It probably won’t surprise you that I stayed far away from newsy things today. Instead, took some photos of the dogs, revamped the recipe blog with a whole new theme, did a bit of work, okay, a lot of work. So all I have for you tonight are two cute pups, who help keep me sane.
Oh and some ducks – I’m still waiting for them to actually wander into the kitchen. I leave the door open for the cats to enjoy the backyard.
I also have two quickie Instant Pot Shredded Chicken recipes here. They don’t really deserve their own post. They’re pretty simple.
Open thread
lamh36
lamh36
TenguPhule
@lamh36: Damn. There was a story this year about him and his moment in history.
TaMara (HFG)
@lamh36: That’s so adoarable, I’m embedding in the comments. Thanks, I needed that.
schrodingers_cat
Cute puppies.
Major Major Major Major
DUCKS!!! YAY!!!!
opiejeanne
How are your dogs with the ducks? Do you have to keep them separate?
Martin
Was just reading about Florida’s red tide. It’s a totally different animal than the red tide we get here in California. Ours doesn’t kill fish, isn’t harmful to people, and makes the water glow blue in response to motion at night. We had one a few years ago that was so strong you could kick your feet in the water at the end of a dock and read by it.
I can see why Floridians are upset by it. We look forward to ours.
opiejeanne
@lamh36: That is so stinking’ cute!
Mnemosyne
I hate this stupid cold. I was out sick on Monday, made it to 4 pm on Tuesday and then had to bail, was out again yesterday, and then back today. I’ll make it to 6 pm, but it’s going to be close. Gah.
Major Major Major Major
@Mnemosyne: If it’s anything like the one that was going around my office, it’s bruuuutal.
NotMax
@lamh36
One of my former customers is named (not a nickname) Thumper. Grew up to be a world class skater.
Mnemosyne
@Martin:
Apparently in Florida it has now turned into a black tide that is very stinky because it’s a bunch of rotting algae and suchlike. People seem pretty angry.
A Ghost To Most
We are enjoying Pagosa Springs, except for all the Texans. We drove up to Piedra Falls, which is in a spectacular canyon of rock spires. We couldn’t bring ourselves to make the half mile hike to the falls in hard rain, wind and 47 degrees. We will surely go again when the weather is drier. The truck is coated in mud. Yay!
ETA yay edit.
trollhattan
@TaMara (HFG):
That might literally be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
Don’t tell my kid.
Mnemosyne
@Major Major Major Major:
I had a slight fever (around 99) so I’m not sure if it’s a nasty cold or a slight flu. Either way, it sucks.
trollhattan
@Martin:
FWIW the red tide we get in NorCal and farther north will concentrate in shellfish and deliver a nasty neurotoxin surprise if consumed by mammals. Birds? Can’t remember.
I suspect the term itself is relatively generic.
TenguPhule
This can’t possibly end well.
TenguPhule
Cole’s not feeling well today.
Major Major Major Major
@Mnemosyne: I didn’t have a fever but I rarely get them. Mild fever could mean many things. Reminds me to get a flu shot…
TaMara (HFG)
@opiejeanne: The ducks, dogs and cats all hang out together. I do sometimes have to scold Scout because she gets that puppy brain and thinks EVERYONE should be playing with her. I remind her ducks are fragile, like kitties, so she can’t chase them.
Pogonip
I have the pop-up blocker turned on on my phone (Iphone) but am still plagued with intermittent screen-filling pop-ups that want to give me an Amazon gift card. (Up front and honest, I’m sure.). Suggestions on how to block these?
Calouste
@TenguPhule: A few years back I was thinking that my next car was going to be a Tesla. Now I’m thinking that whatever my next car is going to be, it is most certainly not going to be a Tesla. The man is an almost shitgibbon level asshole.
Omnes Omnibus
Twitter Nixon is supporting the Brewers. I am not sure how I feel about that.
TenguPhule
@Calouste: Its amazing how much his inner freak flag flew out in these last 18 months.
Heidi Dog
The pups are enough!
TenguPhule
Lindsey Graham Welcomed Trump’s China Tariffs, Then Helped Companies Avoid Them
Because IOKIYAR.
Mary G
The new Whats For Dinner Solutions site design is cute.
NotMax
@TenguPhule
Gotta link to a piece involving WV and Jell-O from a while back.
:)
Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho
Ducks and Great Danes. What a welcome distraction from the hell of 2018 at the moment. Thank you. OO, I imagine you are very conflicted about Twitter Nixon’s support of the Brewers, but he’s always had that kinda contrarian streak. Also, too, the highlight of my year was when he liked a response i made on his twitter feed.
And in case anyone wonders, I am indeed aware how pathetic my life is.
MagdaInBlack
Ducks, pups, and food, what could be better ?
?
lamh36
Ugh…I tired to stay with the cute, but UGH…
Many of the calls for his nomination to be withdrawn mentioned his attitude and his demeanor. And now here is Kavanaugh writing an op-ed apologizing for his “demeanor”. Bullshit…this is for those Senators like Manchin who may “forgive” his “youthful transgressions”, but he outright partisanship was a bridge too far…so here ya go…”hey dudes…I apologize….sure I spoke from PREPARED REMARKS OF MY OWN WORDS, PENNED BY MY OWN HAND…and sure I answered the Dem Senators questioning with disdain and condescencion…but hey I apologize…can I haz job now”
Ugh…
BULL-FUQN-SHIT!
Omnes Omnibus
@Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: He liked one of my replies at one point – I know how you feel.
SiubhanDuinne
@lamh36:
I was listening to All Things Considered on NPR earlier. They ran an obituary that included an interview which brought me to tears.
Here’s the piece, with link to the audio:
https://www.npr.org/2018/10/04/654518451/juan-romero-busboy-who-comforted-dying-rfk-dies-at-68
chris
@trollhattan: Yum! Paralytic shellfish poisoning. Of course Florida has to outdo that.
TenguPhule
@NotMax: And of course this old classic.
lamh36
@SiubhanDuinne: yeah…the tweet I linked to is for the NPR link I believe
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mnemosyne: If you think you might have the flu or have any doubt, get thee to a doc. Tamiflu works really well. Madame and I were ordered by our nurse to get flu shots, which we did a couple of weeks ago and got a free ice cream cone.
NotMax
@SiubhanDuinne
Stories about him showed up periodically over the years.
A true mensch.
Major Major Major Major
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I never get an ice cream cone with my flu shot ?
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
Bow down, peasants!
8-Year-Old Girl Pulls Ancient Sword From Lake, Is Our Ruler Now
TenguPhule
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
*Ice Cream not included. //
?BillinGlendaleCA
@lamh36: Probably the booze talking, he just sobered up briefly.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@TenguPhule: No, yummy Thrifty ice cream was in fact included.
ETA: It was a cone with ice cream or a cup with ice cream. I had the cup.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Major Major Major Major: Ya need to go to a higher class joint to get your flu shot.
Mary G
Can’t stay off politics, sorry. LA Times poll has good news for Democrats –
The strong lead is my home district CA-49, from which Darrell Issa has been rejected. He tried to stay alive last year by bitching about the gas tax Jerry Brown and Democratic leaders passed for new roads, etc. Here’s how that came out:
I am fairly confident we will win all four, just because we have strong candidates and multitudes of volunteers. I could canvass 9-5 every day if I could walk better.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: I love that story, if only for the retweets
TenguPhule
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
So you in fact did not actually have an ice cream cone.
/pedant.
SiubhanDuinne
@NotMax:
That’s why they call me Thumper.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@TenguPhule: I did not, Madame did.
Mnemosyne
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Too late — it’s been more than 72 hours. I get my flu shot next week.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mary G: Kind of surprised the Harley/Dana race is so close, but every race showed the GOP is the party of uneducated white folk.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mnemosyne:
Your cold will delay that. They won’t give you a flu shot if you’re recovering from a cold. You’ll have to wait a few weeks.
lamh36
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Classic abuser apology at the abuse..
. “hey look, I’m sorry, I hit you like that honey…I was very emotional last week…I promise I won’t hit you again…I was just stressed” —-abusers excuse #999999999999
opiejeanne
@trollhattan: That’s the red tide I remember. I don’t remember looking forward to it in SoCal, and I seem to remember them not allowing anyone in the water during a red tide. Makes me wonder if it’s changed dramatically in SoCal since I was a kid or if people there have just adapted.
And now I can edit! Woohoo!
SiubhanDuinne
@lamh36:
Oh … sorry … I definitely should have checked before commenting!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@lamh36: That, and he’s got a drinking problem.
JMG
A straw in the wind. Anecdotes are not data, but nonetheless, I think this was interesting. Old fart me is in a senior golf league in my Cape Cod town. By and large, they are not intensely political except about town politics. One of my partners today, who is not liberal and probably a registered independent, told me on the third green that he had no use for Kavanaugh, not because of the accusations, but because he felt Kavanaugh had been “totally unprofessional.”
lamh36
@SiubhanDuinne: hey…no need for apologies…I usually post the actual link, but I tweet so much, tweet links are quicker to me
Martin
@Mary G: Things are looking good here in CA-45. I’ve never had a democratic rep before.
Gin & Tonic
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: How did those kayaking lessons work out?
rikyrah
The dogs and the ducks??????
So much cuteness
Tracy Ratcliff
@TenguPhule: since this is an open thread, and you did mention Elon :)
As the saying goes, “Just because you’re paranoid, it doesn’t mean there not out to get you.” Ars Technical’s had an article today saying a PR firm whose clients just happen to include Boeing was astroturfing op-eds in papers around the country claiming that the SpaceX Dragon human-rated space capsule was unsafe.
Boeing and SpaceX are both developing space capsules to send crew to the International Space Station. For all of US human space flight, NASA has fueled the vehicle, then put astronauts in the capsule. SpaceX is planning to put the crew in the capsule, then fuel the vehicle. That should be no less safe than the old method for the astronauts, and arguably safer for ground crew.
Boeing had a testing failure in June or July that means redesigning the capsule, which had put them a few months behind schedule. At that time, NASA had not approved the “load-and-go” method for SpaceX. Mysteriously, op-eds claiming that SpaceX was unsafe appeared in papers in cities with NASA centers or with senators on the space committee.
I do think Elon should delete his Twitter account and spend a couple of months on whatever tropical island he owns without internet.
spudgun
Thank you so much, TaMara, for the pix – I love your menagerie!!
WaterGirl
@lamh36: I think that “apology” makes him look week. And he’s admitting to the unprofessional behavior that disqualifies him for the SC.
I bet he did that because the Benjamin Wittes article saying he wouldn’t vote for Kavanaugh now.
What a fucking creep this guy is.
TenguPhule
Erik Prince, in Kabul, pushes privatization of the Afghan war
File under: Are you fucking kidding me?
East Indian Company with less moral values, more guns and run by bloody idiots.
WaterGirl
@lamh36: “I’m sorry i said all those terrible things out loud — I don’t know what came over me — I never let people see the real me in public.” (my summary)
Followed by his words:
My cocker spaniel was more sincere with her look of “I’m really sorry you caught me getting into the garbage”.
Comrade Colette Collaboratrice
@Gin & Tonic: Surprisingly fun! I spent the whole morning dreading the rescues, and then that turned out to be the best part. I’d never worn a wetsuit before so I was pleasantly surprised at how warm it kept me in chilly water. I had a much easier time learning the self-rescue than M. Colette did, allowing me to look on with a smug sense of superiority while he floundered. The only down side was that our son dumped his kayak early in the day – in waist-deep water, so he just stood up and got back in – and by lunchtime his feet were so cold and uncomfortable that we let him quit and sit out the rest of the afternoon. I would do it again, but I think it would have to be in much warmer water to get my son in again.
laura
Spotty pup is spotty and her noble companion is handsome!
Have you seen the video of ducks eating watermelon? If not, do it!
TheFlipPsyD
Anyone happen to be watching All In with Chris Hayes? I think he just pulled a milder Keith Olbermann. Went on a bit of a rant. I’ve never seen him speak like that before – with actual passion.
lamh36
@WaterGirl: just ugh…full of shit…any Senator who was willing to give this joker the benefit of the doubt, should see this as the bullshit hail mary it is and vote NO…FUQ’ER is lying even in his apology.
“emotional”…dude…those were PREPARED REMARKSS
But hey…he’s a affluent white guy…and as we know the “so sorry, I’m white and angry…apologies” are their go to get out of jail free card..
lamh36
@WaterGirl: Also too..
hueyplong
@lamh36: Agree, though it would have been better if you hadn’t toned it down so much.
lamh36
Wash Po Editiorial board…calls for Kavanaugh nomination to be withdrawn for you guessed it…his partisan demeanor…and THAT’S why he penned that op-ed for the WSJ.
Gin & Tonic
@Comrade Colette Collaboratrice: I suspect that smug sense of superiority adds at least 5 degrees of body temperature. I’m glad it mostly worked out for you.
Mnemosyne
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
I double-checked and it’s actually on the 16th, so almost 2 weeks away. It should be fine.
TenguPhule
And then there was one.
Hang together or you will hang separately, Manchin.
Choose wisely.
WaterGirl
@lamh36: It’s not about emotions, it’s about self-control and not being partisan and about not seeing a conspiracy where there is none.
One more stupid Republican who said the quiet parts out loud.
TenguPhule
Oh Damnit. Chris Evens is leaving the role of Captain America. I guess he’s not surviving Infinity War Part 2.
lamh36
the reason for Kavanaugh op-ed…John Roberts?
I read something earlier today that said Roberts was “worried” about the reputation of the SCOTUS if Kavanaugh is seated.
WaterGirl
@lamh36: Question:”Sir, did anyone help you write your letter?”
Answer under oath: “No.”
He’s lying in his apology!
TenguPhule
@lamh36:
That ship sailed when Roberts destroyed voting rights and unions and Citizens United.
lamh36
Lord…I need a break. Let me watch me some Will & Grace.
Oh and SVU looks good too
B.B.A.
@lamh36: Worried about their reputation? After Dred Scott, Plessy, Buck v Bell, everything James McReynolds ever did in his disgusting life, Milliken v Bradley, Citizens United, Shelby County… I don’t think this changes their reputation one bit.
Kay
@lamh36:
Brett’s ready for his next career move- for that he needs the 50% (plus or minus) of the population that he announced he loathes last week.
We’re useful to him today. And once he reaches his goal we will no longer be useful to him, or at all necessary.
divF
@Omnes Omnibus: Since the A’s lost last night, I am now rooting for a Milwaukee-Cleveland World Series. TV ratings would be dismal.
Omnes Omnibus
@B.B.A.: Others have a different view. Troll.
Omnes Omnibus
@divF: I’d watch.
Gin & Tonic
Here’s a set of beautiful, haunting, eerie photographs that bring into focus the dangers of authoritarianism and the cult of personality.
Gin & Tonic
@divF: Here in the northeast, the public is getting precisely the baseball it wants.
B.B.A.
@Omnes Omnibus: Do you agree with any of those decisions? For most of its history the Supreme Court has been packed with reactionary assholes. There was a brief shining moment when they weren’t but now they’re back to the norm. Troll.
Omnes Omnibus
@Omnes Omnibus: Brewers win!
Omnes Omnibus
@B.B.A.:
Really?
Kay
@lamh36:
They should be worried about the reputation of the court. They’re destroying it. Oh, well. We built it once. If they piss it away we’ll build it again. Next time we’ll make sure it includes fixed terms, and swift, stiff sanctions for nominees who lie at hearings. The first blatant lie we shut off their microphone and usher them out the door. Next!
zhena gogolia
@lamh36:
Oh, my God, he was acting up a storm. Bette Davis called and asked for her trumped-up emotions back.
schrodingers_cat
@TenguPhule: What makes you think that the original had any values?
Geeno
One of them has a sense of decorum, the other – not so much.
Geeno
Functional edit button – SWEET – thx Alain