Maybe it's an age thing on my part? Maybe it's because you're not gay? I'm not sure. But your perception of this is confusing to me. Twinks are not, in any way, struggling for rights. Nor are they treated as inferiors. People choose roles in relationships, sub and dom are agreed upon, not assumed. In fact, more often than not, the partner in control of a relationship would be described as the "bottom." It's not a power trip thing, although some people get off on that, it's just a persona that helps someone define their place in a relationship. What JWBear is describing sounds to me like the sort of situation I would find myself in when I was younger. Someone wants to help me out financially, or offer me some sort of domestic security, fine. I can be a cute date. I find myself on the other side of the equation now. No surprise. Who doesn't like the satisfaction of helping someone out? And, if they happen to be cute? All the better. I ain't the Red Cross. Granted, I'm not in this situation very often, but, when I am, neither party is laboring under any delusions.

With the broad spectrum of relationships we have here, I'm surprised that anyone on this board would be in any way offended by a good old lusty compliment. If Dave had hired a busty blonde to help around the house (everybody ought to have a maid...), and she was another in a string of lookers, and I happened to like busty blondes, why on earth would it be offensive for me to say so?

I'm all for rescuing puppies that want to be rescued. Problem is, I tend to complicate the situation by rescuing the straight ones. Yes, apparently, that's a thing too. They get some sort of security, I get a cute guy to hang out with, they know they're never going to put out, I know they're never going to dump me. Win-win, right? :rolleyes:

Just bought another pair of [un]sexy long-johns (white, not red) for the November weather conditions in London.

I think the key difference is that historically that kind of behavior has led to a difference in treatment and attitude towards all women.

But because this kind of behavior is man-on-man, there is no "other" to permanently feel differently toward. Plus men are complicit in the behavior, where such attitudes were often imposed upon unwilling women (not that there aren't whores and sluts out there, just saying that it affected how ALL women were treated, most of them unwilling to be looked at in that way).

So while I see where CP is getting at with her comparison, I don't feel the way she does on the topic.

Ok. Let me clear up a couple of misconceptions...

1) Dave never has a sexual or romantic relationship his "lost puppies". They are usually damaged people that he finds through his church work and tries to help. They tend to be gay and male because that is who the outreach group he is a part of is targeted towards. Although some have not been gay. He had an elderly straight woman there at one point.

2) His current project is far from being an under-aged twink (how anyone read that from my post I can't fathom); he looks to be in his late 30s, and is rather scruffy.

3) All gay men do not find under-aged twinks attractive. We are not pedophiles.

4) I find the notion that, just because a gay man sees someone attractive, that he would stand "naked at the blinds pulling one off" to be demeaning and insulting.

That's good to know. I'll keep it mind should I ever think of saying such a thing.

so I just had a debate on FB (I know, I know, arguing on the internet. but they were RONG!!!!!!!!!!!!) with my friends very ignorant friend who insists that the LDS Church owns Coke because he saw the numerous Coke machines being installed in various stores in UT. I provided links with SEC filings and asked for them. Of course he didn't produce them.

I'd love to find some sort of count of how many coke machines are in the combined Disney parks. I think Disney owns more Coke under that count.

I think this is the key to my confusion. The fact that you are able to come into the elder role later on perhaps mitigates the issues I have with it.

It's obviously not a new thing that people barter attractiveness and companionship for money. It's just something I personally don't like. If the people involved are both complicit then it's their business. I may not think it's healthy to make such transactions, but as Gn2 says, I'm not a gay man. Men are not threatened by this. I will say that IMHO, the longer you spend playing the helpless bimbo, the more you become a helpless bimbo. Perhaps this applies more to women? I dunno.

It's interesting that the fact that it's two men changes the game so much.

I do enjoy a good lusty comment, but this is something that's been building up in my mind for quite a while. My apologies to JW for my reaction which must have seemed out of left field. It was a cumulative thing. I tried to keep my post level because it isn't about pointing fingers but understanding a trend I've seen among many gay relationships and that I really don't get. I obviously do not know particulars about Dave and his lost puppies (more on that below) and the question wasn't really about Dave, it was about the whole sugar daddy thing.

For me, it's the sex bartering that's the issue, not looking at attractive people. I ogle my share.

Ok, so I apparently completely misunderstood your post. To me, "lost puppies" is a demeaning term, soaked in condescension. "Aww, little lost puppies, can't take care of yourselves, here let daddy help." I can't see someone using the term to refer to themselves.

You said he "has a thing for lost puppies" which to me indicates a sexual relationship. You called him his "latest project", which again, sounds demeaning.

No one said that he was an underage twink (how anyone read that from my post I can't fathom). Are twinks always underage? I thought it was more about looking young and nubile. I never said anything about them being underage, though you may be referring to Alex's joke. In any case, I don't care if Dave's "project" is scruffy, or a bear, or whatever. My reference to twinks was mostly an end line joke, and I never said that all gay men are attracted to twinks, or underage people, or children. I don't know where you got that from.

In any case I feel like I know a little more about this stuff now, so at least that. Sorry if I offended but as I said, I find this a bit unsettling, and need it explained to me. Thanks.

Yeah, the word "twink" doesn't necessarily mean underaged. It's generally a physical type, and usually not applied to guys past their mid-twenties. keith - SuPeR K! being an exceptional exception to the rule. ;)

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Hellmans / Best Foods Real Mayonnaise. Me likee.

On twinks?

Today was a wonderful day - other than the small fact we got rear-ended (in the Volvo you dirty minded bastards). We're both a bit sore and I'm sure that will get worse before it gets better. The Volvo now has wings! The bumper got pushed in and it is sticking out on the sides, but no damage I can see other than that. My poor car is falling apart at the seams.

Also a good day.

A nice trip to the pool with the kids.

A few pleasant hours at a dirty carnival.

And I learned a new word.

"And I use that to fvck them in a very uncomfortable place."

"What, like the back of a Volkswagen?"

Ugh, get rest, take drugs, curse the bastard's name.

Ya, that doesn't help much around these parts. :p

Hope you guys aren't too sore in the coming days and the vehicle repair is as painless as possible.

Thanks. It isn't too bad, thankfully. I'm also very grateful the pugs weren't with us.

Although, ironically, we were on our way to lunch with 2 employees of our insurance carrier. I DID ask NM if he could take our claim over heroin chicken. ;)

Nice surprises and general goodness today (yesterday now, I should go to bed already):

Blood test at Kaiser took less than 15 minutes which can't be possible.
I thought I would have to wait for the UPS Store to open since the Kaiser thing didn't take as long as expected but I discovered they open at 8:30, not 9:00 so I didn't have to wait.
Friendly and helpful people at my favorite coffee house and Trader Joe's. This is normal but still worth celebrating.
I called my kid and he answered his phone for a change and I was able to arrange to see the whole family this evening (Sunday).

Dancing tonight was so-so but I had such a good time Friday night it was inevitable. Just can't seem to have two fabulous nights of dancing in a row. No matter, it was a good day.

Sounds amazing from what I've heard!

Ken and I are planning on going next summer. :)

Ouch! Glad it wasn't too serious.

I hope you guys don't start feeling more sore over the next couple of weeks, Lisa. Soft tissue damage can take a while to feel sometimes. Sounds like it wasn't such a strong hit that this would manafest later. When I got rear-ended on the 22 by some kid late for his 1st day at Long Beach State, he must have hit me doing about 35 of 40 mph. But I had inched forward enough to soften the blow (the hit, not the white powder). I didn't suffer any soreness at all.

I'm glad you guys are otherwise ok! :snap:

I want to know more about this dirty carnival.

And what the new word was too!

Today is a day for making salsa. SALSA!

What, vajazzling?

And he said show me your boobs?

Today's a gorgeous day, think I'll go beach it in Laguna. (okay, that's not totally spur of the moment, I have family in town, but you have to admit it's a perfect day)

The password is "twink."

[Ping.]

A golf-related headline on a local paper's website:

"Put-ting it together"

Put? Putt? Puting? Putting?

Someone really needed to stop that headline from happening, on so many levels.

After such a nice weekend, it's that much harder to cope with the onset of Monday.

I love the two greek Drag-Queens...

Barbara Ganush and
Sue Vlaki

100s, here we come!

This makes it a 30-40 degree change kind of week. YAY 4 SUMMER!

I've given myself a 90% chance of not crashing today, my first day ever riding with big-boy bike pedals/shoes (i.e., the kind where the shoe actually clips onto the pedal*)

So far so good. I did some practicing in the parking lot on Saturday when I got them installed. I almost fell only once, and was able to get my foot out in time on that occasion, so I'm feeling pretty confident. It's really not that difficult, it's just a mental thing. It feels weird knowing that I'm attached to the thing. The biggest risk I think is that for 6 miles I'm on a bike trail where I never have to stop pedaling. So when I exit the trail, I'm at risk of having zoned out and forgotten when I get to the first traffic light.

But I'm sure the muscle memory will kick in soon enough. Meanwhile, the increase in pedaling efficiency was definitely noticeable. I'll found out tomorrow which new let muscles I'm using.


* Paradoxically, they are called "clipless" due to the fact that before their invention, there were "toe clips" which aren't really clips so much as straps or rigid cage-like things on the front of the pedal that your toe slips into

Yay summer! I guess I better go buy some shorts.

Me mum has a shiny new hip thanks to those things. Couldn't get her foot free quick enough fell over and crushed the old one.

I got a set that has clips on one side, platform on the other. When I'm in situations where I'm likely to have to stop or turn a lot, I can click out and use the platform side and not worry about it, then when I'm on the trail where there's very little chance I'll need to get off the pedals quickly, I clip in. It also means I can hop on the bike at lunch for a quick ride without having to change shoes. Best of both worlds. Meanwhile, the ability to really use the whole pedal stroke to power the wheel makes a big difference.

I'm now saying "Toe Clips" as in "Toe Picks".

And, those are things I will NEVER have.

Wait, I want to go back to this Hellman's mayonnaise-on-twinks thing.



Hellboy mayonnaise?

I am sooooo not into working today...

Those are the kind of pedals I'm going to get. I've only used my shoes in spin class so far. Makes a big difference!

I also got a pair of shoes that are kinda hybrid road/mtb shoes. Not as bulky as mtb, but still with a rubber sole that works on the platform side of the pedal. A standard road shoe, with it's hard plastic sole, would have a tendency to slip off the platform.

Insomnia sucks. I'm bored

You need a great book to read for that Kevy. At least if you're up, you can enjoy the time.

For lack of a better place to put this (and not wanting to start a new thread for it):

Settling dispute over book will cost Zephyrhills more than $4,000

You can read the story yourself, but the gist of it is that a guy didn't want to pay $30 plus tax to buy the book for his Mom, so he hired a lawyer and paid the $400 in court filing fees to sue the city (a city in which he lived). The basis of the suit was that the citizens of the city shouldn't have to pay for the book. When he "won" the suit, the city had to lower the cost of the book to just the printing cost of $17.89 (apparently, the decade of the city employees' time to compile the information is not worth anything) plus they (the city) had to pay the $4,000+ in court/attorney fees for the suit.

So, in an effort to save the citizens of the town who chose to purchase the book $14.16 each*, he instead cost the whole town $12,494.50**

What a guy!




* $32.05 ($29.95 + 7% Sales Tax) - $17.89 = $14.16 difference
** $4,052.50 in Attorney Fees + $8,442.00 in lost revenue ($29.95 - $17.89 = $12.06 per book difference * 700 books [assuming all books are sold]) = $12,494.50

I guess it's been awhile. Ha ha. :)

What, we all bored you to death when you visited?

Should the fact that this morning the locker room shower smelled like PotC concern me?

Perhaps you've discovered Davey Jone's locker?

From a license plate frame seen on the way to work this morning:

Nope, I am a Facebook drone now. All is Facebook, all are welcome, all are welcome.
:D

I just finished cutting up 3 1/2 pounds of lamb, and it's now in the fridge marinating away. Gonna have some speidies on the 4th!

Haven't you heard? Facebook is dead.

all 800ish photos uploaded. Hoping to do a trip report at some point.

I want one!

Happy birthday America!

We are having a quiet night at home watching "A capital forth"

So far they are doing a good job hiding the giant mud pit more commonly known as the reflecting pool.

I love golf. I wish I was better at it, but I love it. Shot 92 today - not bad for me at all.

I always shoot in the mid 70s.



Any hotter and I stay inside.

You misunderstand... I don't want something amphibious. I want that cool retro space-agey marvel in the picture. It's all about style, not substance.

Not that Little Richard was ever known as a master of elocution, but lordy was that unintelligible. At least he can still carry a tune.

For me Little Richard falls into the Uncanny Valley.

I too shoot in the low-mid-70's.



About the same on the back nine.

According to weather.com, the high for today in my current zipcode is forecast to be 83. The forecast temperature at 11AM is 79.

But right now, at 10:20AM, it says the current temperature is 82 (a likely accurate number judging by standing outside). I'm going to guess 83 is an optimistic forecast.

61% humidity is gross.

I hate you.

Having this studied this extensively, it is my experience that the forecasts routinely err on the low side by at least five degrees on hot days. I assume this is because the weather.com people have been bought off by our nation's Chambers of Commerce who assume, rightly in my case, that the higher the forecasted temperature, the more likely people are to say, "Fuch it, I ain't going anywhere."

I am so over this heat. Is it October soon?

Sweat

October is usually worse here than July. There's been decent cool breezes in the late afternoons. In October, it's horrible hot winds blowing through.

I've lost one of my balls

Total Heatwave here - it got up to 63°F today. No, Really !! I had to remove my jacket on the train.

Lash: Plan a trip here for Disneyland's birthday some year. I DARE YOU.

only if I get to wear incontinence pads under my arms...

So this is my schedule for 10:30-1pm today. Somehow I think I'm not going to be at all the meetings (and I should be):

Yeah, the Fwnlsvburere could really use your input.

Lately, I've been eating everything in sight but still losing weight. Either I've some exotic disease or I'm completely stressed out.

Getting attitude from my teenager while she learns to drive is so irritating. Her PMS + 16 year oldness + almost 100 degrees =/= my good moodness.

Never have I feared for my life more than when I was in the back seat while my Mom taught my older sister how to drive.

Maddies studying for her permit as we speak.

My sister is still the worst driver. My dad went out with her exactly once. He came home got out and yelled "I don't care what the hell they told you in Drivers Ed." She'd spent the whole trip saying "that's not what they told us in Drivers Ed" every 10 seconds.

Headliner is only a few months from getting her permit so we'll see how that goes but with Moonie Jr. it was all smooth sailing and two years later he still has a perfect record.

Actually, that was the coolest meeting on there but unfortunately the other stuff was mostly higher priority.

The funny thing about your daughter calling from a friends house on speaker phone when you don't know you're on speaker phone is when you tell her to come home and get clothes so she doesn't stink. lol. Her friend though that was hillarious and I'm sure will be joking about how much my daughter stinks all night.

It's amazing how draining a day in which I spent next to no time working on anything productive can be.

I spent the day at UCLA. When Monday comes around, say good bye to Barbie Boobs.

So what do we get in their place?

I'm still voting for heart shaped nipples!

with as much as she hangs out with the pugs, she'll be lucky not to end up with 6 of 'em

but yeah, heart shaped could be cool...
or maybe a pair of hidden mickeys?

:cool:

What about that one barbie that went from nothing to barbie boobs when you turn her arm in a circle? That type of thing could come in handy - boobs are useful but can get in the way sometimes.

Growing up Skipper - I had that one.

I think they should be two perfect circles of Ruby Swarovski Crystals !!

I am SO looking this one up on Youtube.

NA, you awesome person, you're in my thoughts.

Next time you and Stoat hit Chicago, we're meeting for a bacon martini or something. I'll show you Polaroids of my Barbie collection.

Actually, I lived with an avid Barbie collector once - have you seen Hotdog On A Stick Barbie ??

Apparently Google wants to assist me in avoiding the start of my work week by not letting me access my work email... I don't know whether to be frustrated or celebrate.

if you stay frustrated, it'll last all day. if you attempt to celebrate, it would be repaired right around the time you actually start enjoying it.

your call

:p

Yep. Problem solved. JUST before I officially gave up on work for the day. Damn.

I just stumbled across another internet time waster site...

Kitschy Living

Kimchi got super excited that her Daddy was going to take her for a walk. She was slam dancing with thurston, rolling over and showing her belly, making dinosaur noises...and then she rocketed into the air to give Chris a kiss on the nose.....except, she made his nose bleed.

I'm hoping Chris was bent over because my minds eye is seeing a flying Kimchi, and that makes me giggle!


Apparently it is free Slurpee day today. The boy is dying to go to 7/11.

She was on the bed and he was standing up, so it was a bit of a flying Kimchi.

A flying Boomer would be MUCH scarier than a flying Kimchi....And a much better band name.

It is all fun and games until the manhole cover lands on someone.

I don't know... "Flying Kimchi" has a certain ring to it...

I was gonna hang on for one more round of discs before canceling my Netflix (there were some pregnancy things I wanted to see first), but I just discovered my next billing cycle started tomorrow, so... *snip!*

I know the new pricing wasn't going into effect till September, but it made sense to do now because I'm a bit short of cash, and since I knew I'd be canceling anyway, made sense to end it at the end of the cycle rather than hope I remembered next month.

I think we have until the 7th but at this point I am done with them. At least Redbox has the movies sooner and they have free codes quite often!

Why is it that (completely anecdotally within my own group of friends) the people I've seen complaining the most about the Netflix price change have by and large been the people who consider themselves conservatives and free-market proponents? I find that interesting.

We're likely to take the price hit and keep both our 1 disc and streaming. There's nothing else out there that offer the combination of convenience and selection that Netflix does for us. If we were to drop one, it would likely be streaming, but I doubt we'd do that. Gotten to used to having it. And we definitely can't drop the discs. Our tastes run too eclectic for RedBox, or Amazon, or Vudu, or Blockbuster, or any other service we've compared with. Too many titles currently on our Netflix queue that just would not be available to us anywhere else. And with our ability to go out and see movies nearly nil, it's important to us to have that convenience and selection.

Apparently Netflix is banking on lots of people like us who see no viable alternative on the market that offers what they offer. For us, it's certainly true.

I was paying $17/month for a 4-disc plus unlimited streaming plan. I've been on that plan since I first subscribed to Netflix shortly after they went into business. It's a plan that is grandfathered and the price has never changed that I recall.

I looked at my rental history. Six discs have been watched in the last 14 months. So for me, staying on the same plan would have meant paying $25/month (and has been stupid for a long time).

So for me this is is a massive price cut since it finally got me to move into a plan that actually matches how I use the service (all streaming, all the time, and a lot of it). I never used Netflix for new releases and the great thing about it was how it finally broke me of that, since when I was in video stores I rarely made it past the new releases shelves.

So I'm fine with it all.

Plus, Netflix doesn't want to be in the DVD mailing business anymore, so to the extent it drives away DVD users I'm sure they're actually happy.

Assuming they aren't calling for government regulation to prevent a price change, what is interesting about it? "That's too much! I won't pay" isn't in conflict with free market principals.

The one thing I haven't seen is whether this is signaling coming improvements in streaming selection? While there is lots of great stuff on there, I still find that more often than not when I check to see if something I want to watch is available streaming, it's not.

Except when they seem to imply that Netflix is doing something horrible and unfair by doing so.

ETA: eh, honestly I withdraw the observation. I shouldn't read social media in the morning before coffee. Looking back at the posts, they aren't as angry sounding as I thought on first read. Still mildly interesting that those are the people in my circle that have brought the subject up.

I know I really should be over the whole "OMG I can't believe how cheap storage is!" thing, but I just bought 8GB worth of high speed SD cards (2x4GB) for $6. I can't help but be in awe.

It just means you haven't forgotten where you've come from. I paid $119 for a portable 1.5TB hard drive. First of all, 1.5TERABYTE! :eek: :eek: :eek: and I can get a 1.5TERABYTE!!!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: drive for only $119? And it's portable?

Wow.

In related news, I bought a new wallet. And it has NINE slots for cards and ID!!

And it only cost me $45.

Oh and I bought eight 56 quart/33 liter storage containers yesterday at home depot - that's 448 quarts or 264 liters of storage for $45!

But our storage until still costs us $110 a month (until we get rid of it).

For only $27 more you could fill it with 36GB worth of SD cards.

Exactly. I didn't say they didn't have the RIGHT to change their pricing structure, they certainly do. Just like I have the RIGHT to not like it and refuse to pay.

I'm just upset because a service I liked has raised its price beyond a point I believe matches up with the value it brings. I am not willing to spend $24/month for that service, therefore, according to the laws of the free market, I have ended the business relationship.

I do so loudly because, of course, a truly free market relies on the free flow of information - in order for Netflix to determine the true market value of their product, they need to understand what factors affect their customers' buying decisions, and be able to track the effect of those changes.

If enough people quit Netflix, perhaps Netflix will determine that their pricing has exceeded their product's value. Or, perhaps they've already projected those numbers and determined that the increased profit from the lemmings who stay more than makes up for the lost customers, in which case, they have made a wise choice. And that choice doesn't include me buying their service.

Then again, if the expected profit increase dramatically improves their streaming catalog, I may in future reconsider, and pick up a "streaming only" account. But, for the time being and my family's budget, we're not paying for that transition.

With you right until you called people who make a different free market decision than you names.

Fair enough. I couldn't resist ;)

Lani and I are new the iPhones. So we're finally getting to experience AutoCorrect for ourselves.

Lani just let me know that she just won a Twitter haiku context getting us tickets to the A's game this weekend. And it includes the pee game competition. (though that is close it enough I suppose it might have just been a good old fashioned typo.)

Welcome to the iVerse, Alex and Lani! Gabba Gabba, and all that.


Heheh, I'm happy with the new Netflix pricing. I get a $3 deduction in my DVD-only plan. I'm such a tech retard that I don't have a wireless network at home, with no way to "stream" content to my big display unit. Watching movies on my computer screen is not nearly as much fun, and I'm rarely in such a hurry to see something that I can't wait a few days for it to arrive in the mail.

Ah, the rare advantage of being an old man! I still watch DVDs!


On the other hand, I'm considering cancelling Netflix because they now distribute "rental" discs with no extras, and not the identical discs you can buy in stores. If I happen to like a movie, I really want to watch the filmmakers' commentary. With that option gone, I'm not keen to rent nearly as many titles. I know this isn't Netflix's decision; it's being forced on them by the studios. But the price change is no different; the studios have increased their prices, and Netflix is passing them on. But I conduct business with Netflix, not the studios. If I find I'm barely renting things anymore (and I'm very close to that now), I'll just quit being a customer.

There's something to be said about watching movies on the laptop with headphones. The headphones block out distractions and the laptop being so much closer then the tv does the same. Comfy chair with a rolling desk for it and ta-da - my own personal theater.

Or on the go... when I was employed I used to watch movies or tv this way on my lunch break. It was a great way take my mind totally off work and nice when I didn't have a good book I was reading.

I am going back to work today. Boo hoo!

It's about time slacker

The new Netflix pricing allowed me to change to the service I really wanted and for two dollars less. I never wanted streaming because the fact that I could watch something any time because it's available to stream means I would never watch anything. (I don't have to watch this now because I can watch it later and do something besides sitting down in front of the TV.) Having that red envelope in my house means I will make time to watch it so I can send it back and find something new in my mailbox.

I realize that they don't want to send me or anyone else DVDs through the mail any more but until they eliminate the option entirely it works best for me.

They are making you work on Disneyland's Birthday?

The farging ice holes! ;)

My day may end up being shorter than I origannaly planned. Yesterday I ripped the entire toenail from a toe, and the toe is bruised a pretty color of purple. :eek:

We will see how much walking I can do. A short visit to DL, DCA, & Harry Potter at DtD are the plans.

Umm, she posted that on Friday morning.

Soooo.....it's been awhile. I've spent it productively: working hard on finding me and learning to be that person, not someone else. There's been a lot of (expensive) therapy, a lot of introspection, a return to some useful medications, rediscovery of sleep, and a lot of major life changes.

After all that, I feel introductions are in order.

Hi, I'm Prudence. I'm awesome. I'm pretty happy being me. You can like me or not; it's your own loss if you don't, as I'm into some awesome stuff. It might not be the stuff other people think is awesome, but that's okay because it's my awesome stuff. In a week I'll be a resident of Rockville, MD, and a federal judicial clerk. I'm living my dreams.

Congratulations Pru!

Score one for the bitter east coast! Welcome!

Do justice!

Hey I've got the place all to myself.



I think I'll get naked and run through the Parking Lot.

Thanks Moonie, now I have that old song running through my head. Something about " Oh yes, they call him the streak" but are you the fastest thing on two feet!?

Congrats Pru! I hope this job is everything you hope it to be. Good luck on the other coast!

What's up the new member listed there? That's not a name I've seen around.

Well... that's interesting

Hee!

I had to look twice, I thought for sure Matt posted that.

I had that shirt.

I'm thinking about doing a cookout tonight. The good news is I won't have to mess around with any charcoal. I'll just drop the meat on the grill and it should cook just fine.

It's currently a lovely 77 degrees here in Long Beach.

I just got in from working in the garden. Things are coming along nicely!

A coworker pointed out that there is a sandwich shop in Santa Ana called the Pumper Pickle. The name amuses me.

It is very close to my office: I may need to pay them a visit.

"Pickle Pumper", however, would be something entirely different.

I think I used to eat at the Pumper Pickle.

My eldest just back from Paris. She brought back the graphic novel, Kiki de Montparnasse. It's fabulous.

My daughter's best friend (who we no longer live near) gave birth this morning. She's 17. She is giving the baby up for adoption to a lovely couple who can't have children.

She posted a photo of him and it made me cry. I can't imagine giving my baby away to someone. Adoption is the best solution in this situation and is one that my daugther encouraged her towards. (as well as getting rid of the scummy fauther but we can't win them all.) I'm so glad it's not my daughter in this situation.

What an incredible thing for this childless couple. They've been through this once before and had the baby for 3 months and somehow the mother was able to change her mind and take the baby back. I can't even imagine.

Susan's cousin adopted a baby in a similar situation (though I don't know the birth mother's full story). Cousin and her husband have kept the birth mother involved in the child's life, inviting her to birthday parties and such.

I really should ask Susan how long they are going to keep this up and how involved the mother is.

So, it's been more about 7 hours since the last post.

I assume you're all off having Huddle Orgies or whatever the new thing is?

I've been packing. It's all I do any more. Pack pack pack pack pack. This is making future employment with the military look very attractive - you get to travel the world and they do all the heavy lifting.

Yes, if there is one thing the military does well, it is haircuts. If there's two, it is hair cuts and moving.

From time to time we get emails from out homeowners association. Critical updates about mahjong club meetings and broken street lights. Today's email missive was:

Huh. Perhaps I should not add them to my spam bucket after all.

I may have to reactive the snowmegeddon cam and leave the top off all our trash cans.

Update:

The bear warning has been downgraded to a black bear sighting. Which they tell me is better overall.

Yeah, a brown bear sighting in your neck of the woods would have zookeepers ordering triplechecks of their cages.

"Bears? Bears? Bears are sweet..."

you forgot making people hurry up and wait.

Besides, you ever see a bear with 40-foot feet?

It's Monday evening. The 3-day window for the movers was THIS Thursday-Saturday. They still haven't given us a day. I'm about to lose my mind. Do I have a day left to pack? Three? How insane do I need to be right now?

Plus Yuripants has chewed a back claw down to the nub, the car needed something something CV joint boots replaced, and the Rat's insurance is having fits, which means interfacing with my insurance as secondary insurance is having fits. And if Congress doesn't get its **** in one sock I might not have a job when I get to the East Coast.


But other than that, the play was great.

Plan for Thursday. You're either done on time and have no time to relax or done early with a couple days to relax.

That's what we're going with. Cognitively I can keep the positive in mind: Yuri's foot looks better today; at least we fixed the car now (with a mechanic we trust), and didn't lose a day while we were on the road; at least we HAVE insurance to bitch about; as least I have an awesome job to worry about being furloughed from. I've had a lot of help over the past few month retraining the thinking part of my brain to respond appropriately to situations, but I'm still having the involuntary panic attack symptoms -- episodes of rapid pulse and breathing, flushes of adrenalin, inattention, etc. It's quite annoying and I wish that part would stop.

Insurance is annoying. The BS in Washington is annoying. You're making a huge move, it's ok to stress over sh*t like not knowing when the frakking movers are going to show up.

Hope they contact you tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I channeled my angst into dealing VERY FIRMLY with Comcast. We ordered a self-install kit last week to arrive here by Thursday. Confirmation email says ship to here. Where did it go? Rockville. Where it was returned to the service center for me to make an appointment and stand in line to get it there. NO I WILL NOT! I used my very firm words, told them what I expected them to do, and presto chango they're overnighting it to us here gratis.

Well played, Prudence.

We did the same with a faulty picnic table from LL Bean two days ago. Bean wanted us to pack it up and send it back. That's a packaging job for the pros, plus it would mean spending another 20 min. unscrewing legs. Yeah, not happening.

The upshot: We don't send the faulty table back. We dispose of it here, which is no problem. Bean overnights us another picnic table.

Sometimes, you just gotta explain yourself to Customer Service. Thank you LL Bean for understanding our point of view.

Comcast!!! Noooooo!! Don't do it!!!!! We have FIOS in most areas around here. Did you check? Please check! You NEED to check! Not Comcast, pleaseeee!!!

Oh, we actually plan to do FIOS, we just needed to start with Comcast because we could have that up and running the day we arrive, versus having to make an appointment and wait. Now, as soon as we get there the Rat can start working and we can examine the budget to see whether we can afford TV too, or just internets, and make a FIOS appointment at our leisure. It's all part of the cunning plan!

Meanwhile, my hot streak continues. I needed to move the Uhaul pickup date forward as yes, movers are scheduled to pick-up Thursday. So, I go on line and....change will cost $500. Um, what? It's already the most expensive game in town by a lot (but has a much higher load weight maximum, hence our selectiong). It's now nearly $1K more expensive. So, I call. And the guy says yes, that's really how much it would cost. I say: your competitors are much cheaper. He says he doubts it, but if I get quotes for the same days/miles/size truck, they price match. I quickly get quotes $400+ off the *original* quote, for pick-up tomorrow, even. Call back. Woman asks if I would consider keeping our reservation with uhaul if they match it. I say: sure! And presto-chango, saved not only the $500 they tried for but an additional $426 off the original reservation. Because I am on FIRE!

Yay Pru!

rawk

As opposed to a pregnant woman: can't unscrew that.

Join me in a handful of Jelly Bellys? I have an entire bowl full.

I bought a Costco bucket of 'em the other day. I've already had my morning share else I'd join you now :)

WANT!

Come write my next hundred lines of code for me and you can have some.

write? pfft. dont you have some code somewhere you can steal?

Dude, I wish I could code. But even the mysteries of Basic elude me, so pretty much anything more complicated than simple HTML flies over my head. (Which pisses me off to no end because, seriously, I wish I could write code...)

I'll trade you your coding for my technical documentation.

Oh wait, I can't code.

I just want the bucket of jelly bellies!

You have to have something to trade him!

I was at the Pharmacy today picking up prescriptions. Another man was also there and was upset, demanding to talk to the manager, arguing with the pharmacy manager, calling for the store manager, demanding names (first and last, tyvm) getting more and more irate. His friend go involved and they were both yelling. I, of course, was waiting for my refills and listening in. It seems his Doctor forgot to write the dosage instructions on the prescription and the pharmacy wouldn't fill it without them. It apparently was the same prescription he had had filled before, so he thought that was enough evidence for the pharmacy to go on for this prescription. The pharmacist explained that they could lose their license if they fill an incomplete prescription. The time was about 3:30.

What I got out of observing this whole deal is that people are more intent on "getting what they think they are supposed to have" and will go to any length to try and get it EXCEPT the obvious route to a solution which, in this case, would be to call the doctor's office and ask for a complete prescription to be faxed over.

When I left the store 15 minutes later, the man was still standing outside, this time on the phone to someone "higher up on the pharmacy food chain" still demanding he get his way.

The wasted time, energy, effort and general bad behavior just amazes me when a solution seems so obvious. It seems most people would rather stay in the problem than be a part of the solution. It's nuts!.

Why didn't the pharmacist just call over to the doctor's office?

Been there with the incomplete Rx but it was 6 p.m. and the doctor's office was closed. Yeah, anger doesn't cut it in that situation. He needed to try seduction. Why didn't the guy bite his lower lip in dismay, all animation leaving his face, lonely, silent defeat taking its place? Lower your head, dude, take deep breaths - heave those pecs. Let a hot tear trickle down your cheek. Now, swallow hard, fix the pharmacist with a gaze, and let your deep and silent anguish pierce the distance between you and the pharmacist.

My .02.

You mean like:

I think Helen's description is much more eloquent

maybe his 'scrip was for a chill pill. he very obviously needed a couple.

what Ive found in those cases is that if you talk to them, 99.9% of the time, since you have a history of having the med anyway, they'll give you a few to get through until they can contact the Dr for clarification, then fill it afterward, but you kinda have start off not being a general douchebag about it

I hate it when people get irate like that... I get their pain. It happens so much to Jason and I. However, yeah, he should have called his doc.

More odd, to me, is that the pharmacy didn't offer to call the doctor's office right off the bat. Of the couple dozen times that we've come in with an incomplete prescription at any of the pharmacies we've had they have always called before even telling us that there was a problem, or let us know that they were about to. We've called at the same time ourselves, just to stress the urgency of the prescription correction.

The whole situation just seems like a C.F.

Ooh, ditto on Capt. Jack's note. After hours, they've given him enough to get through the night/next day if it's something he's been on before.

Makes me wonder if this person is a regular troublemaker for them not to help him out.

Yeah, I felt BOTH parties were being douchebags and preferring to argue over looking for a solution. It's this unfortunate cultural phenomena I've been noticing recently. I also find that very public displays of anger sort of frighten me.

There is a pale blue lightning of gratitude between my dark lashes, Kevy.


My new .sig line!


So, I finally saw "The King's Speech" last night. That Barbossa is one multi-faceted guy. It's been a long time since a movie completely took me into its world. Wonderful!

Maddie is very amused that the rug she likes at Ikea is the same as her middle name. She thinks it must be a sign.

You know, sometimes people use anger/hissyfits to try and cover for/get away with something. Which is why it would be dangerous for the pharmacy to give in.

She may be right! I would certainly think that way too!

Wow, how weird is that! I have an avocado waring blender from the '70s that's called "Cirquelover". I'm willing to part with it, I'll overnight it to you for only $735.92.

Sorry Moonie, it's not my middle name :p

Another one to check off the Bucket List ...
 

After years of studying their catalogs, I finally got to eat something from that temple of deliciousness, Zingerman's. Even better, it was a gift!

So, now I have a Zingerman's almond pound cake sitting in my fridge.

WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME ABOUT THE GIANT INSECTS WITH A MILLION LONG LEGS THAT ARE TOO BIG TO GO DOWN THE DRAIN??!!?????

Pru

Be careful; there are giant insects with a million long legs that are too big to go down the drain.

a well swung shoe can cure a multitude of crawling ills

If they warn people no one would move there!

You mean these ?? :evil:

Strangely beautiful. Somehow I could see a chrome sculpture of that being absolutely fascinating.

I squished one of those, or something very like it, in my bathroom a couple weeks ago. WTF? I've never seen one of those before.

I am going to make the general assumption that whatever is spoilerized is NSFBTD

That would be a safe assumption, BtD

It was a terrifying enough insect that the Rat wouldn't even dare squish it. The interwebs say they are beneficial and eat cockroaches, but it truly looks like the sort of thing that would eat your face while you sleep.

Sooooo..... how did you dispose of it?

Why did I click on that photo? Why? And why was the photo so damn big? Larger than life. It WAS larger than life - right? Please don't tell me that's lifesize. When you mean too big to go down the drain - maybe it is.

shivers.

I once had a run-in with a spider (my only phobia) that was bigger around than my foot, so I didn't want to step on it for fear that it would latch onto my foot. It was in the back of our factory in Huntington Beach, and I saw it from a distance of about 100 feet, and thought it was a small black cat. But as I got closer, my blood ran cold as my jaw dropped open. WTF!!!????? THAT'S a spider!!!??????

It wasn't a hairy spider, just some strange radio active mutant that crawled over from Chernobyl after surfing across the ocean on the back of whatever was at Pru's house.

So I ran to get something large like a broken down cardboard box to toss on it, so I could jump on it to kill it. All the while fearing the gut wrinching crunching sound it would make, or even worse, that it mutated vocal chords and would scream! :eek:

But when I returned moments later, it was gone! There were rows of pallets with 55 gallon drums back there and it could have crawled under them (after lowering it's head and watching it's step). I got a flashlight to check under each pallet, as it wouldn't be easily missed, but to no avail. It was gone. Everytime I went back there, I first would scan the walkways, and walk slowly watching for anything that might jump out, leap 6 feet into the air and attach it's self to my head and eat my face. Can you emagine the worker's comp claim? Try filing that report!

But I didn't worry too much, I heard those spiders could jump 30 feet, and the ailes were only 5 feet wide. So I knew it would jump right over me(Thanks skipper Dan!). And we moved 6 month later. We never did find the monster!

I also found crabs back there. We were 2 miles from the beach, but the business next door repaired docks, so that was easily explained.

When I was a kid, we lived next door to my Mom's good friend and her husband. It was a duplex or apartment complex or something - but our small back yards were seperated by a wooden fence that wasn't that big.

I distinctly remember the day that his tarantula got out and made it's way into our house through the back door and into the living room where we were folding laundry on the floor. My Mom ran out of the house screaming then ran back in and got me and ran back out again.

In my head, the spider was as large as a salad plate. I have no idea how accurate that is.

Wow, I'm gonna sleep well tonight..... not.

The itsy bitsy spider crawled up the water spout...

LA LA LA LA LA LA LALA I'M NOT LISTENINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

We don't know where the large insect is, but the dryer doesn't work. Coincidence?

I think not!

Good thing I cut off my Netflix... or I could waste a LOT of time catching up on old Dr. Who episodes! Seriously, BBC America shows a few hours of it a day - and I watch!

Airwolf was one of my Mom's favorite shows. When I got my first cell phone, the theme song was one of the ring tone options and I picked it. It made answering the phone seem very urgent!

I just learned that Alexander Skarsgård (Eric Northman on True Blood) played Meekus, one of Derek Zoolander's roommates in Zoolander (one of the guys who died in the gas station fight while out for orange mocha frappuccinos).

I just learned that I don't know who Alexander Skarsgård is.

Not his sexiest photo.

Alex - True Blood! Sexay vampires that aren't glittery (and some are downright mean!). This show is soooo up your alley.

I don't get Showtime. Though I have read the first eight books or so (despite thinking them pretty awful), but don't plan to read any more.

If it's ever streaming I'll give it a chance, but it is hard for me to picture Anna Paquin as Sookie (though apparently she does fine).

True Blood is on HBO. I never read the books so I didn't have a pre concieved image of what Sookie would look like. I think she does her well, as a tough scrappy opinianated short girl with a slight southern accent. And Alexander Skarsgård is a great Viking Vamp IMHO. There is a large amount of blood, sex (both herterosexual and gay), nudity, gore, and throw in Vampires, warewolves, fairies, shape shifters, and who knows what else will pop up, and you have True Blood!

The series hits the characters pretty well overall, but they have certainly drifted further and further away from the story lines. The first season was somewhat close to the first book, but it drifts further way with each new season.

waving hello
 

you know, i really do miss you guys. i'd give a personal shout out to you, but, i know i would inadvertantly leave a name or two out and that's just not cool. I hope you all are doing well.

with love,

MickeyLumbo

As long as Eric continues to misplace his shirt it's all good. :evil:

Lickey Mumbo!!!

Oh how I miss thee.

I still prefer him with long hair (Season 1).

sending you a virtual bear hug. is this a good time to give you a call?

Big Bear Hugs from the Lashpair as well !!!! So good to hear from you !!!! :snap:

Hey. I know that guy!

Hey! Good to see you're among the living! :D

lol, yeah, still living. work/bed/work/bed/work/bed, etc.

some have asked about the work part, yup, still working (harder than ever) for the big cheese.

....
a month or so back, I created my first facebook account, for the purpose of reaching out to one special person. well, i didn't know exactly how facebook worked, but suddenly my email account was overwhelmed with spam. is that normal, does facebook harvest emails? In any case, within a few days it was wpparent the person i was trying to reach was not gonna play the game and I neede to close the account. for those of you that requested a "friend" from facebook.. it was not saying no to you, i was bailing out of facebook completely. does that make any sense? anyhow, I may check in from time to time, though my duties at work are only more and more... never less. and no vacation for 4 years... and zero points. never late or absent... gotta lead by example i guess.

and i will always feel the need to use extreme caution about posting/commenting on work .. even the good stuff. they do watch. but i will share this personal thought: florida sucks!

thanks to everone that sent messages yesterday. it was very good timing.

peace

MICKEYLUMBO!!!

We don't need to hear about the big Cheese! We want to hear about YOU!

:cheers:

Yes, Mr. Lumbo, I know there is little time between work & bed, but do stop in to say hi once in a while!

And, no, it's not normal to get a bunch of spam from Facebook. Somehow you must have accidently signed up for something somewhere. Unless you were getting spam from people ON facebook, like lot's of requests to join Farmville and crap.

ACK! I missed the (possibly slight) LickeyMumbo return!

*big hugs*

Miss you!

Virtual HUGS!

I'm starting to theorize that there's a secret ground beef pipeline supplying Costa Mesa with surplus ground beef.

That thought is actually rather gross. ;)

Catching Up on Soooooo!

Hi, Lickey Lumbo! Wow, what a blast from ze past! Hope you are well.

I love me a good burger, but I think I'll stay away from the Costa Mesa Burger Vortex for the rest of my life.

Eric Northman had rad long Viking hair in season 1, but this season's hairstyle is the Best Haircut EVAR!

I'm afraid to ask the source of the ground beef comments... I hope it's Fair related?

In other news: Lickey Mogumbo! *waves*

Apparently, there are 27 hamburger joints within a four-block radius, somewhere in Costa Mesa. :D

I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.

I got so cold last night that we almost turned the heat on; and today I hit some rain on the way to work - in August....

But global climate change is a myth. Not happening. Nope...

The record low temperature in Long Beach for this time of year happened in 1962.

Saying that one cool day in August is evidence of global climate change is like saying that getting two heads in a row while flipping a coin is evidence that there's a grand conspiracy by the US mint to make coins that favor landing on heads. By your logic, had this been a perfectly average summer, every single day, that would be enough to disprove global climate change.

It isn't.

It's anecdotal for sure, but - at least here in West L.A., having a week of June Gloom in August is not the normal pattern that existed for the first 25 years I lived here. Oh, and that June Gloom that was around in June for those 25 years? Gone.

The local climate IS changing - I'm not saying that's due to Global Climate Change - but since all sorts of local climate changes are predicted by the world's best climate scientists, why should I presume the obvious local changes are not part of that?

It was 3 degrees colder last year on the same date, according to Weather Underground.

It was only 3 degrees under the low for the date over the last 69 years (as far back as their almanac goes).

It's hard to see what trend in climate change last night's temperature would support (Long Beach low temperatures for August 10 since 1943):

Alex, where do you get your historical weather data? I can never find a good source.

At Weather Underground look up the location you want. Here's Long Beach:

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=long+beach%2C+ca

Scroll about halfway down and you'll fine a History & Almanac section (right under the radar image). Pick a date and play from there. Unfortunatley doesn't really have tools for comparing over time (I took ten minutes and hit the individual searches for each August 10 since '43). The history page also lists the sunrise, sunset, and moon phase for the date as well.

Okay. I've used Weather Underground before, but like you said it lacks a lot of filtering/searching/sorting options that would make things easier.

(I'm at a standstill at work today until someone else fixes an issue)

Putting aside the larger point that 25 years worth of local weather data is not a basis for conclusions about climate change, let's look at your 25 year claim. Culver city, the last 25 years, August 10 highs and lows.

Attachment 1645

If there's ANY trend to be gleaned from that, it's that any cooling you may perceive seems to be a correction back towards the mean after a slight rise.

Of course, none of this proves there ISN'T climate change happening. But it certainly doesn't prove there IS.

Trying to shove local weather data in the face of climate change deniers is pointless, because they can just as easily shove opposing local weather date right back at you because local weather data is NOT the data that indicates anything either way when talking climate change.

Well, I'm not really talking about lower temperatures. Even during the sunny days here, the temperatures have SEEMED TO ME lower in July and August than they did during high summer of the 20th Century years. While gloomy skies do equal lower temperatures, it's the gloom that's more noticeably odd for August, not merely the lower temperatures that have characterized this entire summer here.

All anecdotal. I don't really care if this or that particular symptom is a one of man-made global warming, natural climate changes, or faulty human perception. I believe that climate change is happening because science says it is. And I put any local changes into the "maybe" category.

Whichever, I don't like anything that makes other places more crappy to live and Southern California more wonderful. Lower summer temperatures here and drought/heat waves everywhere else does just that, and we don't need 70 million more people moving here in the next 10 years over the 475 million already projected.*





* completely made-up, hyperbolic numbers.

It's amazing... Someone could post something like "the Earth is larger than the Moon", and certain persons here would rush right in to tell them they are wrong - with charts and links and fancy doodles. You can stop waiving your dicks around guys; I'm not competeing with you for the title of "Smartest, Hippest, Most manly Man of LoT".

And people wonder why participation on this board is dropping...

I take issue with your central thesis. Pretty much since day one, people have jumped in with charts links and fancy doodles in response to just about everything. It's part of it's charm.

What fun is it to just comment with the obvious "You can't judge global climate change based on observation of local weather".

Now if you will excuse me, I have to spend the next few hours generating a graph of LoT participation over time.

I attribute that to Facebook and other competing social networks that make message boards obsolete. Like all things LoT too will come to an end some day, but think the internet's supply of dicks and whiners to be endless.

If someone posted, "The moon looked bigger in the sky today, therefore it's going to crash into the earth any day now," I'd say something about it.

Better yet, what would your response be if someone posted, 'Wow, it was 3 degrees colder than average yesterday. In AUGUST! But global warming is real. Totally happening. Yep..."?

Yeah, if you'd said that, it would be amazing that we did that. You didn't.

You said, I was at Disneyland today and the crowds seemed small, this is evidence that people aren't going to amusement parks any more.

Yes, we'd probably tell you you were wrong about that too, especially if a look at the number indicated that it wasn't in face an unusually light crowd at Disneyland that day.

But I'm sorry that when you post to a message board people actually converse instead of just giving you thumbs up and a "nice one!"

I have no doubt that the earth is warming and climate is changing but the fact that it was cold last night (though not unusually so) has nothing to do with it.

[ETA: This post written having missed that the last four posts existed.]

What if I said I was also in Long Beach last night and I was so hot I slept outside of the covers and didn't wear socks? Where's the graph about my sock-wearing habits?

Got the data? I can graph my no covers/no socks sleeping easy enough.

Is it warmer than 55? Then I'm sleeping above the bedding (and in an unnecessary image: I don't wear clothes to sleep at any temp).

Ok, I have THAT image burned in my brain now! Thanks!!

Global warming doesn't mean that every place in the world will be hotter. It means that the the few degrees warmer of the whole earth's atmosphere will change our weather patterns. Some places will be drier, some wetter, some warmer, some colder, and sea levels will rise and their flow patters may change (as in the movie Day After Tommorrow, but not as dramatic and sudden). Not that this is particularly important in this part of the conversation, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

Maybe that's why Facebook is so popular. You either "like" something, or you don't.

I must be acclimating. I already heave a sigh at the tourists clogging up the metro.

Heh, that's LOL funny but I'm guessing you don't know why just yet. But you will, oh yes you will indeed. :)

Suddenly I have a Berlin song running through my head.

.

Yesterday's Headline:

Dow Jones closes down 400 points from 24 hours earlier.

Equally true alternative headlines:

Dow Jones closes up 100 points from 26 hours earlier.

Dow Jones's close yesterday is a 3% return over the last calendar year.

Dow Jones's close yesterday is a 17% total return over the last two years.

Dow Jones's close yesterday is a 6% total loss over the last three years.

Dow Jones's close yesterday is a 1% total loss over the last five years.

Dow Jones's close yesterday is a 7% total return over the last ten years.

Dow Jones's close yesterday is a 96% total return over the last 15 years.

Dow Jones's close yesterday is a 260% total return over the last 20 years.

Dow Jones's close yesterday is a 1130% total return over the last 30 years.

Working in the industry I do, I am surrouned by people who all are smart enough to know they're investing for the long run and then are stupid enough to spend all their time talking about the short run.

Yes, there are relatively small groups of people for whom intra-day and even intra-picosecond changes in the market are important. But for the vast majority of us, intra-year changes in the market should hardly be worth our attention.

(This is not me saying one SHOULD be invested in the market, just that for most of us once in, there's no value in watching the stock price every day.) And that those who do have reason to care about such short term movements, they really need to remember that they're the exception not the rule.

Stop reporting as value what is actually volatility.

Maddie passed her written test. So now once she has her first behind the wheel lesson on Wednesday she can drive with an adult over 25. Woo hoo!

We are there with Amy right now KatieSue. She's about 2 months in. The first time I drove with her I thought I was going to pass out from stress. She did great and I was so nervous!

Pay attention to your auto insurance. If you're in CA anyway, you have to add her but they can't increase your insurance until they get their real license. If you have a renewal during the time she has her permit, they will raise the rate prematurely!

It was quite the eye opener though as it's going to DOUBLE our auto insurance. Yep - told her to get a job... she doesn't have one yet but she's already complaining that the cost of gas and auto insurance is going to take up all the money from her job and she won't have any left for fun stuff.

Welcome to the real world dear. THIS is what I've been trying to tell you for years when we talked about your education and what you wanted to do with your life.

We have the added insurance issue of having two households. And hers will be a lot more on mine as I have a newer car. Her Dad claims (he makes a lot of large claims that never come true) that he's going to buy her a car so then that would be where we put the insurance. But I'm not seeing that really happening.

My parents took out $1mil umbrella policy when I got my license... just in case.

I need to look into that BTD. It looks as if we'll have to double insure her. Frack.

Poor Phone Interaction for the Day

Get a call on my cell. Not a number I recognize but it is within the area code so I answer.

Me: Hello?

Him: <mumble mumble mumble>

Me: I'm sorry?

Him: Something Audi of Oakland

Me: Audi of Oakland? Ok...how can I help you?

Him: <noting the confusion in my voice> Have I reached the right person?

Me: How would I know, you dialed the phone. Who are you hoping to reach?

Him: Do you own an Audi Hydramonster Jimmidybobber?

Me: No, what number were you trying?

Him: <a string of numbers that has nothing in common with my phone other than the area code>


Really, I remain amazed by the number of people who, then the phone is answered by an unexpected person, simply demand to know who has answered.

Reminds me of when I was a kid, I had a friend who whenever he called and someone other than me answered the phone would start by saying "Who's this?" My mom, after the first time she told him that's not how it worked, just hung up on him after that.

One of my co-workers will occasionally mis-dial, realize it immediately and hang up. I had one guy call back, the caller ID sends you to the main line, and demand to know who had phoned him and why. I apologized and explained that it was a mis-dial but he was having none of that. He wanted names and reasons.

I had one a-hole call me not long ago. I answer and he starts off yelling with "who the hell is this? wheres Victoria?"

my answer was "um...Canada?"

oddly enough, he didnt call back

When I was a kid our number was close to Arctic Circles. My Dad got tired of explaining so he'd just take their order.

Brilliant! :snap:

You could place take out orders at Arctic Circle? (And I haven't been to an Arctic Circle since I was about 10, I wonder if the one on Fourth Plain and Andresen in Vancouver is still there).

I think you need a penis to go to Harbor Freight. I broke that law today. It wasn't very fun.

Apparently you could cause people would call. Not every day but fairly often. Ours is gone now it's a Papa Johns Pizza - I think it's been gone since the late 80's.

There is still an Arctic Circle in Salem and Newport. I have'nt been to Vancouver lately to know if it's still there.

I received a call from Escondido the other day and the lady wouldn't believe that I wasn't her relative. She kept asking why i sounded funny and what was wrong. Ummm probably because I don't know you lady! I gave up and hung up.

WHAT? :eek: HF is THE Mecca of all things tool oriented!

I love it and cant go in there and not wander every single square foot of it in detail...

psst...look down.

VAM

Harbor Freight is awesome - and it's conveniently located next door to the PetSmart my wife works in :)

touche'

Next time, I'm going with CJ.

Be glad she doesn't have a penis; your insurance would have probably tripled.

And speaking of penises:

I have a different view of HFT; my experiences have been that most of their tools are crappy Chinese ripoffs. But then I haven't been inside one in years.

no...youre right. a vast majority of them arent what I would consider high end "lasts a lifetime" tools. but there are some decently priced throw away tools there that will usually suffice for as long as I need them at a price that I wont feel terrible about when it breaks.

that and open end wrenches and sockets. I have long history of losing those constantly. usually anything 7/16 and 9/16. never really understood why.

I broke my penis in the harbor on some freight once. That wasn't very fun either...

I'm working with a new PM on a project and every single time she announces herself on a call it is with her full name including middle initial. Like Mary S. Smith.

Trying to decide if that middle initial is real important to her and I should use it when introducing her. And I can't think of a way to ask without it sounding like "is there a reason you sound like a pretentious ass?"

^^ Just don't get in the habit of calling her Jesus H. Christ behind her back, or it might get back to her. ;)

I often joke that I'm a typical guy in that there are only eight colors and women are being silly when they pretend there are more. Which is of course exaggeration. I know there are more colors, I just mean that I don't see any real value in naming each possible variation in wavelength.

So it isn't that when someone says "chartreuse" I don't know what it means, it is just that in my head I replace it with "on the yellow side of green."

Anyway, I had reason to be looking at the Crayola page listing all 135 colors they've ever officially had (some are different names for the same thing, there are currently 120 colors) and I realized that there were quite a few I can't even begin to guess in what area of a color wheel they'd fall:

Beaver - Some kind of brown. Possibly pink.
Bittersweet - The color of melancholia.
Blizzard Blue - I assume this is actually a blue color. But maybe just white? Like Blizzard Orange would be?
Cerise - Pink, the color of dead lambs.
Cotton Candy - Standard cotton candy colors: pink, blue, white.
Inch Worm - At least where I grew up, inch worms came in several different colors (and level of hairiness).
Jazzberry Jam - I hope "jazzberry" isn't a real thing.
Outer Space - Well, I assume this is black, but I have no idea how it might differ from the black that already exists.
Periwinkle - Periwikles are little river slugs that create a crusty coat of river gravel. We used them as bait when fishing as a kid.
Razzmatazz - I assume this is what you get when you juice a jazzberry.
Timber Wolf - The color of Kevin Garnett?

ETA: And just looking it up I learn (or, more likley, relearn) that what we called periwinkles are the larval stage of caddisflies. And that in other parts of the country periwinkles are a type snail. Still don't know what color I'd call them.

Oh, and if I'm wrong about what chartreuse is, don't correct me. Because I won't remember. I'm a manly man, there are only eight colors.

Of course naming colors is silly when there is an accurate, quantifiable numbering system known as the Pantone Matching System with the unfortunate acronym).

"Is it grape, or is it aubergine?"

PMS 266

Periwinkle is my favorite crayola color :)

As someone who loves color (and color names) I will translate for you:


Beaver - A dusky deep brown with a hint of grey
Bittersweet - A deep, rich, dark brown.
Blizzard Blue - A pale icy blue - think of the blue ice of a glacier
Cerise - A deep, reddish pink (this is an actual color name akin in it's obscurity as Cerulean is to blue)

Cotton Candy - Cotton Candy is pink, you fool.
Inch Worm - I would guess a deep lime green with a hint of yellow
Jazzberry Jam - Even I can't figure out what this is - maybe deep reddish purple?
Outer Space - I would asume it is black with specks of metallic white mixed in
Periwinkle - No, a Periwinkle is an English flower that is a medium hued blue with a hint of purple. This is a pretty common color name.

Razzmatazz - Who knows. The color-namers were on drugs that day.
Timber Wolf - a medium grey-brown

Hope that helped.

And I can almost guaranteee that each person looking at these samples on their computer is seeing each color just a little differently than everyone else.

The color Macaroni and Cheese always makes me giggle and then want some Mac and Cheese.

Cerise is the shade of red Jackie and her decorator used in the Red Room of the White House when she redecorated in 1961. Stunning color.

Cerise shall now be known as Red Jackie. :D

Wasn't cerise supposed to be the "in" color this year? I thought I read that somewhere...

If the garish purple (red side of purple, or purple side of red) I see above for cerise is accurate, I think I would have to assassinate the president if I were married to him/her just to never have to see such a room again.

Not to worry. Nixon had the cerise ripped out and replaced with a dull boring red. (Most of Jackie's tastefull and elegant decor was re-done under Nixon for no other reason than he hated the Kennedys - That and he wanted something more "imperial".)

Red Jackie! I knew they were communists!

Our old local Dance Hall was decorated in a shade called "Shid Cerise"

Seems I have an extra guest pass for D23 on Saturday. Anyone wanna go with me?

I went to lunch at the little coffee shop by our house that we like. While I was eating, two women were seated at the table next to me. They started complaining to each other that there were "foreign" dishes on the menu.

"What the heck is TAL-ah-pee-ah, anyway?"

Then they asked the waitress that to "turn off that noise" (classic rock) and "change it to a nice Christian or country station."

I think they were in the wrong part of town.

Well, I'm still amazed that tilapia has suddenly in popularity here. I still think of it is as a dirty little fish advocated for aquaculture because it is hardy enough to survive in water you really don't want to be eating fish out of.

Did she?

No. She talked to the owner, but he just shook his head and walked away.

Oh man, I wish I could take you up on that! Already have Bowl tix though. Guess I can't complain ;)

I'd like to check out D23 I guess.

Actually, I have discovered that both Hellmans and Best Foods are represented on the Aussie shelves now, and so, after a quick round of taste-testing, it was unanimously decided by Stoat & Bear that Best Foods version has the best colour, and taste. There is quite a discernible difference in them.

Our Hellmans was made in ??? (Oops, I threw out the label)
Our Best Foods was made in Canada.

Sooooo....., who prefers which?

You can check your electronics at the MousePlanet booth if you are attending any that forbid cameras/cell phones etc. Have fun!

So.....while in everday life I'm a mild-mannered pain in the ass, I'd just like to throw it out there that at work I'm a rock star.

Was given a project a couple weeks ago for some complex new functionality. Was given crappy requirements and told to do some comp lofi designs for an executive review.

So I do it. And present it today. And during the presentation someone pipes up with "hey, we did several iterations of design, usability testing, and focus groups last year on this."

****, says I. So on the fly we start comparing the results of that with mine. Other than being lofis, my design almost exactly matches what they spent $25k coming up with last year.

Just had to say it somewhere since from here on out people will just assume I was working from last year's product.

No mayo - Miracle Whip. The condiment all the best people prefer.

Ooh, I guess I'm not the best people. Miracle Whip is icky, too sweet.

I'll take Best Foods second only to homemade mayo (which is the best by far).

My first wife came from a Miracle Whip family and I actually came to like it, but I haven't had it since then.

Never had Hellman's and Best Foods close enough in time to have a relative opinion.

My old Mr. Coffee machine has been acting up - not draining right with some ground overflow the last couple of times I made coffee. Then I dropped the pepper grinder on the glass pot and broke it.

Today I made the grand investment of $16 and bought a new Mr. Coffee machine.

I looked at the single serving pod type ones briefly. Is the coffee really that much better for $120?

Better? No. Faster and convenienter enough? Possibly. Not high on my list of frivolous niceties to spend $ on, but definitely on the list somewhere.

So.....the boys are in Seattle at a Dead Mau5 show and what am I doing...sitting at LoT. Of course I'm here by myself too. It's going to be a lonely evening.

Mayo! Miracle Whip tastes like smelly armpits smell.

Mayo is gross.

I'm with NA Mayo is gross.

And I have a pod coffee machine. Which I love. I don't make coffee daily, usually just on weekends if that. So buying a pound of coffee it will go stale before I ever use it up. Besides you can get all different kinds and switch it up. Plus what I didn't know when I got it is you can get a reusable filter and use your own coffee or tea in it.

It even makes iced tea.

I prefer Best Foods but that's cause I'm a West coast girl. My Mom loves the Miracle Whip but I haven't had to eat it in years!

So like I said I'm bored so i went and picked blackberries across the road from Walmart. I am baking a yummy blackberry pie now!

I sprained my ankle this morning.

Tonight, I'm alone with the cats and my painkillers.

Pie ! I'll have some. With Mayo ;)
Hell, I'm so fat, I'd put Mayonnaise on an Aspirin. (...with apologies to Joan Rivers...)

Put some Mayo on them!! (The Painkillers, not the cats)

Best Foods

Mustard no mayo

That sounded Japanese. :D

"Musuta no mayo desu ka."

If I were the cats I'd very very afraid.

I don't want a pod coffee maker for the house, but I'm starting to require that all houses I do overnights have one.

Blackberry pie?! I want some!

I painted the kitchen tonight... well, part of it. Next phase is coming soon.

Nope.

But this model was worth the ~$75 or so we plunked down sometime between Christmas and Thanksgiving. (If I recall correctly, the stars aligned and we it was priced at around $90 and we had a 20% off Bed Bath and Beyond coupon).

Jason can't do coffee (he likes it, but his stomach doesn't), and at the time I was tired of doing tiny presses in my press pot, considering that on the weekends I like about one cup of coffee. He does enjoy some of the other pods they offer, such as the apple cider and hot teas.

That said, I'm not sure I would have paid a cent more than what I did, and there are times (yesterday was a perfect example) where I realize that I should have just gotten a bigger press pot and an instant hot water pot thingie (I don't like to wait for my hot water). In the meanwhile, it's a nicety that gets used often enough.

I'm confused? You're all actually talking about coffee? This isn't a euphemism for sex or watching cute kitten videos on YouTube or something?

Because if coffee is the real subject then no, it's never worth it. Because it's coffee and that ****'s vile.

It turned out wonderful and I used the convection part of my oven for the first time.

If you were closer I would invite you over for a slice.

If you were closer, I'd take you up on it! I love blackberries. My grandparents used to live in an area that they grew wild all over. I'd go out horseback riding and come back with my fingers stained purple from snacking while I was out.

How do you like the oven?

My friend up in Newcastle has a partner who refers to coffee as WMD.

Sitting on my patio randomly humming "I'm on the top of the World" by the Carpenters. Which I'm not but it is a lovely evening out.

Wow.

True Blood.

Wow.

I will have to play more with the convection part of the oven. It works great for pie but not with anything greasy, the fan blows the grease around the oven! I think I'll have to try a cake or something next.

Not topless sunbathing, I hope?

:D

On Sunday we left DC to drop Moonie Jr. off at college in Cleveland. I was really not expecting to say:

We are hurrying home tomorrow so we can check the house for any damage from the earthquake before the hurricane arrives this weekend.

Kewl! Have a great time, our weather should be fabulous!

We finally made it home. This appears to be the total extent of damage to CasaDeMoonie.


(Spoilered just for size)

I'm so sorry, Moonie. That's a terrible thing to have to come home to. Those people with the disrupted plastic lawn furniture should feel very fortunate.




(Wait a minute! I come home to that everyday! I've been thinking it was the cats, but now.......)

Oh dear GOD, Moonie!!!!! I hope you have good insurance.

I predict you will have fun. What a great deal ! If there's booze afterwards, while you're in your cups, don't get your swords caught in your pentacles or you'll make a rod for your own back.

What fun! My cousin is getting married in San Fran this weekend. Wish I was going... Everyone is going. Oh well.

oh! the huge manatee! are they letting you live there during the rebuild?

:rolleyes:

We have an actual crack in a non-load-bearing wall. I'd take a photo, but I don't care enough.

Maybe it's a crack in the universe. Don't get too close to you or you may never have existed ;)

But you're probably okay as long as it doesn't look like this:

Hey. I actually got that reference!

I didn't :(

I don't know why, but I keep dating things today "5/26/11".

How did Not Afraid get a Doctor Who reference? That's pop culture. This could cause a crack in the space-time continuum more dangerous than the one in the show!

I didn't get it, if that helps balance the universe.

Ah... so it's not a crack, it's a story arc.

Is that what the kids are calling it these days...

I'm a trend setter.

Having gone over a year tolerating the coffee provided here at work, I'm finally sick enough of it again to get back* to my french press habit. I started again on Friday. Today, the guy 2 cubicles down from me showed up with his :D


* I had to stop after returning from paternity leave. The Friday before T was born I left work without cleaning my press. 6 weeks later....I just threw it away. That's the advantage of getting the $12 one from Ikea.

I've gone through 2 of those Ikea French Presses - they shatter mighty easily - but easily best workplace coffee ever came out of them.

Yeah, the glass is noticeably paper-thin. I was surprised my last one survived in tact as long as it did before my impromptu mold culture experiment.

I'll be headed to Peets shortly to stock up. I grabbed a bag of Ikea's cheap coffee just because I knew I'd screw up my first few pots while I re-acquaint myself with the ritual. Better to waste the $4/lbs cheap crap than the Peets. But that stuff is gross, I the good stuff (and tea).

I don't know about Ikea, but Peet's does carry replacement glass carafes, at least for the minis. I've gone through a few myself.

Just got back from a weekend of tarot seminars in San Francisco. It was amazing! Not to mention I won a deck and a book and I learned a ton. I'm exhausted, but it was fantastic.

Nice! I love my press, too.

Oh, good to know.

Mmm... must get back to coffee. Mmm... Peet's... Mmm...

In other news, as some of you probably already know, my husband is in the hospital with a failing liver (which has slowly but surely been failing over the course of 15 years). We are hoping a transplant comes through. He needs one very soon.

We're hoping for this week, as it's about as long as they will probably be able to keep him at the hospital "in waiting" before they have to turn him out onto the tough streets of SLC (by reasons of justifying to insurance, etc, that he has need to be there, but not so much need that it DQs him from being a recipient). Any positive thoughts into the universe are welcome.

I am just posting this here for when I post something super fanatical regarding my husband and his status. It is now with precedent.

And now... jsklfjasdl#@#$23jklfjskaldf jkflsjutugujdfj

Because that's how I feel right at this moment.

What deck did you win? Do you like it?

I haven't read tarot cards in... ahem... More than a decade... ahem... or two. I've still got my deck though all wrapped up. I've taken it out a few times to look at but that's as far as I got. I like the deck okay.

My friend's Mom used to read for us with the witches tarot or tarot of the witches. I always liked that deck best. Way back then though there wasn't nearly the selection and availability there is now.

wetfhaworvntowieuv092875rt0[qfajpoadskj98&^&%&^89etoihjvblsdkjvmkadmvl;ain wjfalmf';lsdm,vc;sdlmv;lsvm,;slm Bob. Moo.

I want me one of these - a suitcase sized nuclear power plant.

What is your favorite deck?

So sorry to hear this. I hope one comes through quickly, and everything works out! {{{{{HUGS}}}}}

The one off my patio, in a chair, with a beer.

Why?

:D

Well... crap!

Do you have the Housewives Tarot? If not, you must get; it is amusing (Susan has it).

I hope a liver comes through for him, I'll be thinking about you two.

blueerica, I am so sorry this is happening to your family.

I'm sending as many good vibes your way as I can spare, blueerica.

All vibes, all the time, from this corner, blueerica.

BE, I hope things work out for you and your husband.

My brainy thing no work today.

I'm in a very cozy coffee shop at the moment, feverishly working on Food and Wine copy. A few minutes ago, Iz Kamakawiwo'ole's well-known version of "Over the Rainbow" came on and I just spontaneously started tearing up. I've heard it many times and enjoyed it, but it never did such a number on me before. I know I'm a little stressed, but that was a total out of left field emotional whomp. Noting it in passing here, just because. Back to writing endless promotional copy before the Friday deadline.

Added a couple minutes later: Now it's Gorillaz. No particular response. Time to go home and take a nap!

Visible flippyshark mojo for spelling Iz Kamakawiwo'ole

Couldn't figure out what was different about this place for a few minutes. It just looked odd.

Then I realized I had cleared cookies while troubleshooting something and it had reset to the Default style. Now I'm back to Alex style and you all aren't quite so garish anymore.

Awww. That may be the nicest thing you've ever said. <insert imaginary smilies here>

That's ok, Iz's version is my fave as well. I don't really like that song unless it is his version.

Oh, and welcome back to reality, Alex!

<insert garish smilies here>

Yeah, it's really the only version I like as well.

I know the feeling all too well, Flippy. *hugs*

My fave is This Version

See, ya got this one right...

In addition to good Mexican food, this area lacks donut shops. I'm used to every third storefront advertising donuts (and Chinese food!), but here I haven't seen one.

I love the places that serve both: donuts in the morning and Chinese for lunch and dinner. You end up getting donuts that taste like Chinese food (due to the fryers).

Last night I dreamt about a stain glassed window depicting the ascension of Ronald McDonald into heaven. I really wish that I had the skillset to render such a thing.

So take existing artwork of Jesus ascending, Photoshop in Ronald, then run it through the stained glass filter :)

Wait, are you talking about the skillset to create the window or off the clown?

Alex, that's some good google mojo you have.

VAM

It's effing HOT today!

93 degrees.

Hehehehehehehehe. USA'uns think that 33C is hot !! ROTFL.

...Call me when it's 100 degrees. :rolleyes:

93 degrees is not hot. It's been warmer than that every day this summer. We've had some 110+ degrees days here even. I've used the a/c minimally but it's already on now at 6am. When I got up at 5 the house was still 85 degrees. Eff that. The a/c won't work well by about 4pm as it won't be able to keep up with the temp's - but I'll be good until then.

We are on the opposite end. Rain followed by some rain and then later on a bit of rain as the remnants of tropical storm what's his name pass by. The good news is this storm is pushing the much larger Hurricane Katia back out to sea away from us, bad news is Tropical depression 14 is waiting in line to go next.

At 11PM it is.

No, in relative terms it isn't all that hot here at the moment. I've been here with it up to 113, so 98 is comparatively nothing.

That said, it is hot compared to what it has been just a short period ago and so there has been no acclimation. It has been a very mild summer with even 90 degrees being unusual this year so going from low 80s to 98 in a couple days is annoying.

75 degrees seems hot in April and cold in October.

98 is hot for Long Beach - especially in the morning.

90*F in my house by the time I went to bed....at midnight

no wonder I feel like sh!t today

Well it might have sucked to have to replace the air conditioner, but I was pretty happy I did last night.

You know it's going to be a scortcher when it's 100 at 10am.

Do you think it's higher or lower? Remember, official temperature measurements are always done in the shade (they are interested in the temperature of the atmosphere, not how hot radiation from the sun, or reflected radiation from surrounding surfaces can make their thermometer). So if you're standing in the sun it's going to feel hotter than the reported temperature.

It feels every bit of the 92 with 35% humidity here in Costa Mesa.

It's 103 here in North Hollywood, feels like 106.

Well, that's what wunderground.com says, but I'm not going out of the AC unless I have to.

Mmmmmmm just sitting here enjoying a nice steaming hot bowl of Porridge for breakfast. MMmm mm. :p

Yup, it's pouring rain again. Thankfully it's stopped every time I've had to walk outside today, but we have flash flood warnings for tonight.

I spend the entire, very long day today outside. It was 96 or 98 or hotter than fu<k. The hotter than fu<k part ame at 2:00 when I was in Signal Hill fighting with a 90 lb GSD. But, I was drenched in sweat by 9am.

Then I bought a new car. While extremely necessary and fun to drie, it was NOT what I had planned.

I'm getting a little concerned. I saw animals walking down the street in pairs this morning.

Start following them and then ask the guy with the hammer if you can get a ride.

I don't suppose it's a short bus we can use for Ju Koon? :snap:

No, we need a handbasket for JuKoon.

Ok, you want hot, you go outside, on purpose, sizzle in a reflective plastic playground with no shade, chase a little one around with a sippy cup, realize the slides are still a burn hazard even though they're not made of metal anymore, then leave quickly with the car a/c full blast before you both die.

And thus the popularity of indoor/mall-based baby gyms... (which, unlike parks, cost something, alas)

We got a Mini Cooper S, black with white. Manual. FUN! (I've driven up Signal Hill 6 times today). The Volvo is dying and I need a reliable car - like one that starts every day. This is going to become Chris' commuter car next year when we were actually PLANNING on buying a car. I still have the Volvo. I'm going to put a new tire on the front but not do any of the other work that is looming then sell it. I love the Volvo, but the all-city driving I do wears on it.

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You're going to LOVE it!

I love to drive. So when Lani and I bought a new car she insisted we get a manual as she said it would make me love driving even more.

She was wrong. I don't have any problem with a manual transmission, I just don't think it is an improvement.

So it turns out I love to drive, I am indifferent to manipulating my car.

Cute! I hear the maintenance plans on those are excellent!

I am thinking of getting a Mini, but not a manual. Hope you enjoy it!

Welcome to the MINI community. You have been assimilated.

:)

I love manual transmissions. I get really bored driving automatics- not to mention it's problematic when I try to use the clutch. I have to tuck my left leg under my right when I am driving Eric's car, as I've accidentally slammed on the brakes more times than I care to admit. Congrats, Lisa!!!!!!:)

I just love your random spontanity