At long last, they have invented cloaking for blind people.
Metamaterial-based cloaks make objects different from their surrounding appear just like their surrounding…Here, inspired by invisible core-shell nanoparticles in optics, we design an approximate elasto-mechanical core-shell ‘unfeelability’ cloak based on pentamode metamaterials.
To summarize, that princess can finally get some fking sleep. Science kicks butt.
Chat about whatever.
***Update***
To summarize a bit longer, some guys made an elastic material that lets you hide things under it without anyone being able to feel that the thing is there. For example make a mattress out of it and the princess from that fable can sleep all night without ever feeling that pea. The key is metamaterials, a new fad among materials scientists that lets you make cloaking devices (sound, radar and light have been demonstrated so far) and maybe microscope lenses that can focus down to infinitely small magnifications.
‘Metamaterial’ just means a thing that is made up of lots of little things. Depending on how you shape those little things the larger material can have very strange effects, like bending a wave in a direction that waves are not supposed to bend. Apparently they can also let you rest on one of those anti-homeless spikes without feeling a thing.
People have gone a bit science crazy over metamaterials in particular because nobody quite knows yet what they can and can’t do. We already know about pretty cool stuff like cloaking, and enginnering/physics nerds keep coming up with new stuff like this ‘unfeelability’ thing which as far as I know was totally unexpected. It seems like its potential applications are only limited by our imagination and our ability to fabricate ordered arrays of very small things.
La Caterina
Could you explain that in English? Thanks.
Gin & Tonic
What is it with you f’ing scientists and your damn “approximate”?
raven
Here’s a guy with a TV on his head playing music on his laptop.
beth
I read what you wrote and I even read what you linked to and I’m embarrassed to admit I still don’t know what it means. Does the pea feel like the mattress or does the princess wear the cloak and everything feels the same to her? And what does it have to do with blind people?
someofparts
I’m with La Caterina. Don’t understand what you’re saying here.
kc
What?
Betty Cracker
My father-in-law passed away last night, and I’m worried about my husband. He’s a sentimental guy, and he loved his dad. But he’s acting like this is no big deal; he went to work today, even. From outward appearances, he seemed more traumatized by my mother’s death four months ago. I’m afraid he’s headed for a big crash, and I don’t know how to help him.
Punchy
That noise you just heard was CNN’s Director of Programming just having the Mother of All Orgasims….
someofparts
The TV head guy is wonderful. Love it that he brought plenty of fresh water for what looks like a beautiful healthy dog. I would be happy to drop a dollar or two into that hat he has out.
cleek
the appropriate video here is “You Can’t Touch This”.
would also accept Brak’s “Don’t Touch Me”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyUnSuYYs18
peach flavored shampoo
And just when they’ve mastered the pentamode metamaterials, the Chinese will master the hexamodes. Bastards.
@Betty Cracker: So sorry to hear about your FIL.
raven
@Betty Cracker: Just be there,
Face
@Betty Cracker: I think sometimes, during enormously emotional times, people seek routine and roteness to take their mind off the tragedy. Also, perhaps he doesn’t want to be home to see pics of his old man laying around the house. Work acts as a shield to those things.
beth
@Betty Cracker: So sorry for your loss. When my mom died I went back to her house, did laundry and cleaned. Just doing those rote things that required no thought helped me deal with what i was feeling. Just be there to support him whatever he needs to get through.
JPL
@Betty Cracker: I’m so sorry about you FIL and your hubby will deal with his grief in his own way, with you by his side.
SuperHrefna
@Betty Cracker: I’m so sorry, Betty. You’re right, it sounds like it hadn’t really sunk in yet and there is a crash to come. While he is at work prepare for the worst. Get supplies in, whatever foods he likes to eat when he’s upset, that kind of thing, tell the people in your life what is up, and then when he gets back from work, be prepared for him to crash, but follow his lead. Grief takes its own course, and if your husband’s is so big and scary to him that he’s pushed it away maybe that is what he needs to do just to survive today.
PurpleGirl
@raven: Bet the shop manager really likes having him sit, blocking the entrance. I wonder if he moves during the store’s open hours.
Hey, Mom, guess what I saw today — a man sitting with a laptop and TV on his head. Yeah, really, a TV on his head. Weird…
PurpleGirl
@Betty Cracker: So very sorry to hear that. The best thing right now is to listen to him, even when he isn’t talking (observe what he does closely). Is there a psych counselor or social worker you can talk to about what is happening. I don’t mean tell him to talk to the counselor — he may not want to — but someone who you can talk to and get help from for him.
ETA: I agree with the comments ahead of mine.
WereBear
@Betty Cracker: He’s probably still numb. It’s a terrible shock, and it puts you in a state of shock.
He needs hugs. Our reactions may vary, but I swear I was a hug sponge after my first husband died.
NotMax
Never be more than a niche market for jockey shorts.
raven
@PurpleGirl: Oh yea, that was Sunday and it was Athfest. That is one of the few remaining local businesses downtown outside of the bars. The owner has had mega-battles with the city over homelessness and other issues (like the place smells like a goddamn sewer because of the bars).
Emma
@Betty Cracker: I’m so sorry. It does sound like he’s still in that space where reality has receded a bit. When it returns it will be full blast. I agree with some of the other commenters. For the next few days make sure he eats and sleeps (not that it will be much but every little bit helps) and just be there for him.
NCSteve
@Betty Cracker: Betty, I am deeply sorry to hear that and what an awful year you’re having.
I can tell you from my own experience what may be going on. Right now, being the tower of strength for everyone else is his coping mechanism. It means he’d delaying the grief, not dealing with it. Sometime in the next year, there will be a setback or another traumatic event that will bring the repressed grief to a head, resulting in what will look a lot like an overreaction to a bad event those who don’t know what’s really going on. (The trauma of 9/11 had this effect on countless people.)
The important thing is to be there when it happens and make sure he understands that the reaction isn’t just to the immediate thing, but delayed grief. Just having that pointed out to you can help.
NotMax
@Betty Cracker
Cannot speak to your specific situation, but for some it really is no big thing. We acknowledge the occurrence of a death in the family and move on.
raven
When my mom died she left her townhouse in LA to my sister. My sister was so attached to the place that she lost about $200k by not selling it and waiting until the market crashed. People deal with stuff in their own way.
Roger Moore
@Face:
This. It’s a very typical masculine approach to dealing with loss. You don’t want to deal with it, so you focus on something else you can get deeply involved in to take your mind off it. It doesn’t solve your problems, but it lets you deal with them more slowly and on your own terms.
schrodinger's cat
@Betty Cracker: {{{Betty and Mister}}}
Eric U.
for good technical reasons, I’m sure it’s not quite perfect, so the princess would still be able to feel the pea
WereBear
Yes, I lost my dad last summer and then Mr WereBear lost his mother in the fall. We’re still dealing with both events, but there’s also closure and perspective. These things linger, no matter what.
Yatsuno
@Betty Cracker: Baruch Dayan Emet Betty. *hug*
And the only thing you can do is catch him when he falls. Goes under the for worse category, as you observed earlier.
My day at work is going to SUUUUUUUCK.
Belafon
@Betty Cracker: I suspect it will be like me after we dropped my son off at college: I didn’t feel sad or anything until I wanted to share a funny comment with him. Then it hit and it took a few days to get over.
All I can tell you is you’ll have to wait until it happens and then it will be too late. Some of us really suck like that.
YellowJournalism
@Betty Cracker: I can’t give any advice better than what’s already been said about being there and waiting for a possible big crash. Just wanted to let you know your in my thoughts today. You guys have had a rough go lately an deserve all the good feelings you can get.
Ash Can
@Betty Cracker: So sorry to hear that. I too am in the “just be there for him” camp. My own husband wasn’t at all demonstrative when his father passed, but he did well just having family and friends around. It also helped him a lot to have a bunch of us pitching in when it came time to clear out and sell his father’s house. Maybe your husband is similar — if everyone stays attentive and thus keeps tacitly reminding him that they’re there and ready to help, that could be a big help to him. Everyone grieves in their own way, though, so this is just a guess.
currants
@Betty Cracker: I’m so sorry. Also sorry I don’t have any ideas, except to just be present when he’s there, as no doubt everyone else has already suggested (it’s a good place for ideas, this).
piratedan
@Face: ty for that, everyone deals with loss in their own way, some people break down into cathartic crying jags, others develop 100 mile stares into nothingness lost in reverie or sadness. Have been told by many “professionals” there’s no one way to grieve, some folks pre-emptively get their emotional house in order and others slog along for years before having their reconciliation with the loss. As has been mentioned before, just be there… sometimes the greatest comfort is the recognition on what/who you still have in your life.
Gin & Tonic
@Betty Cracker: My condolences and your and his losses. Mine was long ago, so I can’t contribute much, but it sounds like a pretty common guy-type reaction. Don’t make it look like you’re trying too hard to be “supportive.”
D58826
@Face: Beat me to it. When my wife died I went to work the next day. It filled the time, it was part of the routine. Staying home and looking at the walls wasn’t going to change anything.
Paul in KY
@Betty Cracker: Very sorry to hear that, Betty. Just love him & be there for him. Bout all you can do.
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker: I find myself wondering whether your hubby might be trying to protect you, because you just lost your mom. For today while he’s at work, take care of yourself, because surely this brings the loss of your mom front and center for you, and I know you loved your FIL, too.
When hubby is around, just be there to catch him when he falls, or when he falls apart.
I took a week off when my mom died, and when I went back to work I did fine while I was there, but the minute I got to my car to go to lunch or come home after work, I would almost instantly burst into tears when I got in the car. Work kept the reality of the loss at bay, but damn if it didn’t break out the instant I was in the car.
Sending you all big hugs.
SiubhanDuinne
@Betty Cracker:
I can’t add anything to the good advice that’s already been shared. I’m so sorry. {{{{{BIG HUGS}}}}} to you and Mr. Cracker.*
*Also to your daughter. She’s dealing with being a teenager and she’s now had two of her grandparents die within a few months of each other. Must be very tough on her.
Botsplainer
@Betty Cracker:
Speaking just for me, when we lose important men in our lives, we tend to process it a little remotely. We remain stoic, and figure the deceased wanted us to take care of business.
Elizabelle
@Betty Cracker:
Condolences. So many deaths (of parents, yet) in such a short period of time. Wow.
Just be there for each other.
In each case, there was time to acclimate to the parent’s passing — none was a sudden death. Which makes the loss no less acute, but you’ve got a little psychological preparing done. And no real regrets about not being there, or they didn’t know how much you loved them.
I guess one just has to muddle through and wait on Dr. Time.
Gin & Tonic
Since this thread seems like it could use a little levity, here, for the kind of people who see images of Jesus in burnt toast, is the appearance of a striking likeness of Vladimir Putin on the back of a random passenger in the Kiev metro.
Gin & Tonic
Huh. Trying to figure out why a post with seemingly no bad words and only one URL was moderated.
Botsplainer
OT – at home, convalescing wife after her surgery. She’s pretty tender – needs help getting up, is worried about path report, worried about hormone replacement, worried about her remaining ovary.
The bad part of tending to her is Bravo TV, her choice of convalescent material. I want to gouge out my eyes with a fork and ice pick my eardrums (either that, or murder Andy Cohen after torturing him for an extended period on a nationally broadcast program, as a warning to other cable execs). Everybody knows that convalescent TV is Shawshank, the Godfather and Goodfellas, repeatedly looped until wellness arrives.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@Betty Cracker: You’re both in my thoughts. You’ve gotten good advice already.
WereBear
@Botsplainer: Could be worse. Could be Lifetime.
My best to her. I know what she’s going through. Hopefully she has a good outcome, too!
PurpleGirl
@Botsplainer: Personally, I like kitten cams to relax with. (Although even there sometimes you get caught by reality — a tiny 5/7 week old kitten at one of the cams I follow passed early this morning.) And when I was recovering from my back surgery in 1993, without as many cable channels as now, I found Renegade, Highlander and The Silk Road to be great to watch.
Tommy
Has anybody here used the Adobe Creative Cloud apps? The reviews on it are all over the place I can tell what the heck is going on.
Gin & Tonic
@Botsplainer: Doesn’t Bravo still show Law & Order: Criminal Intent? That got to be my favorite of the L&O’s.
My last surgical convalescence was a long time ago, and for entertainment I had Gulf War I — way back in the distant mists when CNN did actual news.
Amir Khalid
Keeping you and your family in my thoughts, Betty. There’s no one way to grieve, and no one way to get through it. Just take whatever emotional support comes your way.
Now, about the cloak of insensibility: if I read the abstract right (I’m not paying for the full paper) it works by deceiving your sense of touch, by cancelling out what you would feel if you put your hand on it so that you can’t sense what’s underneath. Interesting. Probably not useful for concealing stuff because you can still see the cloak itself. But I could totally see someone using it to get a good night’s sleep on a bumpy surface.
Gin & Tonic
@Gin & Tonic: Well, looks like it became unmoderated.
karen marie
This material would be perfect for socks! You would never feel that rock in your shoe!
Betty Cracker
Thanks all, good advice and insights as usual.
Gin & Tonic: Sprung ya. I don’t even try to comprehend the machinations of WP…that way lies madness.
@WereBear: Hear, hear. Could also be a poker tournament channel. I have a relative who likes to watch that, and I have chosen to stare at a stain on the carpet because it’s more interesting.
catclub
@Botsplainer:
I think Norman Cousins would laugh at your proposed convalescence TV schedule.
Tommy
@Betty Cracker: I do WordPress development for a living and have for years and years. I like to think I am an expert and just about every day I learn something new. Throw in plugins and it is an endless learning cycle.
YellowJournalism
An update from the War in Drugs:
A SWAT Team Blew a Hole in My Son
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Betty Cracker:
Condolences, kid. If I was there I’d hug the both of you. The day after my mom died I went to work. When I got off work, I went home and drank a bottle of Maker’s Mark. Six months later my dad passed away. Same routine. I found that I felt very private about my grief, I didn’t want to talk about it because I was not capable of sharing the immensity of my feelings. You are there for your husband and that means worlds.
Botsplainer
@catclub:
Well, the comedy alternate would be Galaxy Quest, Caddyshack, Slapshot, The Dictator…
Suzanne
@Betty Cracker: Hugs to you and your family.
PurpleGirl
@Gin & Tonic: I don’t think so, I usually pass by anything on Bravo. But L&O: Criminal Intent is on several other channels at different times and on different days. I never remember any more when and where and I have to look at a TV schedule.
Tommy
@YellowJournalism: I saw that. Since 9/11 I’ve watched my police force, and I live in a small rural town, turn into almost a paramilitary force.
WereBear
@Tommy: I need a WordPress expert. Reach out to me sometime? My website is WayofCats.com.
In other news, I’ve gotten some new ads to help support the bandwidth costs and such. I had no idea being highly popular worldwide would be both so expensive and so non-lucrative. I must turn that around, somehow.
So if you need cat food, a Litter Robot, or stylish medical ID, think of me!
PurpleGirl
@PurpleGirl: FYWP — wouldn’t let me edit my comment.
So:
ETA: Bravo features “The Real Housewives of…” series, Tabitha Takes Over (hair salon fixes), The Kardashians, stuff like that these days. Not really cultural stuff, like A&E doesn’t do good culture any more. (If you want that you need to watch Ovation channel.)
Elizabelle
Rebekah Brooks acquitted in the UK phone tapping scandal; Andy Coulson (her employee and former lover) takes the fall.
Disappointed she was not convicted as well. Haven’t been following the trial: anyone know why the jury decided as they did?
First thought: another FoxWorld employee with a permanent grudge now.
At least she and her husband (or Rupert Murdoch?) spent heavily on their defense.
kindness
So the question is can we get enough material to completely cover the Teahaddists out there and can we make them stay under it? I think we can. Just tell them we’re coming for their guns and hey, look where you can hide!
beth
@YellowJournalism: Wow, that is a horrible story. I hate to think of the casualties had the family been gun nuts sleeping with a nearby arsenal.
Elizabelle
@raven:
Well, we needed that, did we not?
Pup looks happy and hydrated.
Tommy
@WereBear: I see some flat out terrible sites. I wouldn’t put you in that list. My experience is most people want to use free themes that often don’t have documentation or support. Going with a paid theme will save you a ton of time in the long run. Theme Forest is a good place to start.
WereBear
@Elizabelle: I am disappointed but it’s more than this country has done to rein in the creepy megalomaniac.
PurpleGirl
@Botsplainer: Now those are movies I think Norman Cousins would approve of. Did you read his book about dealing with illness? I have it on my book shelf and read it long ago. (Maybe I should re-read it.)
Higgs Boson's Mate
@YellowJournalism:
Here’s hoping that family sues the P.D. and wins a crippling amount of money. Equipping police with war toys and training them how to operate them is easy. Training them as to when their use is appropriate is usually overlooked.
Tommy
@WereBear: Oh I just have to ask. How much are you paying for hosting?
WereBear
@Tommy: You are so right. I am currently using Weaver II Pro for its customization and those nice popups in the website itself.
I’m just bumping my head on my own limitations as the site has grown beyond my wildest dreams.
I know sometime soon I must revamp the site from its current 3 WP installations to one, get some optimization continuing beyond my own cacheing & crunching, and just put a professional organization on it. My HTML coding days are in the past, I’m too busy keeping up with content.
I would love to throw my business to a fellow Juicer so if you are interested please use my contact form and touch base?
WereBear
@Tommy: I’d be glad to tell you, email me at forthecats AT wayofcats DOT com.
Tommy
@WereBear: Just sent you an email.
Ronzoni Rigatoni
What’s new about these metamaterials? Wizards have used these cloaks of invisibility (aka “veils”) forever, according to Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files).
I know about grief close up having lost both my grandmother and father within a month of each other some many years ago. As somebody pointed out above, Betty, Dr. Time is the real answer, but it always seems to take awhile.
catclub
@kindness:
Quartz article mentioned that long gun sales are down. The reason: less paranoia that Obama is coming for your guns.
SatanicPanic
So this year I thought- maybe this is the year I will take an interest in the World Cup. Nope, still not interested.
catclub
@kindness: Obligatory Bugblatter Beast of Traal reference.
Tommy
@WereBear: Not a fan of that contact form you are using :). Outside of buying a good theme you should invest a few bucks and get Gravity Forms. Best $39 dollars you’ll spend.
El Cid
Although metamaterials are most often discussed in media in terms of cloaking, maybe what should be emphasized is the new ability to create patterned materials which can direct different forms of energies in ways we couldn’t before.
For example, a compact lens to focus radio waves.
big ole hound
@Betty Cracker: I realized I had been in mourning for a couple of weeks before my dad’s death as we all knew it was coming. Unfortunately that was interpreted as not mourning by some others. His grieving process may already be a couple of weeks old as far as he is concerned. I handle things in a different way and maybe he does too.
Roxy
Betty, I am sorry to hear about the loss of your FIL. Everyone grieves in different ways and at different times. Also men and women grieve differently. As others have said, be there for him. He will appreciate all the support you will give him.
Roxy
So another Star Trek science item has now become real. We are living in interesting and exciting times
chopper
@Face:
this. often the more stoic types will try to just go back to work and try to slowly process it. it often doesn’t work well.
betty, best is just to be there when it hits him.
Roger Moore
@beth:
Not necessarily as high as you’d think. The tactics the police were using in this case were designed specifically to deal with people who are paranoid and armed to the teeth, since many drug dealers fit that description. That’s the whole point of the late night timing and the military tactics; they’re trying to bring overwhelming force so quickly their target doesn’t have a chance to respond. The huge fuckups happen when the police get bad information and raid the wrong house or go after the perpetrator’s innocent friends and relatives. The police aren’t spending nearly enough time making sure that they’re going after the right people.
Botsplainer
@catclub:
When you’ve built your business model around inspiring paranoia among old guys and lower middle class mullets to buy multiple guns, market saturation and divorce if “a single new gun finds its way into this house/trailer” become a real problem.
Botsplainer
Jeff Flake’s son. Ugh.
http://gawker.com/senators-son-was-in-charge-when-20-dogs-cooked-to-death-1595288821?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_facebook&utm_source=gawker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow
Botsplainer
As it turns out, Flake and Arpaio aren’t friendly. I’m sure that Shurff Joe will run a really fair investigation.
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2014/06/joe_arpaio_not_buying_account_from_jeff_flake_son_and_daughter-in-law_of_how_20_dogs_died.php
Tommy
@Botsplainer: Wow. That is horrifying.
Betty Cracker
@Botsplainer: Jesus H. Christ. Also, who in the sweet name of fuck travels from Arizona to vacation in Florida in the summer?
Betty Cracker
@Botsplainer: Here’s hoping Shurff Joe’s evil methods are implemented on a deserving recipient; may Flake the Younger be breaking rocks in pink undies by sunup!
Botsplainer
I always worry about stuff like this when I board. It’s irrational, I know. Our vet is a great guy, the staff super responsible, but my fur baby is my fur baby, and family, so I worry.
Mnemosyne
@Betty Cracker:
As others have said, he may feel like he needs to get through it and be strong for everyone else right now — in my experience, let him keep up the facade in public but make it clear he can vent to you in private if he needs to. Also, I told G that I refused to fight with him no matter how snappish he got — that seemed to help, too, because it let him vent his feelings of helplessness and frustration without me taking offense.
It may also just be a very practical thing of feeling like he needs to wrap a few things up at work before taking days off for the funeral etc. My late father-in-law’s final illness happened right before a huge inventory that only G was able to supervise, so G had to put everything out of his mind and work on that before he could fly home. That really, really sucked.
SatanicPanic
@Betty Cracker: Someone who really likes experiencing different kinds of air-conditioning?
LanceThruster
@Betty Cracker:
I have a similar response personally with losses such as this incurred close together. It takes time for the emotional impact to set in. For me, it wasn’t so much of a crash as it was a case of allowing the dust to settle so to speak. One can be both stoic and philosophical about a loss, as well as conflicted about the transition.
Mnemosyne
@Botsplainer:
The snowbirds in Maricopa County are happy to have humans punished in the hot sun because they “deserve” it. Dogs, not so much. This is probably going to be a much bigger scandal than anything Sheriff Joe ever did.
WereBear
@Tommy: Thanks, I’ll check it out. Replied to your email.
The whole site is leveraged “get what you pay for” but we did start it on a shoestring — frayed and with a knot on the end.
WereBear
@Roxy: We liberals think so, anyway. Those cranky wingnuts think otherwise!
CONGRATULATIONS!
@Tommy: I have them. Actually installing and using them is quite difficult.
I think I can summarize my experience with them as follows: an unending slog through tech support and utter rage, with no end or solutions in sight.
PurpleGirl
@Botsplainer: How horrible. Even if the dogs chewed through that cable, from the picture it doesn’t look protected and the surrounding area looks filthy. I wouldn’t board my pet dog in a place that looked like that.
When my friends in Peekskill needed help minding the animals and the house, I went to live there. But then they had the Doberman pinscher, 3 (then 4) retired racing grayhounds, a cat, 3 ferrets, 2 parrots, and ever-changing number or gerbils. It was easier to pay my transit to the City for work and my food because you can’t board parrots easily. Dogs and cats are one thing, parrots are much harder to find a vet and boarding for.
Botsplainer
@PurpleGirl:
Looked scruffy to me, too. Pet boarding kennels around here are pretty nice, but things tend to be regulated here in the People’s Democratic Republic of Louisville, so socialism.
Tommy
@CONGRATULATIONS!: That was kind of what I assumed. I just dislike the concept of paying for something I don’t use. I might only need InDesign every couple months. Same with Illustrator. But I use Photoshop daily. All day. But when I need InDesign or Illustrator I really need it. So do I buy the entire package and not use the programs? Just Photoshop. I don’t know.
CONGRATULATIONS!
@Tommy: Well, you won’t be able to use anything, so you will probably dislike it a lot.
Like you, I use Photoshop a lot. I just went back to using the last version I had.
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Tommy:
If you don’t need new versions of InDesign and Illustrator you can download the CS2 versions of them at Adobe’s website. Adobe turned off the activation servers for the entire CS2 suite some time ago and they put the whole thing, as well as the individual applications, on their site. They even included serials.
Tommy
@Higgs Boson’s Mate: How did I not know that. I spent like four hours researching the Cloud apps and not a single article mentioned that.
Paul in KY
@Botsplainer: I will be up there for Sat/Sun at Forecastle. Really looking forward to it.
Botsplainer
@Paul in KY:
I can’t go to Forecastle this year. Last year’s experience can’t be duplicated; I’d just be disappointed.
Basically, I’d found an all-access crew pass on the ground outside Joe’s Crab Shack the night before the festival started. My kids hated me for it – I had a blast (but was the worst employee on the site – I was useless, laid no cable, carried nothing, assisted with nothing)….
Tommy
@Botsplainer: Now I will just say this. I love my cat. I would do almost anything for her. Who leaves their pet in a place like that?
Higgs Boson's Mate
@Tommy:
There was a bit of a stir when Adobe put the files up then nothing. I only found out about it because I use PS for texturing my 3D models and therefore $$$$. Someone else in the biz told me about it and I took advantage of a free upgrade. PS7 is actually adequate for my needs, CS2 is heaven. I started with PS3 and, for me, becoming reasonably capable with one version is better than trying to learn all of the bells and whistles of the latest and greatest.
Higgs Boson's Mate
Mister Charles P. Pierce knocks it out of the park again:
Mississippi, Goddamn: The Goddamnerung
skerry
@Betty Cracker: I am so sorry for your loss.
kc
@Betty Cracker:
Oh, Betty, so sorry.
WereBear
@Tommy: I’m sure it looked superficially reassuring
In a place like Arizona, the neglect involved in not monitoring the temperature, is sue-worthy.
Tommy
@Higgs Boson’s Mate: When I did my research that is what I heard. Nobody, or not many people were buying the upgrades. That for many users (myself included) a version or two back was enough. So they went with the monthly model.
Paul in KY
@Botsplainer: You lucky bastard! Last year’s lineup was great! I was up at Bunbury that weekend. Had bought the pass before the Forecastle lineup came out (because I’m a dumbass). This year, Bunbury has a better lineup, IMO.
Come on! You owe them one.
WaterGirl
@YellowJournalism: That is beyond fucked up.
Tommy
@WereBear: I live in southern IL, but close to MO. My broadcast media comes out of there. A few years ago, and I didn’t know this, but MO is like the puppy mill of the country. The Republican House couldn’t even pass a bill that says you have to feed, provide water, and be able to turn around in a cage.
It makes me think there are a minority of people that don’t care for their pet the way I do. I mean who would buy a dog from a puppy mill.
WaterGirl
@Higgs Boson’s Mate: @YellowJournalism:
WereBear
Exactly. In a deeper irony, it is the Amish who are the backbone of the MidWestern puppy mill industry.
Higgs Boson's Mate
@WaterGirl:
That will never happen. The militarization of the police appeals to the profound insecurities of much of the populace. When someone like that family winds up on the wrong end of police militarization they’re seen as collateral damage in the War Against Whatever We’re Perpetually at War Against.
ETA: The only thing keeping the police from using Hellfire missile equipped drones on suspected drug houses is the prohibitive cost of the equipment.
Tommy
@WereBear: I only found out about MO and puppy mills cause my brother got a Labradoodle from a breeder. His wife and daughter have allergies. They started to research good breeders and they were stunned by what they found. As a local paper said we treat the pigs and chickens we eat better then the dogs we bring into our house to live with us.
PurpleGirl
@Higgs Boson’s Mate: That’s nice to know. I sometimes need one of the Adobe programs but not often enough to buy the latest integrated package. I’ll have pass by their web site and look into what I could use.
Roger Moore
@Tommy:
People who are too poor to afford a first-class kennel. About 99% of the time when you ask a question about who is giving their money to cut-rate, low quality places, the answer is people who can’t afford better. They aren’t doing it because they don’t care, they’re doing it because it’s the best they can do.
Mnemosyne
@WereBear:
That kind of makes sense, though. I could see why people who pride themselves on keeping archaic views would still view dogs as another form of livestock, not much different than a chicken or a pig.
Tommy
@PurpleGirl: That tip might have saved me almost $700. I was on eBay yesterday with my mouse hovered over the Buy Now button for an unopened Adobe Creative Suite. Look I am all in with the cloud thing. I am writing this comment on a Chromebook. I don’t even see how a program as complex as Photoshop works in this environment.
Tommy
@Roger Moore: Yes I agree. I don’t have a dog cause I work for myself. Set my own schedule. Often just pick up and leave for a few days. My cat can get by for a few days on her own. I realize a dog is more of a responsibility and well ….. that I won’t take on.
Roger Moore
@Tommy:
People who are fixated on a specific breed and want to get a puppy rather than a rescue. I assume this is the reason you hear a lot more about puppy mills than about kitten mills; cat people as a group are much less breed conscious than dog people. I’d also bet that in many cases they buyer is an intermediary like a pet store that acts to hide the origin of the puppies from the final buyer.
Mnemosyne
@Roger Moore:
I have a little bit of sympathy for the kennel owners (though they certainly needed to do a better job with cleaning and safety). They thought they had left their business in the hands of a responsible person, and came home to find themselves totally ruined. There’s no way they’re going to be able to re-open even if the state somehow lets them, and they probably aren’t going to be able to sue because Flake’s daddy will be able to hire much more expensive lawyers than they can. So they’re pretty much screwed because they trusted a Republican.
Trollhattan
@Betty Cracker:
So very sorry Betty C. My best wishes to Mr. C–he’s in for a rough sled (and you, with no snow whatsoever). Just be there is all I can say. This is a lot of blows in a very short time for you all.
Paul in KY
@Tommy: One could say that if you buy the dog from the puppy mill, that you are rescuing that animal. Problem is, that money helps perpetuate the practice.
Omnes Omnibus (the first of his name)
My condolences, BC.
Trollhattan
@Tommy:
Pretty sure I’m stalled at CS6, because I abhor the very thought of “buying” my software monthly, and buying, and buying, and buying it forever. At least for the moment they still sell Lightroom, but for how many more iterations? LR doesn’t do layers, though, so it’s still PS for any heavy lifting beyond mere image processing.
InDesign and Illustrator only improve incrementally, so there are fewer reasons to upgrade them than there are with PS. It gets stuck in time WRT camera RAW codecs upon each upgrade. The workaround is using the (still free) DNG converter for images taken with newer-generation cameras. Once converted to DNG, you can use any camera’s image in any version of PS as a RAW file.
Not a cloud guy, and hope to stay that way.
WereBear
@Mnemosyne: Unfortunately, that is exactly how they view them.
Mind you, despite the rose-colored glasses the Amish are viewed through in America, they have a terrible record with child abuse. Children have been beaten to death, and vanished, for decades… until recently.
If one digs. Which most do not.
StringOnAStick
Betty, I’m so sorry about your husband’s dad. Your hubby sounds like a real mensch, and folks who do so much for others in need often have a hard time asking for help when they need it. This is where your gender-based intuition is going to come in handy; let love do the rest.