Off topic question John: Do you ever wonder why you’re frequently sick?
I do. As I rarely get sick. So is it genetic, environmental, behavioral?
Genuinely curious.
4.
raven
Chieu Hoi papasan.
5.
Brendan in Charlotte
I am Schultz!!! I see no-thing!!! I know no-thing!!!
6.
AdamK
I find that paper napkins and such sometimes exit the wastebasket and shred themselves on the floor. I’ve asked the dogs about it, but neither of them ever sees anything.
7.
Technocrat
“I’m…not seeing any peel, John. Sorry.”
8.
JPL
@redshirt: When my sons were younger, I used to make sure that all their toys were clean. I was doing a disservice because they did pick up colds and other viruses quicker than others. You have to learn to adapt to the environment you have, not the one you wish you had. imo
John, no offense but that wasn’t Thurston’s fault. How in the world could a dog find an avocado peel.. just sayin
Outside of a preschool, universities are the major source of viruses around here.
When I worked in Kendall Square (next to MIT) I got sick about 4 times as often as when I worked on 128.
10.
Germy
Many decades ago we had a cat (who looked a lot like Tunch, but with some spots). Late one xmas night, I woke up after hearing a … disturbance in the living room. I went to investigate and found our xmas tree knocked over, ornaments everywhere.
I saw the cat on the farthest side of the room, with his back to the tree. There was some tinsel on his back. When I approached him he looked up at me, as if to say “what? What’s going on, I was asleep the whole time.”
11.
Felonius Monk
Thurston, I’m sure, will be casting his ballot for Baud. He will also be the main barker at the Howl for Baud rally.
12.
MomSense
It’s hard to be upset when they are so cute. He’s a little peanut of a pup but I bet he holds his own just fine with the rest of the menagerie.
@FlyingToaster: As he won’t read this thread, that’s probably the best answer I’ll get.
But still, even among peers, there’s probably a marked difference between people getting colds and the flu. Is it genetic/biological or behavioral?
14.
jl
And how does Cole know that the avocado peel was not something he lost himself and forgot about?
Or maybe didn’t even notice he lost it (I think I have enough in common with Cole-style motor skills to understand how that could easily happen).
Hmmmm….. ?
Thurston: innocent. Obviously.
Edit: If it were Thurston, would he not have smeared green avocado goop all over something that could not be cleaned? Hmmm…. ? More evidence that poorThurston is wrongly and unjustly accused abused, reviled and rejected.
I refudiate Cole’s smear.
15.
JPL
@redshirt: There may be some genetic involvement, but in my opinion, which means nothing, it’s your surroundings.
I started getting strep with a high fever. I had my son’s tonsils removed and not only did I not get strep anymore, a friend didn’t.
16.
Isobel
He is adorable! “It wasn’t me, I was set up by the cat!”
John, how do you discipline/what is your discipline philosophy for raising dogs? Anybody else care to share theirs?
I ask because a collegue of mine always flips his dog onto its back when it is naughty. I’ve never seen the like. The dog obeys, but every time you go near it, the dog flips onto its back if it even thinks you might be displeased. It also seems oddly cowed.
Behavorial. Being retired and not having the flu for 10 years seems to indicate that working or socializing with a number of younger people is a sure predictor of sickness as they cough, touch, and just exist in our space after using public areas and if they have kids, it’s allover.
21.
Ripley
Man, that photo – I had to look closely to distinguish the avocado from the pup. At first glance it looked like a deleted scene from The Thing.
22.
raven
AND WE CAN REPORT. . .too early to call!
23.
Aleta
When the dog here does his “calming behavior” on a house primate, it makes me think of a superstitious ritual the little folk must do, to deactivate the local giant who’s on the verge of running amok.
24.
Gravenstone
Friend of mine just got a Great Pyrenees. Today she shared a video of the girl being so eager to see here when she got home that she stuck her head out an open barn window, and destroyed the adjacent frame and pane.So Thurston can always be worse, count yourself lucky.
25.
geg6
It’s just crazy how much alike he and Lovey are, personality wise. So bad but so cute. Koda never, ever, ever gets into anything. Lovey, however, is a complete menace and you never know when she’ll get into and/or rip something apart. I usually read while watching tv and just leave the book on the end table when I go to bed. It stays there until I sit down to relax the next evening. I do this every day. But suddenly, one day for no apparent reason, Lovey decides to jump up on the table, grab the book and rip it to shreds while I’m at work. She did the same shit with my glasses. Twice. She does it with anything at any time, for no reason and after ignoring said item for days, weeks or months. I don’t know what to do about it because it’s impossible to predict what will be next or when. And I can’t have everything we own up high enough that she can’t get to it. She’s a major jumper.
Yep, even those of is without kids catch stuff from our coworkers who keep those adorable little germ factories in their homes.
I know St. Patrick’s Day is on Thursday, but I’m just not feelin’ it. I’m not even enthusiastic enough to get corned beef and cabbage takeout that day.
@Big Ol Hound: I agree that your environment plays a huge part. But consider three people in the same environment – nurses, lets say. Will they all get equally sick or will it vary by person?
33.
cckids
@Shell: Isn’t Thurston a little . . .height challenged to reach into the garbage?
@Isobel: That’s called the Alpha Roll; the monks of New Skete used to do it. They quit when they figured out it just bewilders the dog, or makes him think it’s fun time, and took it out of subsequent editions of their book. Probably wise as they raise German shepherds, and pulling that stupid trick on a large dog always seemed to me like a good way to lose your face.
My philosophy of dog training is, there are a zillion ways the dog can go wrong following the command, only one way he can do it right (unless he’s a guide or sheep dog who has to think for himself). So things go a lot quicker if you can set things up so the only thing he can do is the right thing. I feel physical discipline should be reserved for acts of lese majeste.
36.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
MSNBC says exit polls show Clinton and Sanders tied with whites and Clinton winning blacks 3 to 1.
@Pogonip: I train the dogs I have by living with them. Works pretty good although I have to say the Bohdi has gotten awfully clingy. If we leave him he finds something to express his displeasure. A hazard of having worked at home all his 11 years.
I did like the Monks approach to many things. The crate training was great and (long story) the way we caught Raven’s cancer while we crated Bohdi.
Wow. 13% already seems incredibly fast for a state that size.
42.
Isobel
@redshirt: As a nurse, it varies person to person, but hand washing and environment play a huge role. Whenever you change hospitals or locations, you tend to get sicker than a dog for the first year until your body adjusts.
It will vary. Every winter we go to Christmas parties. Because we have no kids, my wife and I both end up sick about 72 hours later. Always. Of course, I get a sniffle and the wife gets pneumonia. So I have that going for me. See previous comment about the DC Metro.
49.
Sad_Dem
@LAO: My cat is really good at exercising his Fifth Amendment right to silence.
50.
Anyone but Trump
In analyzing the photo, it appears the young pup was trying to save you from your self John. Imagine that the peel went NEXT to the garbage bin and not in it. Knowing what a general klutz you are, he was preventing you from slipping on the damn thing and you trying to break another elbow. Where’s the gratitude, I ask ya?
@Isobel: That explains why you always get sick when you start a new job!
52.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@Baud: that was for Ohio. they didn’t mention latinos. Not sure if there are enough latinos to make statistical judgement. In the full 2012 election, only 3% of Ohio was latino. I imagine that percent is lower during a primary.
53.
Isobel
@Pogonip: Thanks. Good to know it has a name. Surprisingly, the dog, which is medium-sized never fights back, but I agree it looks like a great way to lose your face if something goes wrong.
54.
raven
@Pogonip: I have over 1000 sick hours accumulated. You don’t take sick leave when you work from home!
@raven: I thought their approach seemed a little regimented for the average pet, but if the German shepherds aren’t complaining, I’m certainly not going to.
With my previous dogs, I was the chief trainer and home all the time so the consistency definitely made it easier. This time around it has taken much longer because the pup gets conflicting signals. She is getting much better now even though she is terribly spoiled.
61.
Isobel
@raven: Having been one for three years, you get sick the first year or so, then you have the constitution of a tank. I stopped travel nursing and went international six years ago, and have only had one cold and no flus in the last 8 years.
I’m sorry, my fellow Hamimaniacs, but I have to say it — I can’t believe Vanessa let him wear that jacket to the White House. Maybe he smuggled it out while she wasn’t looking.
@Anyone but Trump: Hear, hear: Cole could sustain multiple fractures from stepping on a microscopic pile of ant frass. Something the size of an avocado pile could be fatal. Thurston selflessly stepped in to save his master.
I found that “frass” covers all kinds of insect caca, not just that of ants. Also covers those ominous little piles of sawdust carpenter ants leave.
68.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Florida — 30% reporting
Clinton……..66%
Sanders……32%
O’Malley……..2%
Clinton strongholds of Miami and Broward counties have reported less than 1% of their votes.
@Isobel: Do you believe your actual hygiene makes a difference? Hand washing, not touching your eyes, etc? Is this something ingrained in the medical community?
73.
AnotherBruce
@khead: Aaah, that explains it. I don’t have much exposure to kids either. But there were a lot of kids at my brother’s Christmas party. It was a fun party but I wound up getting sick the next day, and it basically lasted for 2 months.
It’s kinda funny – because I have a bunch of letters after my name that say I should have enough sense to be the one who cleans up after himself to avoid sickness – but I actually think it’s the exposure to the world’s shit on the DC Metro that provided my current baseline resistance. That and some heathen mine worker genetics I got from my family. My wife wasn’t so “lucky”.
81.
JPL
Help.. what’s the difference between to early to call and to close to call? MSNBC is telling me there is a difference. .
Hygiene makes a huge difference in not spreading gunk around a group. If you catch stuff at work, it’s probably because your co-workers aren’t keeping their hands washed. And, yes, washing your own hands can help keep you from infecting yourself after you pick up someone else’s germs.
83.
raven
My bride was working in the garden and she called me to get shots of an owl! Processing now!
84.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Next in my serious of Gorgeous Gowns – Hillary Clinton (photo)
85.
Cacti
Florida called for Clinton and Drumpf.
86.
cckids
Oh, FFS, Chris Matthews. Hillary should put Kasich on the ticket as VP & there will be SO much WIN!!
No, and Google is letting me down! Don’t tell G, but Daveed is my actual crush from “Hamilton.” LM is super-talented, but a little too happily married to be truly dreamy.
@Mnemosyne: One can never rely on other people in this regard. You can only control your own behavior. For example:
I saw a man have a huge sneeze on the subway. He covered his mouth with his hands as he did so, politely. Then he put one of his hands back on the over head rung. He gets off at the next stop. A different man takes his spot, puts his hand exactly where the last man’s hand was, and then shifts hands, taking the hand that was just touching the over head rung and wipes his eye. Voila! A bacteria has just made the leap.
@JPL: Too early means the percentage of votes count are too small but they know who’s ahead. Too close to call is like Michigan where the percentage separating the candiates were too small.
Not that I’ve seen yet, but the evening is young. Plus he hasn’t been on much yet. Tweety wants more “surprise” in politics, (hence his Clinton/Kasich) ticket brainwad.
93.
phantomist
Chris Matthews just suggested the best possible unity ticket, but probably won’t happen because of hyper partisanship.
Clinton –Kasich
Christ, what an asshole.
94.
Aleta
Lately I’ve been thinking that when the dog takes food when no one is around, he’s probably following proper dog etiquette. As a member of our pack, he has to wait until the higher ups have abandoned the carcass. To him, the deserted kitchen is the signal that it’s OK to come eat.
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: See, Clinton’s hard work in the cemeteries is paying off. Bernie needs to learn to court dead people more effectively.
Is Jake Taper on drugs? He claims the reason Jeb! and Rubio lost is because the republican primary voters were not ready for their “sunny, optimistic message.” WFT?
I can’t remember where I saw the particular picture, but there was one of the President and First Lady walking to the photo op for the Canadian state dinner where he had the most adorable look of, Wow, this is MY wife! Even I can’t believe how gorgeous she is sometimes!
103.
Aleta
Trump never actually tweets. Even on twitter he belllows.
104.
Cacti
I request that any FP posts on Marco Rubio now refer to him as lame duck Senator Marco Rubio. :-)
@phantomist: Tweety was the one who started me on my pivot away from cable political shows, a pivot I’m glad to say I completed quite some time ago. The man is an absolute idiot.
That’s why you’re supposed to sneeze into your elbow, not your hand. There’s a funny video somewhere of Chuck Todd getting scolded at a White House press conference with Kathleen Sebelius, where she jokingly threatens to bring Elmo back out to show him how to do it right.
112.
Cacti
NBC calls NC for Hillz.
113.
Isobel
@redshirt: Yes, it does make a difference. That sort of thing becomes second nature after a while, and you are definitely washing more than the general public.
That being said, patients (and their families) are going to cough and sneeze on you, spit on you, puke on you, crap on you, etc, so there truly is only so much you can do.
I don’t know for sure. See JPL above. I would love to give you something more solid than “I used to get sick a lot but then I rode the Metro for 10 years and now I get sick a lot less than my wife”, but – hey – here we are. I suspect there’s also some genetics too – but my greater point is that some folks can wash their hands until they bleed and they will still get sick. Meanwhile, I’m still walking around healthy and avoiding Xmas parties.
118.
Patricia Kayden
@raven: Nice photo. Owls are cute in my opinion with those big eyes and round heads.
119.
raven
@Patricia Kayden: I staked it all day and then it was too dark.
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: I’m not a big fan of animal prints but that gown is gorgeous and the solid bronze coat/shawl sets it off perfectly. She looks fantastic in it.
similar experience – but I had 4 8-week old kittens ( i adopted their grossly- pregnant mama) – I forgot to shut the door to the living room Christmas eve.
They couldn’t knock the tree OVER – I had it wired into the ceiling – so they just pulled everything off it –
walked into living room Christmas morning, four little kittens asleep on the floor in a carefully arranged nest of lights and tinsel, decorations everywhere
Kitten wakes up, looks at me, yawns, and explains that they had nothing to do with it, it was some OTHER gang of kittens that did all the damage, they tried to stop them, honest –
-with tinsel hanging over his damn guilty ear!
and this was in 1995 or so, before cell phones and digital cameras, I was out of film – so i never documented the crime –
@Isobel: But you said there is variation among nurse peers as to who gets sick. Surely you’re all generally exposed to the same bacteria over the long run; if true, then the only other factors are behavior and genetics.
As long as you explain that to my wife – who gets mighty pissed that I don’t get as sick as she does – I am ok with it. Maybe she’ll take a doc’s word over a biochem engineer. Don’t hold your breath though. :)
@khead: By “hygiene” I mean specifically behaviors that have you touching your eyes, ears, nose and mouth, and relatedly, hand washing. Consider chewing fingernails, for example. A prime vector for getting sick. I bet fingernail chewers get sick 75% more then non fingernail chewers.
Please don’t make me post pics of my never-sick-while-having-nasty-ass-chewed-fingernails as a perfectly good anecdote that proves you wrong. I have very little shame but that is where I might draw the line. Like I said, I don’t have the answers.
134.
raven
@A Ghost To Most: It’s because of the flash. I thought about taking it out.
I think the effect of untreated allergies is underrated. My coworker who is severely allergic to grasses was constantly getting strep throat and bronchitis until she cut grains out of her diet. Her grass allergy is so bad that the accidentally put her into anaphylactic shock while testing it at the doctor’s office.
@Mnemosyne: This could be it too, and I hope someone is investigating.
143.
karen marie
@Isobel: I used to make my male Cocker “take a rest” when he was wicked. On his side, head on the ground. On occasion I would have to push him, but mostly a sternly worded “take a rest” would gain compliance, though half the time I would have to say it twice to get his head on the ground. I was necessary to remind him I was all powerful, because he was terrible about eating things off the streets of Boston. He loved me like there was no tomorrow. It was mutual. There will never be another James. Lucy is a lovely dog (3/4 Cavalier King Charles, 1/4 Cocker) but – and I think it’s because we are both female – not half as devoted as my former James. She is an odd mix of dominant and submissive, so I have not taught her “take a rest.” I just quietly take what she has or make sure she doesn’t get a second opportunity.
Better than any picture i ever got of an owl! Which is none. I always just feel lucky to even see one. And we live in the woods, with lots of wildlife around.
Maybe I should take more walks at dusk with the magic camera! Ya think?
Good job, nice shot of the little owl.
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Baud
Ah, the look-away-glace-back. I know it well.
LAO
Thurston is smarter than 90% of my clients.
redshirt
Off topic question John: Do you ever wonder why you’re frequently sick?
I do. As I rarely get sick. So is it genetic, environmental, behavioral?
Genuinely curious.
raven
Chieu Hoi papasan.
Brendan in Charlotte
I am Schultz!!! I see no-thing!!! I know no-thing!!!
AdamK
I find that paper napkins and such sometimes exit the wastebasket and shred themselves on the floor. I’ve asked the dogs about it, but neither of them ever sees anything.
Technocrat
“I’m…not seeing any peel, John. Sorry.”
JPL
@redshirt: When my sons were younger, I used to make sure that all their toys were clean. I was doing a disservice because they did pick up colds and other viruses quicker than others. You have to learn to adapt to the environment you have, not the one you wish you had. imo
John, no offense but that wasn’t Thurston’s fault. How in the world could a dog find an avocado peel.. just sayin
FlyingToaster
@redshirt: He works at a uni.
Outside of a preschool, universities are the major source of viruses around here.
When I worked in Kendall Square (next to MIT) I got sick about 4 times as often as when I worked on 128.
Germy
Many decades ago we had a cat (who looked a lot like Tunch, but with some spots). Late one xmas night, I woke up after hearing a … disturbance in the living room. I went to investigate and found our xmas tree knocked over, ornaments everywhere.
I saw the cat on the farthest side of the room, with his back to the tree. There was some tinsel on his back. When I approached him he looked up at me, as if to say “what? What’s going on, I was asleep the whole time.”
Felonius Monk
Thurston, I’m sure, will be casting his ballot for Baud. He will also be the main barker at the Howl for Baud rally.
MomSense
It’s hard to be upset when they are so cute. He’s a little peanut of a pup but I bet he holds his own just fine with the rest of the menagerie.
redshirt
@FlyingToaster: As he won’t read this thread, that’s probably the best answer I’ll get.
But still, even among peers, there’s probably a marked difference between people getting colds and the flu. Is it genetic/biological or behavioral?
jl
And how does Cole know that the avocado peel was not something he lost himself and forgot about?
Or maybe didn’t even notice he lost it (I think I have enough in common with Cole-style motor skills to understand how that could easily happen).
Hmmmm….. ?
Thurston: innocent. Obviously.
Edit: If it were Thurston, would he not have smeared green avocado goop all over something that could not be cleaned? Hmmm…. ? More evidence that poorThurston is wrongly and unjustly accused abused, reviled and rejected.
I refudiate Cole’s smear.
JPL
@redshirt: There may be some genetic involvement, but in my opinion, which means nothing, it’s your surroundings.
I started getting strep with a high fever. I had my son’s tonsils removed and not only did I not get strep anymore, a friend didn’t.
Isobel
He is adorable! “It wasn’t me, I was set up by the cat!”
John, how do you discipline/what is your discipline philosophy for raising dogs? Anybody else care to share theirs?
I ask because a collegue of mine always flips his dog onto its back when it is naughty. I’ve never seen the like. The dog obeys, but every time you go near it, the dog flips onto its back if it even thinks you might be displeased. It also seems oddly cowed.
Technocrat
@jl:
Agreed. The case against Thurston is circumstantial at best.
Mary G
But dad, it keeps my fur nice and shiny!
jl
@Technocrat: Dog’s framed. End of Story.
Big Ol Hound
Behavorial. Being retired and not having the flu for 10 years seems to indicate that working or socializing with a number of younger people is a sure predictor of sickness as they cough, touch, and just exist in our space after using public areas and if they have kids, it’s allover.
Ripley
Man, that photo – I had to look closely to distinguish the avocado from the pup. At first glance it looked like a deleted scene from The Thing.
raven
AND WE CAN REPORT. . .too early to call!
Aleta
When the dog here does his “calming behavior” on a house primate, it makes me think of a superstitious ritual the little folk must do, to deactivate the local giant who’s on the verge of running amok.
Gravenstone
Friend of mine just got a Great Pyrenees. Today she shared a video of the girl being so eager to see here when she got home that she stuck her head out an open barn window, and destroyed the adjacent frame and pane.So Thurston can always be worse, count yourself lucky.
geg6
It’s just crazy how much alike he and Lovey are, personality wise. So bad but so cute. Koda never, ever, ever gets into anything. Lovey, however, is a complete menace and you never know when she’ll get into and/or rip something apart. I usually read while watching tv and just leave the book on the end table when I go to bed. It stays there until I sit down to relax the next evening. I do this every day. But suddenly, one day for no apparent reason, Lovey decides to jump up on the table, grab the book and rip it to shreds while I’m at work. She did the same shit with my glasses. Twice. She does it with anything at any time, for no reason and after ignoring said item for days, weeks or months. I don’t know what to do about it because it’s impossible to predict what will be next or when. And I can’t have everything we own up high enough that she can’t get to it. She’s a major jumper.
Shell
Its called a kitchen garbage pail. Just saying…
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@raven: BREAKING NEWS: we got nothin’
now here’s Brian Williams with some oddly supercilious smirking
Baud
@raven: Aren’t the polls on the Florida panhandle still open?
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Florida — 13% reporting
Clinton……..66.91%
Sanders……31.01%
O’Malley……..2.17%
Baud! voters are casting protest votes for O’Malley
Mnemosyne
@Big Ol Hound:
Yep, even those of is without kids catch stuff from our coworkers who keep those adorable little germ factories in their homes.
I know St. Patrick’s Day is on Thursday, but I’m just not feelin’ it. I’m not even enthusiastic enough to get corned beef and cabbage takeout that day.
raven
@Baud: There are many still open.
redshirt
@Big Ol Hound: I agree that your environment plays a huge part. But consider three people in the same environment – nurses, lets say. Will they all get equally sick or will it vary by person?
cckids
@Shell: Isn’t Thurston a little . . .height challenged to reach into the garbage?
jl
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: @Baud: Those add up to 100.09 percent.
Looks like Baud! 2016! is holding steady at a solid -0.1 percent of the vote.
Victory speech, Baud! We need a victory speech. Look what that gimmick did for Rubio.
Pogonip
@Isobel: That’s called the Alpha Roll; the monks of New Skete used to do it. They quit when they figured out it just bewilders the dog, or makes him think it’s fun time, and took it out of subsequent editions of their book. Probably wise as they raise German shepherds, and pulling that stupid trick on a large dog always seemed to me like a good way to lose your face.
My philosophy of dog training is, there are a zillion ways the dog can go wrong following the command, only one way he can do it right (unless he’s a guide or sheep dog who has to think for himself). So things go a lot quicker if you can set things up so the only thing he can do is the right thing. I feel physical discipline should be reserved for acts of lese majeste.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
MSNBC says exit polls show Clinton and Sanders tied with whites and Clinton winning blacks 3 to 1.
I
eta: oops: This is for OHIO
khead
@redshirt:
I rarely get sick anymore. I attribute it to 10 years of being exposed to everything known to man while riding the DC Metro.
Pogonip
Hey! Cute little Thurston! I wonder if Cole ever got him housebroken?
Shell
@cckids: Oh, you’d be surprised!
raven
@Pogonip: I train the dogs I have by living with them. Works pretty good although I have to say the Bohdi has gotten awfully clingy. If we leave him he finds something to express his displeasure. A hazard of having worked at home all his 11 years.
I did like the Monks approach to many things. The crate training was great and (long story) the way we caught Raven’s cancer while we crated Bohdi.
Technocrat
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:
Wow. 13% already seems incredibly fast for a state that size.
Isobel
@redshirt: As a nurse, it varies person to person, but hand washing and environment play a huge role. Whenever you change hospitals or locations, you tend to get sicker than a dog for the first year until your body adjusts.
Baud
@jl:
You got it!
Never mind.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@jl: Baud! = Virtual Comeback Kid
Baud
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: What about Latinos?
raven
@Isobel: What about those traveling nurses?
cckids
Oh, MSNBC.
BREAKING NEWS! OHIO RACE TOO EARLY TO CALL!!
Some of these words do not belong together. Jebus.
khead
@redshirt:
It will vary. Every winter we go to Christmas parties. Because we have no kids, my wife and I both end up sick about 72 hours later. Always. Of course, I get a sniffle and the wife gets pneumonia. So I have that going for me. See previous comment about the DC Metro.
Sad_Dem
@LAO: My cat is really good at exercising his Fifth Amendment right to silence.
Anyone but Trump
In analyzing the photo, it appears the young pup was trying to save you from your self John. Imagine that the peel went NEXT to the garbage bin and not in it. Knowing what a general klutz you are, he was preventing you from slipping on the damn thing and you trying to break another elbow. Where’s the gratitude, I ask ya?
Pogonip
@Isobel: That explains why you always get sick when you start a new job!
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
@Baud: that was for Ohio. they didn’t mention latinos. Not sure if there are enough latinos to make statistical judgement. In the full 2012 election, only 3% of Ohio was latino. I imagine that percent is lower during a primary.
Isobel
@Pogonip: Thanks. Good to know it has a name. Surprisingly, the dog, which is medium-sized never fights back, but I agree it looks like a great way to lose your face if something goes wrong.
raven
@Pogonip: I have over 1000 sick hours accumulated. You don’t take sick leave when you work from home!
Ben Cisco
1, 2, 3, 4, FIF!
redshirt
@khead: Would you say you practice better public hygiene then your wife? Hand washing, not touching eyes, nose or mouth, etc?
Baud
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: thx. I thought it was Florida.
JPL
@redshirt: It’s all of the above.
Pogonip
@raven: I thought their approach seemed a little regimented for the average pet, but if the German shepherds aren’t complaining, I’m certainly not going to.
MomSense
@raven:
With my previous dogs, I was the chief trainer and home all the time so the consistency definitely made it easier. This time around it has taken much longer because the pup gets conflicting signals. She is getting much better now even though she is terribly spoiled.
Isobel
@raven: Having been one for three years, you get sick the first year or so, then you have the constitution of a tank. I stopped travel nursing and went international six years ago, and have only had one cold and no flus in the last 8 years.
raven
@Pogonip: I can’t argue with that.
Mnemosyne
I’m sorry, my fellow Hamimaniacs, but I have to say it — I can’t believe Vanessa let him wear that jacket to the White House. Maybe he smuggled it out while she wasn’t looking.
Anya
Why are they reporting any results when the polls are still open?
Baud
@Anya: If the state is reporting it, then the news will.
JPL
@Anya: In FL, I think the panhandle closes later.
Pogonip
@Anyone but Trump: Hear, hear: Cole could sustain multiple fractures from stepping on a microscopic pile of ant frass. Something the size of an avocado pile could be fatal. Thurston selflessly stepped in to save his master.
I found that “frass” covers all kinds of insect caca, not just that of ants. Also covers those ominous little piles of sawdust carpenter ants leave.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Florida — 30% reporting
Clinton……..66%
Sanders……32%
O’Malley……..2%
Clinton strongholds of Miami and Broward counties have reported less than 1% of their votes.
Pogonip
@raven: You gain wisdom, Grasshopper.
Calouste
@Baud: Yep, and Florida will get called the moment the polls in the panhandle close in about 3 minutes.
raven
@Isobel: Cool!
redshirt
@Isobel: Do you believe your actual hygiene makes a difference? Hand washing, not touching your eyes, etc? Is this something ingrained in the medical community?
AnotherBruce
@khead: Aaah, that explains it. I don’t have much exposure to kids either. But there were a lot of kids at my brother’s Christmas party. It was a fun party but I wound up getting sick the next day, and it basically lasted for 2 months.
Anya
The vulgarian declared vistory before the official declaration.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Kathleen
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: Lots of anecdotal evidence that many Ohio Dems voting Republican to stop Trump.
MomSense
@Mnemosyne:
Yesterday was the greatest! Did you see Daveed’s photos with himself (TJ)?
dmsilev
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: Does that prove that the Clinton campaign has all of the BRAAAAIIIINNNMSSS in the race?
Kathleen
@cckids: Is Chuck Todd wearing his scrunchy face yet?
Also, too, maybe Thurston could find the mustard?
khead
@redshirt:
It’s kinda funny – because I have a bunch of letters after my name that say I should have enough sense to be the one who cleans up after himself to avoid sickness – but I actually think it’s the exposure to the world’s shit on the DC Metro that provided my current baseline resistance. That and some heathen mine worker genetics I got from my family. My wife wasn’t so “lucky”.
JPL
Help.. what’s the difference between to early to call and to close to call? MSNBC is telling me there is a difference. .
Mnemosyne
@redshirt:
Hygiene makes a huge difference in not spreading gunk around a group. If you catch stuff at work, it’s probably because your co-workers aren’t keeping their hands washed. And, yes, washing your own hands can help keep you from infecting yourself after you pick up someone else’s germs.
raven
My bride was working in the garden and she called me to get shots of an owl! Processing now!
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Next in my serious of Gorgeous Gowns – Hillary Clinton (photo)
Cacti
Florida called for Clinton and Drumpf.
cckids
Oh, FFS, Chris Matthews. Hillary should put Kasich on the ticket as VP & there will be SO much WIN!!
The man is delusional.
redshirt
@khead: So you attribute it by now entirely to genetics/biology, and nothing to do with behavior?
Mnemosyne
@MomSense:
No, and Google is letting me down! Don’t tell G, but Daveed is my actual crush from “Hamilton.” LM is super-talented, but a little too happily married to be truly dreamy.
Chyron HR
@JPL:
Early was a Confederate general, and Close is an actress. HTH, HAND.
redshirt
@Mnemosyne: One can never rely on other people in this regard. You can only control your own behavior. For example:
I saw a man have a huge sneeze on the subway. He covered his mouth with his hands as he did so, politely. Then he put one of his hands back on the over head rung. He gets off at the next stop. A different man takes his spot, puts his hand exactly where the last man’s hand was, and then shifts hands, taking the hand that was just touching the over head rung and wipes his eye. Voila! A bacteria has just made the leap.
Anya
@JPL: Too early means the percentage of votes count are too small but they know who’s ahead. Too close to call is like Michigan where the percentage separating the candiates were too small.
cckids
@Kathleen:
Not that I’ve seen yet, but the evening is young. Plus he hasn’t been on much yet. Tweety wants more “surprise” in politics, (hence his Clinton/Kasich) ticket brainwad.
phantomist
Chris Matthews just suggested the best possible unity ticket, but probably won’t happen because of hyper partisanship.
Clinton –Kasich
Christ, what an asshole.
Aleta
Lately I’ve been thinking that when the dog takes food when no one is around, he’s probably following proper dog etiquette. As a member of our pack, he has to wait until the higher ups have abandoned the carcass. To him, the deserted kitchen is the signal that it’s OK to come eat.
David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch
Gorgeous Gowns – Sophie and Michelle (photo)
Sophie is a real kick in the pants (photo)
AnotherBruce
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: See, Clinton’s hard work in the cemeteries is paying off. Bernie needs to learn to court dead people more effectively.
Cacti
RIP
National political career of Marco Rubio
2010-2016
Anya
Is Jake Taper on drugs? He claims the reason Jeb! and Rubio lost is because the republican primary voters were not ready for their “sunny, optimistic message.” WFT?
JPL
@Anya: So why say to early to call? Thank you.
redshirt
@Anya: He’s a media fluffer.
cckids
@phantomist: Great minds think alike
Mnemosyne
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch:
I can’t remember where I saw the particular picture, but there was one of the President and First Lady walking to the photo op for the Canadian state dinner where he had the most adorable look of, Wow, this is MY wife! Even I can’t believe how gorgeous she is sometimes!
Aleta
Trump never actually tweets. Even on twitter he belllows.
Cacti
I request that any FP posts on Marco Rubio now refer to him as lame duck Senator Marco Rubio. :-)
Mike in NC
@Anya: Tapper is a professional cretin.
Ben Cisco
@phantomist: Tweety was the one who started me on my pivot away from cable political shows, a pivot I’m glad to say I completed quite some time ago. The man is an absolute idiot.
Ben Cisco
@Anya: Not, he’s just stupid.
Anya
@JPL: I think it’s hard to justify declaring a winner when the vote count is at 1%
raven
Best I could get in low light.
phantomist
@cckids: Damn one finger typing!
Mnemosyne
@redshirt:
That’s why you’re supposed to sneeze into your elbow, not your hand. There’s a funny video somewhere of Chuck Todd getting scolded at a White House press conference with Kathleen Sebelius, where she jokingly threatens to bring Elmo back out to show him how to do it right.
Cacti
NBC calls NC for Hillz.
Isobel
@redshirt: Yes, it does make a difference. That sort of thing becomes second nature after a while, and you are definitely washing more than the general public.
That being said, patients (and their families) are going to cough and sneeze on you, spit on you, puke on you, crap on you, etc, so there truly is only so much you can do.
MomSense
@Mnemosyne:
Daveed was my first hamilton crush but Leslie Odom is my current. It’s tough though. Daveed is impressive.
Gravenstone
@cckids:
I believe the word you meant here is Insane.
MomSense
@Mnemosyne:
He and Misty Copeland had a conversation the other day and he really gushed about his wife. It’s a lovely thing to see.
khead
@redshirt:
I don’t know for sure. See JPL above. I would love to give you something more solid than “I used to get sick a lot but then I rode the Metro for 10 years and now I get sick a lot less than my wife”, but – hey – here we are. I suspect there’s also some genetics too – but my greater point is that some folks can wash their hands until they bleed and they will still get sick. Meanwhile, I’m still walking around healthy and avoiding Xmas parties.
Patricia Kayden
@raven: Nice photo. Owls are cute in my opinion with those big eyes and round heads.
raven
@Patricia Kayden: I staked it all day and then it was too dark.
Mnemosyne
@MomSense:
Oak is my secondary crush. But Daveed just keeps making the glasses and bow tie look hot instead of dorky.
ETA: Here’s Oak singing “Defying Gravity” as Mickey Mouse. Insta-crush.
PurpleGirl
@David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch: I’m not a big fan of animal prints but that gown is gorgeous and the solid bronze coat/shawl sets it off perfectly. She looks fantastic in it.
Gravenstone
@raven: Ack! Eeeeviiiil owl!
reality-based (the original, not the troll)
@Germy:
similar experience – but I had 4 8-week old kittens ( i adopted their grossly- pregnant mama) – I forgot to shut the door to the living room Christmas eve.
They couldn’t knock the tree OVER – I had it wired into the ceiling – so they just pulled everything off it –
walked into living room Christmas morning, four little kittens asleep on the floor in a carefully arranged nest of lights and tinsel, decorations everywhere
Kitten wakes up, looks at me, yawns, and explains that they had nothing to do with it, it was some OTHER gang of kittens that did all the damage, they tried to stop them, honest –
-with tinsel hanging over his damn guilty ear!
and this was in 1995 or so, before cell phones and digital cameras, I was out of film – so i never documented the crime –
cutest thing, though!
Isobel
@raven: Wow!
redshirt
@khead: As a doctor I was hoping you’d have more rigorous observations. ;)
My thesis is sickness of the cold/flu variety is primarily behavioral based, and not environmental or genetic, though these both play a factor.
Kathleen
@cckids: I’m guessing he’s checking the fax for the GOP talking points.
AnotherBruce
Little Marco is suspended. Buh Bye!
redshirt
@Isobel: But you said there is variation among nurse peers as to who gets sick. Surely you’re all generally exposed to the same bacteria over the long run; if true, then the only other factors are behavior and genetics.
A Ghost To Most
@raven:
Nice pic. Who knew owls got redeye too?
khead
@redshirt:
As long as you explain that to my wife – who gets mighty pissed that I don’t get as sick as she does – I am ok with it. Maybe she’ll take a doc’s word over a biochem engineer. Don’t hold your breath though. :)
redshirt
@khead: By “hygiene” I mean specifically behaviors that have you touching your eyes, ears, nose and mouth, and relatedly, hand washing. Consider chewing fingernails, for example. A prime vector for getting sick. I bet fingernail chewers get sick 75% more then non fingernail chewers.
PurpleGirl
@raven: It’s still a good photo. And those eyes!
khead
@redshirt:
Please don’t make me post pics of my never-sick-while-having-nasty-ass-chewed-fingernails as a perfectly good anecdote that proves you wrong. I have very little shame but that is where I might draw the line. Like I said, I don’t have the answers.
raven
@A Ghost To Most: It’s because of the flash. I thought about taking it out.
redshirt
@khead: Hmm. Fingernail chewer. You’re upsetting my theory. I’ll throw you in the “genetic mutant” folder.
Mnemosyne
@redshirt:
I think the effect of untreated allergies is underrated. My coworker who is severely allergic to grasses was constantly getting strep throat and bronchitis until she cut grains out of her diet. Her grass allergy is so bad that the accidentally put her into anaphylactic shock while testing it at the doctor’s office.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
@raven: Stunning, even with the flash eyes.
khead
@redshirt:
I’ve tried to stop. Really. Swear.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Mnemosyne: You’re not following Daveed’s Instagram?
Mnemosyne
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
G follows my Instagram. I can’t let my secret love be known or it would hurt his feelings.
Seriously, though, can you think of any other man who could rock a purple plaid suit like that?
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@Mnemosyne: I can’t hear Prince at the gym these days without thinking of Thomas, Thomas.
That suit was the first thing my husband noticed in that pic. “Hey, he’s even in purple there!”
redshirt
@Mnemosyne: This could be it too, and I hope someone is investigating.
karen marie
@Isobel: I used to make my male Cocker “take a rest” when he was wicked. On his side, head on the ground. On occasion I would have to push him, but mostly a sternly worded “take a rest” would gain compliance, though half the time I would have to say it twice to get his head on the ground. I was necessary to remind him I was all powerful, because he was terrible about eating things off the streets of Boston. He loved me like there was no tomorrow. It was mutual. There will never be another James. Lucy is a lovely dog (3/4 Cavalier King Charles, 1/4 Cocker) but – and I think it’s because we are both female – not half as devoted as my former James. She is an odd mix of dominant and submissive, so I have not taught her “take a rest.” I just quietly take what she has or make sure she doesn’t get a second opportunity.
J R in WV
@raven:
Eyes from Hell!!
Better than any picture i ever got of an owl! Which is none. I always just feel lucky to even see one. And we live in the woods, with lots of wildlife around.
Maybe I should take more walks at dusk with the magic camera! Ya think?
Good job, nice shot of the little owl.