Yum.
Tax Analyst
@ #186 Comrade Mary:
Mary, Conan’s really been good this week…well, at least the one night I caught him – he had Tom Brokaw on, some actor and Rosalynn Cash (I think). I can’t remember what was said (well, I do remember old Tom getting misty about the “NBC Family” and mentioning NBC all the time, and Conan repeating a line from earlier about Tom being “around 70 now” every time Brokaw mentioned NBC – OK, you had to see/hear to get it, but anyway -) but I was cracking up at a time of night when I usually can only muster tired half-grins.
I often catch bits and pieces of Ferguson because I wake up a lot during the night. If one of those times happens to be during his show I’ll tune him in. A lot of times I end up watching from that point until the end of his show.
Jean
@gbear: Excellent idea. I already copied the recipe.
YellowJournalism
@Notorious P.A.T.: I think the last episode will just be two hours of Conan and Andy mooning the camera as the rest of the crew in the background flip the bird.
Did you see the clip of Jimmy Kimmel on Leno’s show? Kimmel was just giving it to Leno, who looked uncomfortable like it was a stunt gone wrong. I think Leno was trying to look like he could be the good guy and take a joke about himself, but Kimmel was just pounding him with some really harsh responses at Leno and NBC’s expense.
Anyone see the move The Late Shift?
burnspbesq
@Lincolnshire Poacher:
Van Dyk’s, on Ackerman Ave. in Ridgewood, NJ
Western Digital
“If I Had a Rocket Launcher,” which I would like to dedicate to … nuh-uh, not sayin’ it. This is a no-politics thread.
MikeJ
@YellowJournalism: I hope they bring back the masturbating bear.
Sentient Puddle
This being an open thread, I also have to make the obligatory WoW call-out. Eitirigg (which I’ve long since given up on figuring out how to spell properly), horde side, we got a BJ start-up guild, Also Too.
Characters who can recruit you include Mazog (myself), Robotsoul, Bokeh, Qana, and Gratzyn.
burnspbesq
@mcd410x:
This. She doesn’t have the acting chops for it, and the last costume she looked right in was her Hounslow Harriers kit.
svensker
@burnspbesq:
How do you know that?!
asiangrrlMN
@burnspbesq: I am studiously ignoring this because the thought makes me want to hurl.
@burnspbesq: EW!
YellowJournalism
@MikeJ: Pimpbot, baby. It’s always been about Pimbot for me.
This is a pretty funny read, considering the current situation.
burnspbesq
@svensker:
I’m a Maroon, through and through. RHS class of 1973. I would kiss Rush Limbaugh on the mouth if that’s what it took to get two scoops of Van Dyk’s canteloupe ice cream.
svensker
@burnspbesq:
No shit! The DH is class of 74. Small world.
Tax Analyst
@ #198 burnspbesq said:
But wouldn’t that just absolutely pollute all of your taste buds forever & ever & ever for all-time?
UCK!
MikeJ
@YellowJournalism: I know we were supposed to leave politics out of the thread, but:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIkdAEcf9PY
Kobie
@YellowJournalism: The Late Shift was a pretty damn good movie. I really enjoyed it, and I thought Kathy Bates was stellar.
Steeplejack
@ihop:
Hey, you’re doing her a great service by being with her in her last days. Sack up and deal with it. There may even come a time when you miss her 4:00 a.m. cleanings on your head.
I had a cat once who used to sleep on the pillow above my head, gradually sliding down during the night until she was draped over my head with her head and tail hanging down on either side of my face, and I often woke up feeling like my vertebrae had been compressed. I’d do it all again if I could have her back.
Spork
WoW BJ guild is online. Join Horde Eitrigg “Also Too”. Talk to Mazog, Robotsoul, or Qana to get an invite.
gbear
@Jean:
Jean, you might want to revisit my comment…
Steeplejack
@VladCat:
You mean something like this? Takeout from Sardi’s or 21. Can’t remember which.
reality-based
@John Cole:
No, No – not Percocet. Ick. Useless, and hard on the stomach. What you want is Vicodin (hydrocodone) – also hard on the stomach, but really knocks back the pain. Or Talwin, if you can get it – that helps a LOT.
(Spoken as someone with a long history of orthopedic/smashed bones boo-boos. )
To re-iterate my threat from an earlier thread = do you have some one looking after you? Is your mom coming when they let you out after surgery, at which time you will need a lot of care?
Because JC, dear, if you don’t get some help and caretaking, I WILL organize a whole damn posse of Juicer broads, who will track you down and nurture you – by force, if necessary!
Steeplejack
@Nicole:
Man, you ain’t kiddin’. I saw Zardoz in the theater when it first came out, and apparently I had completely blocked out the memory of that image. Thanks for the PTSD nightmares I will be experiencing tonight. Ngrr!
General Winfield Stuck
@reality-based:
LOL
Steeplejack
@CynDee:
Just a bad joke, I think.
Tax Analyst
@ #38 ihop said:
a long time ago, waaaay back in the leaner times of the murky past, like around 1971 or 72 I was sharing a 1-room (+bathroom) apt with my older brother and, of course, his cat. Well, bro’ happened to have a girl over on this particular night and it’s late, lights out and I start hearing these loud slurping and sucking sounds from their direction. Well, I’m thinking, “Well, a guy’s gotta do what a guy’s gotta do…but I wish to hell they coulda found someplace else to do it in, ‘cuz I gotta work in about 5 hours”. I didn’t want to turn on the lights and break the mood, so I just lay there – slightly simmering…and then I hear bro’ and the girl start to giggle…a little restrained at first and then louder and less restrained, but the sucking and slurping continued onward uninterupted and apace – growing even louder and more intense by the second. Then lights come on – turns out the cat was cleaning herself while sitting on this formica table. She was sitting about a foot from the pillow bro’ and girl had their heads on. It was really pretty hysterical, especially when I said, “Jeezus, I was just about to ask you guys to try and be more discreet”.
And that, BJ friends, is your bedtime story for tonight. And everybody lived more-or-less sappily ever after. Sweet dreams.
Ah, Good Times…
reality-based
@Mnemosyne:
well, I’ve found I would toss up the Vicodin about half the time – until I started eating soda crackers before I took it. Also – weird to say, but true – Generic Hydrocodone was MUCH harder on my stomach than actual brand-label Vicodin – go figure –
After a foot surgery 15 years ago – before the whole country and medical establishment got just plain nuts about prescribing Opiates – they gave me Talwin – which actually killed the pain and did NOT make me sick. Of course, now they don’t dare prescribe it –
sigh – sometimes I wish I lived in a SANE country! (Is that apolitical enough?)
MattR
@burnspbesq:
@svensker:
Either of you still familiar with the area? I am looking to buy a small, relatively cheap house with a yard in that general area. Kinda thinking New Milford but looking for any suggestions.
Steeplejack
@moe99:
Condolences. My prayers are with you. I had no voice for about two weeks after a tracheotomy, and it was one of the most frustrating times of my life.
Dave Trowbridge
I’m late to the party, and someone may have already said this, but opiates work a lot better when you take them on a regular schedule. If you try to tough it out and only take them when the pain gets to be too much for you, you end up taking more and getting less good out of them.
Also, for most people there’s little chance of getting addicted if you’re using them to relieve severe pain. Opiates don’t work that way.
One more thing: for Lily’s sake, stop watching that stupid Dog Whisperer show. His training methods are a crock of shit. Yeah, you can train a dog based on
dominancebrutality, but such methods are based on a total misunderstanding of dog psychology, and the usual result is an unhappy dog.Instead, check out trainers like Victoria Stillwell and the like–I’ve worked my GSD with people who use methods like hers, and it went a long way to undoing the damage I did using dominance/force methods. And the training sticks better, too.
asiangrrlMN
@reality-based: I am right there with you. Cole, seriously, you better be having somebodies waiting on you hand and foot.
burnspbesq
@MattR:
Back in the day, I would have looked at Emerson or Westwood before New Milford, because the schools were better. My HS GF was from Cresskill, and that might work for you. Farther west, you could look at Waldwick or Midland Park. Or you might get lucky and grab a foreclosure in Glen Rock.
CaseyL
@reality-based: I asked the same thing and John says his friends and his mom are on site making sure he’s OK. It’s funny to contemplate all us gals showing up en masse on his doorstep though, isn’t it?
Tomorrow, after my regular volunteer shift at the Aquarium, I’ll be heading off to Alki Beach to help out with the Octopus Census. I’m not a diver, so I won’t be actually looking for and counting the critters; I’ll be staffing a table. I’m not very clear on what we’ll be doing at the table. I think, explaining what’s going on to anyone who wanders by and sees a bunch of people in dry suits and scuba gear. Should be fun.
Yutsano
@asiangrrlMN: I say we use the Cafe Press proceeds to hire him a nurse temporarily. At least until he’s back on his feet. Or if she’s cute and they fall massively in love, whatever.
Hi hon. I’m slightly moody right now.
MattR
@burnspbesq: Thanks for the advice. Not worried about the schools unless they can teach my dog a thing or two, but they are a decent indicator of what the neighborhood is like. A friend of mine from HS married a girl from Cresskill (I am from Rockland – and considering that area as well). [EDIT: I have been to her parents place in Cresskill a handful of times and there has not been once that I successfully made it back to the Palisades Parkway without getting very lost]
We’ll see if I get my act together and follow through with this whole moving thing. Between selling my condo, buying a house, packing, moving, etc it is kinda daunting. But working from home full time in a small 1 BR is driving me slowly insane.
Linkmeister
Way too late for anyone to answer, but why is there no readily-available RCA-to-USB adapter for turntable-to-laptop digitizing?
MattR
@Linkmeister: Not sure about the quality or price, and not exactly what you were asking for, but they do make USB turntables.
Kerry Reid
My sister is considering adopting a rat terrier from a shelter — this will make three terrier or terrier mixes in total for her, including a toy Manchester (we grew up with those — very smart dogs!) and a toy Manchester/chihuahua mix (adorable, but a handful). I hope I get to be another dog “auntie” soon! She looks very sweet in her picture.
Manchesters tend to live a long time. The one I had growing up made it to almost 17, and then my sister had one that almost got to 18. She lost a female Manchester a few years ago who had been dumped near a farm in Iowa — probably from a puppy mill, and she had been overbred and had kidney damage that shortened her life. Boo on puppy mills!
Anyway, a few years ago, I was watching an AKC show and the toy Manchester came out. The announcer said something like “These dogs have terrific longevity. They could outlast your kids!”
I knew what he MEANT to say was “get one of these as a puppy when your kids are toddlers and they could still be around when they go to college.” But it came out a little bit creepy.
Anyone know much about rat terriers?
Linkmeister
@MattR: Yeah, but I have a nearly brand new Audio Technica turntable. I don’t want to buy a different turntable so soon. I’m still sitting with a 35-year-old Pioneer PL-50 turntable that doesn’t work, too.
I’m looking around the room trying to figure out how I could make space for the turntable near this desktop. But that would mean crawling around behind the cabinets to unplug the turntable from the amp, and it’s a pain to think of that. Seems to me somebody ought to be selling a $25 adapter.
KDP
@SiubhanDuinne: Nope, not a smile in sight. I’m betting it was either the underexposure or the glasses.
Luckily, the passport doesn’t expire until August so I’ve got plenty of time. If I weren’t so busy with work/school, I’d take a digital and upload it myself since they let you do that now, but I just don’t want to deal with it. Senior project, I only have 1 and 3/4 quarters to my BA.
OriGuy
Kind of a “news of the weird” story from the BBC:
Yutsano
Anyone wanna lay bets on how long the Money Well Spent thread will last?
Blue Raven
@Doctor Science:
The mermaid-goddess is Mami Wata, the lwa of the ocean. As for the imagery, since voudoun is a merging of African and Christian religion so the former could be practiced under the face of the latter and thus escape persecution, the Madonna/child could easily be just as voudoun as Mami Wata. I had the privilege of attending a ceremony led by a voudouista friend of mine, and we started matters off by reciting prayers I remembered from my Roman Catholic upbringing with no wording changes at all.
Libertini
@Dave Trowbridge: I am beyond late to the party, but had to comment on your comments.
You are 100% right about taking painkillers on schedule; you have to stay ahead of the pain or the drugs are much less effective.
I also agree with you about Cesar’s dog training methods. Some of his rules and corrections might be necessary for very dominant dogs, but they are certainly inappropriate for the average shelter dog, and any dog who is passive in any way. Most puppies, if trained from birth, or a very early age never need the dominance/force methods to be trained into obedient and well-behaved dogs.
I do sometimes watch Cesar, though. My doggie Jake likes watching the other doggies for some reason.
@ everyone with Craig Ferguson lurve: Me too.
Libertini
OMG! I haz edit. In Firefox. Yay.
Platonicspoof
Over at the Molly Hightower blog’s last post, some clod just left this criticism of the poor dead girl and of altruism for Not-Americans:
“CS said…
Jesus Christ, what a shame.
What was Molly doing in that Haitian hellhole when she would have been better off back in her home country amongst her family and friends, maybe having a boyfriend or husband, getting married, and soon having some of her own kids?
The altruism of many Westerners will be our downfall. While we piddle around in Haiti, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and elsewhere our own nation are increasingly falling apart. Ever heard the phrase “Charity starts at home”? We need to start following that again.
Hasn’t anyone noticed the skyrocketing poverty rate amongst AMERICANS in the last few years?
Where are all of the activists to help your own people and fellow citizens instead of some strangers half a world away?
I am very sorry to the family of Molly and others who lost loved ones in the quake, but we need to rearrange our priorities if the USA is going to thrive in to the future.”
Another commenter quietly corrected him a little, but really, you can’t kneecap him even on the factual errors in the middle of their bereavement without making it worse. It’s like he’s got their grief as a human shield against a counterattack.
Viva BrisVegas
@Linkmeister: Not that it answers your question, but for someone setting up a turntable for recording to a PC I’d suggest getting a turntable that outputs S/PDIF. Far superior to USB.
You might want to have a look at the back of your Audio Technica to see if it has S/PDIF, if it’s newish it very well may.
Et Tu Brutus?
Svensker @#20: Oh to be sure, without doubt it is that Hamster woman- Sully and Caribou Barbie are merely the Yin/Yang of annoying, indeed, they veritably complete one another, perhaps even canceling one another out. Ah, but the Hamster, round and round the wheel of the intertubes she unceasingly runs, and an ungreased wheel it is, the rusty squeaking of the wheel enough to drive one insane, all FDLing it is…
asiangrrlMN
@Platonicspoof: Disgusting. Really. What a pathetic and empty soul he has (and I’m fairly sure it’s a he).
@Yutsano: Yeah, that’s an idea. I’m moody, too, so welcome to the club.
burnspbesq
@Linkmeister:
My solution to that problem is to not use the USB port as my way into the computer. I bring the signal in from my phonostage through the line in (microphone icon) port on my MacBook Pro. That port is a mini-plug (3.5 mm) and there are a host of good RCA to mini-plug cables out there. I do analog-to-digital conversion on the computer in software. I use Audacity, which is free and open-source, but is limited to a 96kHz sample rate and 24-bit word depth. Rumor has it that Sonic Studio, which makes the truly wonderful Amarra software for Macs, is working on a vinyl-ripping package that will output at 192/24, which will be a big step closer to preserving true analog sound in the digital domain.
The other alternative that has the ability to give you better-than-CD-quality audio files from your vinyl is to use an external hardware analog-to-digital converter. Just about every self-respecting pro audio company makes one of those, but they can get pricy. I would probably look first at the Benchmark, but I am biased because I love my Benchmark digital-to-analog converter/headphone amp combo.
Of course, as with anything having to do with vinyl, don’t skimp on your cartridge, because anything that goes wrong there can never be fixed.
HTH.
burnspbesq
@Viva BrisVegas:
“I’d suggest getting a turntable that outputs S/PDIF. Far superior to USB.”
S/PDIF superior? Not any more – at least not for DACs. Gordon Rankin has essentially solved all issues related to jitter in digital signals coming out of the USB port with his implementation of asynchronous USB transfer using the TI TAS 1020 USB receiver. Async is implemented across the entire Wavelength USB DAC product line, and Ayre licensed Rankin’s software for the new QB-9 DAC, which was named 2009 Product of the Year by Stereophile. The improvements afforded by async USB are not subtle at all. Read the white paper that is posted on Ayre’s website.
And all of the S/PDIF turntables out there are crap. If you are serious about getting quality hi-res vinyl rips, get a good turntable, a good cartridge, and a good phonostage (I have a Rega P3 with a Clearaudio Aurum Beta S cartridge and a Whest Two phonostage). Then, and only then, do you start to think about analog-to-digital conversion.
burnspbesq
Oh, and if there are any Tennessee football fans out there, how are you feeling about your program today? You hired a guy who was 17-20 in his last three seasons at LaTech, after Coach Cutcliffe turned you down to stay at Duke.
Bwahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Get ready for a generation of irrelevance.
debbie
@asiangrrlMN:
I like both! Ever roast your sprouts?
As for Leno, wasn’t the whole point of giving the show to Conan to get younger viewers and their dollars? I’m not sure how putting Leno back in that slot is going to accomplish anything.
I’ve always been partial to Letterman (and wish I could stay up late enough to watch Ferguson every night), but I would watch Leno when Letterman was a rerun. His monologue was fine, but he was a lousy interviewer, and his bits/skits were lame and derivative. This is why his 10:00 show was just as lousy. Conan seemed flat at 11:30, but I’ve read that he was getting a lot of “imput” from executives and not allowed to do his usual; that might be why the younger viewers slipped away.
Zucker should be fired, and Leno should grab whatever grace he can and bow out. His peers have come out against him in force, and I’m sure that’s as meaningful to him as his cars.
Svensker
@MattR:
We still live in the area. What do you consider relatively cheap? Do you need to live near a train line or commute to the City?
E-mail me at northwester3 at aol if you like.
mslarry
I’ve thought about this more than I’d like to admit… IMO everything is Jeff Zucker’s fault. Even Sarah Palin could have predicted the whole “move Jay L. to 10pm thing” would blow up in the network’s face.
I think Jay will stick around for 5 more years and maybe they’ll tap someone like Ray Ramono to take over.
Karen
Team Conan all the way. I won’t be watching Leno because I didn’t when he was doing the Tonight show. The last Conan Tonight Show is the 22 I think. I think Leno did exactly what he did with Letterman years ago that drove Letterman to CBS. I’ll still watch Jimmy Fallon if he’s there. That’s the one I never miss.
Kerry Reid
Here’s Ferguson’s monologue from a couple nights ago about Haiti, Conan, and Jay. Good stuff! He really is the best monologist in late night (I still think Stewart is the best interviewer of the bunch).
Kerry Reid
Sorry if that link violates the “no politics” rule for the thread. I just thought it was a good example of Ferguson’s style — he can make serious points but in a really warm and self-mocking way. His eulogy for his dad and his monologue about leaving Britney Spears alone (delivered without tears and mascara running down his face, but from the perspective of a recovering alcoholic) are also classics.
Steeplejack
@burnspbesq:
Direct quote from my rabid Vol fanatic friend this week: “Tennessee football is dead to me.” And that was after just the part about Kiffin leaving after one year to go to USC. Her head has probably exploded by now.
WolvesValley
@Linkmeister:
This is a somewhat late reply, but you might want to check this out for a turntable-to-USB connection (not very expensive, although it’s more than $25): a device called “Instant Music.” It’s available at this site:
http://www.usb-ware.com/ads-instant-music.htm and perhaps other places as well.
Amazon lists it, but doesn’t have it available right now. However, the customer reviews there might be useful: http://www.amazon.com/ADS-Tech-RDX-150-EF-Instant-Music/dp/B00065AO9Q
Hope this helps!
asiangrrlMN
@debbie: I love them roasted. I don’t cook, so I just buy ’em however my co-op makes ’em. Mmmmmm, Brussels Sprouts. YUM!
Feh on Leno. He makes me cringe.
Linkmeister
Thanks to all for the overnight comments about my USB adapter rant. I’ll look into your suggestions.
Phoebe
Thanks to whoever recommended Forbidden Kingdom. Saw it. Liked it a lot.