Taking Liberties
May 30, 2022 5:35 AM Subscribe
As George Bernard Shaw once said, "Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men thread it." At least, I think that's what he said? In any case, in honor of these wise words, whatever they were, here is your new free thread!
Please share your cool links, groovy music, good reads, interesting observations, lucky finds, fun anecdotes, and other wards and antidotes against gloomscrolling!
Please share your cool links, groovy music, good reads, interesting observations, lucky finds, fun anecdotes, and other wards and antidotes against gloomscrolling!
That bollard video is awesome.
posted by wenestvedt at 6:16 AM on May 30, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 6:16 AM on May 30, 2022 [9 favorites]
I am hanging out with my brother's super duper fat baby and all I have to do is fake a hiccup to make him giggle for six to seven seconds. It's magical. Perfect human, no notes.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:19 AM on May 30, 2022 [15 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:19 AM on May 30, 2022 [15 favorites]
The opening paragraph of the great Irish Times article by Patrick Freyne. Clowns.
posted by blob at 6:27 AM on May 30, 2022 [11 favorites]
posted by blob at 6:27 AM on May 30, 2022 [11 favorites]
This week, I brought home influenza A and gave it to my son. I can now tick COVID and the flu off on the list of wayward virus pals I have gotten from work this year alone. Never work in a hospital with poor infection control, folks.
posted by batbat at 6:31 AM on May 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by batbat at 6:31 AM on May 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
I spent most of the holidays in my life just taking a day off, but lately I occasionally think about what's being honored on a day like today.
One of my old high school buddys mentioned in an email today that his uncle (and namesake) was killed in March 1945 along with many others on the USS Franklin.
So I spent some time reading about the Franklin and watching some videos like this one. (CW: war)
Amazing anyone survived. Amazing the ship didn't sink.
posted by MtDewd at 6:33 AM on May 30, 2022
One of my old high school buddys mentioned in an email today that his uncle (and namesake) was killed in March 1945 along with many others on the USS Franklin.
So I spent some time reading about the Franklin and watching some videos like this one. (CW: war)
Amazing anyone survived. Amazing the ship didn't sink.
posted by MtDewd at 6:33 AM on May 30, 2022
I'm currently fascinated with the Twitter thread on (some?) Swedish people having people over and then not feeding them at all.
Also, I decided to watch Johnny Mnemonic over the weekend and apparently it takes place in 2021 where there is a global pandemic that is caused by 5g and being too online apparently and Johnny carries the cure for it in his head that the corporations don't want the people to have because it's more profitable to treat than to cure patients. So that was a trip, as was the hilarious depiction of cyberspace.
Maybe I'll watch the black and white version.
posted by toastyk at 7:13 AM on May 30, 2022 [9 favorites]
Also, I decided to watch Johnny Mnemonic over the weekend and apparently it takes place in 2021 where there is a global pandemic that is caused by 5g and being too online apparently and Johnny carries the cure for it in his head that the corporations don't want the people to have because it's more profitable to treat than to cure patients. So that was a trip, as was the hilarious depiction of cyberspace.
Maybe I'll watch the black and white version.
posted by toastyk at 7:13 AM on May 30, 2022 [9 favorites]
Man! And I just paid $3 for a thread!
posted by Bee'sWing at 7:16 AM on May 30, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by Bee'sWing at 7:16 AM on May 30, 2022 [5 favorites]
Never mind the bollards.
posted by SPrintF at 7:22 AM on May 30, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by SPrintF at 7:22 AM on May 30, 2022 [7 favorites]
On the list of things I really wanted to post on the blue but didn't because there wasn't really enough online content, photographer Rose Blouin's show To Washington Park, With Love was great. Washington Park has for decades been an almost entirely Black and largely poor neighborhood in Chicago. It's one of the two or three neighborhoods nice white people warn you not to visit when you arrive in town. It's also the name of a grass-and-trees park on the edge of the neighborhood where most of the photos were taken. The show is neither poor-people-sympathy-porn nor inspiring-images-of-struggle-porn. (Both of which can be moving and useful.) It's really refreshing to see beautifully executed portraits of people just being themselves.
If you happen to be on the south side of Chicago in the next month or so, most or all of the show is now displayed on 2m-scale screens on the construction fence just across from the Green Line Garfield station. It's worth a detour.
posted by eotvos at 7:24 AM on May 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
If you happen to be on the south side of Chicago in the next month or so, most or all of the show is now displayed on 2m-scale screens on the construction fence just across from the Green Line Garfield station. It's worth a detour.
posted by eotvos at 7:24 AM on May 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
I’m spending the long weekend putting a new roof on the shed. I now really, really understand what old guys mean when they talk about physical labor jobs they did but then say “not anymore, that’s a young man’s game.” 20 years ago when I built the shed the only thing that made me stop working was running out of daylight. Ow everything hurts…
posted by azpenguin at 7:43 AM on May 30, 2022 [12 favorites]
posted by azpenguin at 7:43 AM on May 30, 2022 [12 favorites]
Our long weekend was last weekend in Canada, so its a regular workday for me. Has not started well - we got into a bit of a banking rules snafu on Friday afternoon when trying to make the initial lump sum payment on my son's orthodontic treatment, and they said it was ok to come back first thing Monday morning to finish it, which was 8:00am. I spent ten minutes waiting outside their office, knocking and phoning to no response. Still haven't gotten a phone call back from them. I mean, I'm trying to pay you and you can't show up on time? So getting to work felt frazzled.
On top of that I'm worried about one of my dogs, who is 12...yesterday he just flopped down at my feet in the afternoon, didn't eat dinner, was just lethargic and felt cool to the touch and stumbled a bit when we let him outside. He seemed a little more energetic this morning, but not much - was very happy to just be tucked under a blanket and left alone.
posted by nubs at 8:01 AM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
On top of that I'm worried about one of my dogs, who is 12...yesterday he just flopped down at my feet in the afternoon, didn't eat dinner, was just lethargic and felt cool to the touch and stumbled a bit when we let him outside. He seemed a little more energetic this morning, but not much - was very happy to just be tucked under a blanket and left alone.
posted by nubs at 8:01 AM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
Man! And I just paid $3 for a thread!
That's a bargain! I paid $20 in town.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 8:07 AM on May 30, 2022 [11 favorites]
That's a bargain! I paid $20 in town.
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd at 8:07 AM on May 30, 2022 [11 favorites]
I've been waiting for a free thread and now I have nothing!
Bollards!
posted by mmrtnt at 8:29 AM on May 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
Our long weekend was last weekend in Canada, so its a regular workday for me.
I took a couple of extra days off to make it a five day weekend. Then on Saturday, a massive storm hit Ottawa and took out most of the electrical infrastructure. Our house was (miraculously) spared due to some weirdness of the power grid so we ended up setting up a charging station for the neighbours. The next-door neighbours put up a covered spot with microwave and coffee maker. As a result, our driveway turned into a hangout spot for a bunch of neighbours we'd never met before*.
Also, just before the storm hit, we'd gone out for lunch and were driving back when the rain started. I noticed then that the battery indicator had come on and guessed (correctly, it turned out) that the car's alternator had failed and I had until the battery ran out to get home. The storm then proceeded to close every road between us and home and the car ended up dying on the shoulder of the road still a good ten or so km from home. Fortunately, the rain had stopped by the time the tow truck arrived and we got the car towed to our preferred mechanic and a ride home. I assume that the electricity gods accepted our sacrifice of an alternator and granted us electrical service at home as a boon.
In any case, I ended up taking the rest of the week off. The office was still closed on Thursday and I didn't have working Internet and as for Friday, why bother at this point?
So over all, my time off wasn't particularly restful. Then again, it was an extremely stressful drive followed by several days without many of the amenities I'm used to and a number of really long walks, so I guess it was decent approximation of the camping experience.
* It's not that we're antisocial introverts**; it's that we moved here right at the start of the pandemic.
* Okay, we are, but it's not just that.
posted by suetanvil at 8:32 AM on May 30, 2022 [7 favorites]
I took a couple of extra days off to make it a five day weekend. Then on Saturday, a massive storm hit Ottawa and took out most of the electrical infrastructure. Our house was (miraculously) spared due to some weirdness of the power grid so we ended up setting up a charging station for the neighbours. The next-door neighbours put up a covered spot with microwave and coffee maker. As a result, our driveway turned into a hangout spot for a bunch of neighbours we'd never met before*.
Also, just before the storm hit, we'd gone out for lunch and were driving back when the rain started. I noticed then that the battery indicator had come on and guessed (correctly, it turned out) that the car's alternator had failed and I had until the battery ran out to get home. The storm then proceeded to close every road between us and home and the car ended up dying on the shoulder of the road still a good ten or so km from home. Fortunately, the rain had stopped by the time the tow truck arrived and we got the car towed to our preferred mechanic and a ride home. I assume that the electricity gods accepted our sacrifice of an alternator and granted us electrical service at home as a boon.
In any case, I ended up taking the rest of the week off. The office was still closed on Thursday and I didn't have working Internet and as for Friday, why bother at this point?
So over all, my time off wasn't particularly restful. Then again, it was an extremely stressful drive followed by several days without many of the amenities I'm used to and a number of really long walks, so I guess it was decent approximation of the camping experience.
* It's not that we're antisocial introverts**; it's that we moved here right at the start of the pandemic.
* Okay, we are, but it's not just that.
posted by suetanvil at 8:32 AM on May 30, 2022 [7 favorites]
suetanvil, glad to hear you are doing ok - that storm and its impact is quite something, and its kind of cool you could make your home a bit of a neighborhood resource. Take care and I hope things get fixed out there soon.
posted by nubs at 8:45 AM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by nubs at 8:45 AM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
We just got back from attending our niece's high school graduation in St Louis. As someone who'd never seen one of these, whoah are graduations weird. (And boring. But mostly weird. Like, playing the same few bars of Land of Hope & Glory over and over while the kids traipse in: wat?)
Still, it was lovely to make the drive when it wasn't winter. Even if there were a couple of sudden zero-visibility storms. Made this old wind nerd happy to see several new wind farms along the route, including a huge one on the Ohio-Indiana border.
posted by scruss at 8:45 AM on May 30, 2022
Still, it was lovely to make the drive when it wasn't winter. Even if there were a couple of sudden zero-visibility storms. Made this old wind nerd happy to see several new wind farms along the route, including a huge one on the Ohio-Indiana border.
posted by scruss at 8:45 AM on May 30, 2022
Man! And I just paid $3 for a thread!
You're paying way too much for threads, man. Who's your thread guy?
posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 9:07 AM on May 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
You're paying way too much for threads, man. Who's your thread guy?
posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 9:07 AM on May 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
robert hall
posted by pyramid termite at 9:25 AM on May 30, 2022
posted by pyramid termite at 9:25 AM on May 30, 2022
suetanvil, glad to hear you are doing ok - that storm and its impact is quite something,
It was all the way across southern Ontario: I was in downtown Toronto last Saturday afternoon. At a couple of minutes to one I and everyone else with a cell phone received a warning about high winds and and an imminent storm.
They were not wrong: I looked up at churning clouds rushing across the sky, two minutes later got sandblasted by windborne grit and sand, and three minutes after that there was a rainstorm that was closer to horizontal than vertical. The streetlights all lit up because, I suppose, the sky was dark enough that it registered as twilight to the light meters. After maybe twenty minutes of fury, it ended as quickly as it had begun, leaving behind a mild afternoon with lots of puddles.
The storm did so quite a lot of damage: more than a dozen fatalities, hundreds of downed trees and probably tens of thousands of branches down, extensive power failures (mine was out for almost 24 hours — I saw news stories the following Friday, six days on, that still had upwards of ten thousand people waiting for the power to return).
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:43 AM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
It was all the way across southern Ontario: I was in downtown Toronto last Saturday afternoon. At a couple of minutes to one I and everyone else with a cell phone received a warning about high winds and and an imminent storm.
They were not wrong: I looked up at churning clouds rushing across the sky, two minutes later got sandblasted by windborne grit and sand, and three minutes after that there was a rainstorm that was closer to horizontal than vertical. The streetlights all lit up because, I suppose, the sky was dark enough that it registered as twilight to the light meters. After maybe twenty minutes of fury, it ended as quickly as it had begun, leaving behind a mild afternoon with lots of puddles.
The storm did so quite a lot of damage: more than a dozen fatalities, hundreds of downed trees and probably tens of thousands of branches down, extensive power failures (mine was out for almost 24 hours — I saw news stories the following Friday, six days on, that still had upwards of ten thousand people waiting for the power to return).
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:43 AM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
I am currently trying to decide if I want to actually Do Something today, or if I just wanna take a book and some knitting and chill in the garden.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:44 AM on May 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:44 AM on May 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
When that storm warning came to our phones we were outside my partner's apartment planting, mainly herbs and vegetables! Also Toronto, west of downtown. Terrible timing; we thought we had three hours before rain. But we were extremely lucky and almost everything - including all his windows - was ok, and neither of us had a power outage.
posted by wellred at 10:01 AM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by wellred at 10:01 AM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
I have to change a tire today. I have to see if the 16 year old spare under the front is still inflated. I have to borrow a jack from my daughter who will hen peck me to death, which is her version of love. Finally in the middle of talking to her about being on the road, waiting for a tow truck, after the blowout, and her strident questioning, I asked her, "Is this an IQ test?" Then I called off her ride, because I could have sat in my van for the tow, she insisted on meeting me because of the danger, and telling me that if ever her son were with me, he could not ride in the van on the back of the tow truck.
I have come to the conclusion that I don't understand love, at all. I kind of think that love is the all, the binding of every one thing to every other thing in the universe both large and small, but I really think, the small, is the all, the quanta. Yesterday I caught glimpses of the sun, running all over the golden California hills, from under moving clouds. I have never seen a day this way. It was ebullient, glorious. I saw a herd of maybe fifty, varied, long haired goats, with an alfa billy tightly herding them up against a fence, barely out of the road. I found the biggest pine cone, and picked up some party colored rocks. The kid in me loved our day.
posted by Oyéah at 10:13 AM on May 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
I have come to the conclusion that I don't understand love, at all. I kind of think that love is the all, the binding of every one thing to every other thing in the universe both large and small, but I really think, the small, is the all, the quanta. Yesterday I caught glimpses of the sun, running all over the golden California hills, from under moving clouds. I have never seen a day this way. It was ebullient, glorious. I saw a herd of maybe fifty, varied, long haired goats, with an alfa billy tightly herding them up against a fence, barely out of the road. I found the biggest pine cone, and picked up some party colored rocks. The kid in me loved our day.
posted by Oyéah at 10:13 AM on May 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
(in Dowager Countess voice) What is a bollard? (end Dowager Countess voice)
I am currently trying to decide if I want to actually Do Something today, or if I just wanna take a book and some knitting and chill in the garden.
Yeah, me too. I'm going to go to a play tonight, but other than that, today may be Fuckoff Day.
Your final Evita update: see this thread. But we survived. Hopefully. (I guess we have one guy we still need to be concerned about, and the stage manager's husband is doing very poorly heartwise now.) I went to a show the next day with/featuring former castmates and several people were all "You need 'I Survived Evita' T-shirts." Totally agree. The tradition at this theater is to sign the wall after a show is over and I wanted to put the long list of disasters on the wall, then realized WE DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH SHARPIES TO DO THAT. Like I'd make the entire building stash of Sharpies run out if I tried :P I still feel okay today, 2 days later, yay.
Most people are recovered-ish, some people said they felt pretty tired/were running ragged on singing, etc. The girl who said she was too weak to perform did come by for the cast photo/to bring treats and watch the show, so at least she felt good enough to do that, though she said she was out of breath just talking.
Though weirdly enough, I said to the director that things have been chaotic and she was all "what do you mean? I don't think it was chaotic at all." Me: *boggleboggleboggle* I guess her definition of that is different since the show went on, more or less?
Other than that, I saw an improv show Friday night (based off dating reality TV shows) and The Play That Goes Wrong last night, planning on seeing Pride and Prejudice tonight. I also went to a county fair, which was mildly entertaining and I saw various animal races and lizard/dinosaur exhibits, and I did some shopping. I went out to dinner with some of my former directors and their husbands and two of them just came back from Africa, where she came down with it and he didn't somehow. She said clearly the tests had been doctored to get them on the plane because she tested positive before and after the plane flight. I think she would have missed our original last show due to covid, but she said she finally recovered a few days ago so she could go to the rescheduled Evita.
It's been a nice/interesting weekend (other than the disease panic). In other news, old theater is now coming back with Midsummer Night's Dream, except that will overlap with new theater's Beauty and the Beast and we all wanna do that one...SIGH. I wish I could do both again, darn it. But right now, I'm on break this month, I suppose.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:31 AM on May 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
I am currently trying to decide if I want to actually Do Something today, or if I just wanna take a book and some knitting and chill in the garden.
Yeah, me too. I'm going to go to a play tonight, but other than that, today may be Fuckoff Day.
Your final Evita update: see this thread. But we survived. Hopefully. (I guess we have one guy we still need to be concerned about, and the stage manager's husband is doing very poorly heartwise now.) I went to a show the next day with/featuring former castmates and several people were all "You need 'I Survived Evita' T-shirts." Totally agree. The tradition at this theater is to sign the wall after a show is over and I wanted to put the long list of disasters on the wall, then realized WE DO NOT HAVE ENOUGH SHARPIES TO DO THAT. Like I'd make the entire building stash of Sharpies run out if I tried :P I still feel okay today, 2 days later, yay.
Most people are recovered-ish, some people said they felt pretty tired/were running ragged on singing, etc. The girl who said she was too weak to perform did come by for the cast photo/to bring treats and watch the show, so at least she felt good enough to do that, though she said she was out of breath just talking.
Though weirdly enough, I said to the director that things have been chaotic and she was all "what do you mean? I don't think it was chaotic at all." Me: *boggleboggleboggle* I guess her definition of that is different since the show went on, more or less?
Other than that, I saw an improv show Friday night (based off dating reality TV shows) and The Play That Goes Wrong last night, planning on seeing Pride and Prejudice tonight. I also went to a county fair, which was mildly entertaining and I saw various animal races and lizard/dinosaur exhibits, and I did some shopping. I went out to dinner with some of my former directors and their husbands and two of them just came back from Africa, where she came down with it and he didn't somehow. She said clearly the tests had been doctored to get them on the plane because she tested positive before and after the plane flight. I think she would have missed our original last show due to covid, but she said she finally recovered a few days ago so she could go to the rescheduled Evita.
It's been a nice/interesting weekend (other than the disease panic). In other news, old theater is now coming back with Midsummer Night's Dream, except that will overlap with new theater's Beauty and the Beast and we all wanna do that one...SIGH. I wish I could do both again, darn it. But right now, I'm on break this month, I suppose.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:31 AM on May 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
Still a bit out of it with Covid. But as a result had the most wonderful music experience, half dozing while listening to Appleshine Continuum by Underworld and The Necks.
Bliss.
Sometimes it feels like listening to music actively DOES STUFF to my brain.
Our new car has a CD player so we've been listening to music we've not heard for years. The CAN Sacrilege album.
Brian Eno's The Drop.
Patty Smith Peace and Noise.
Some albums I can just listen to over and over again.
posted by Zumbador at 10:39 AM on May 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
Bliss.
Sometimes it feels like listening to music actively DOES STUFF to my brain.
Our new car has a CD player so we've been listening to music we've not heard for years. The CAN Sacrilege album.
Brian Eno's The Drop.
Patty Smith Peace and Noise.
Some albums I can just listen to over and over again.
posted by Zumbador at 10:39 AM on May 30, 2022 [2 favorites]
Never work in a hospital with poor infection control
Before I grew up and got cynical and jaded, I assumed that was absolute Job One for a place where sick people go to get treated.
Last night I dreamed that if a person configured a setting incorrectly, the PC application I currently support would make their monitor literally explode and kill them. Not sure if that counts as a Work Dream.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:46 AM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
Before I grew up and got cynical and jaded, I assumed that was absolute Job One for a place where sick people go to get treated.
Last night I dreamed that if a person configured a setting incorrectly, the PC application I currently support would make their monitor literally explode and kill them. Not sure if that counts as a Work Dream.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:46 AM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
Bollards of Canada
posted by djseafood at 10:50 AM on May 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by djseafood at 10:50 AM on May 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
I'm at the end of a week of unexpected R&R courtesy of my local cardiac unit. Came in for a CT scan last Monday, my only luggage my laptop bag as I was on the way to work, and my results suggested an angiogram followed by likely stent was on the cards. Not been home since. Angiogram suggested the main artery for my heart was 80-90% furred up. Stent followed right along. I'm back on the ward, would have been at home if the dye hadn't kicked off a minor migraine. Should be out tomorrow.
Two observations
First, both procedures were carried out via a catheter in my right wrist. I was awake, local anaesthetic in right wrist, then a catheter in the artery there, and everything done via that hole. And the hole was tiny. I was expecting something about 6mm (quarter inch) but it was tiny, little more than a pinprick, and they ran multiple wires from it and effectively tested and operated on my heart. They could show me pics on the spot of the new channels of blood flow in my heart. Room was set up like mission control, consultant alongside me feeding in wires, team shouting numbers back and forth for angles, tools and I don't know what. X-ray machine on some sort of arrangement to take every view from around my chest. Absolutely fascinating.
Second, the symptoms I had when I enquired at the doctor felt pretty trivial at the time. A faint discomfort from my Adams apple to my sternum and a mild shortness of breath walking uphill. Not had any of those symptoms in three months, even on a 5 mile country walk. Feel exceptionally lucky to have got tested and discovered how bad my heart was and got it treated without the trouble (fingers crossed) of a massive event and the possible loss of significant (or all) heart function.
posted by biffa at 11:06 AM on May 30, 2022 [17 favorites]
Two observations
First, both procedures were carried out via a catheter in my right wrist. I was awake, local anaesthetic in right wrist, then a catheter in the artery there, and everything done via that hole. And the hole was tiny. I was expecting something about 6mm (quarter inch) but it was tiny, little more than a pinprick, and they ran multiple wires from it and effectively tested and operated on my heart. They could show me pics on the spot of the new channels of blood flow in my heart. Room was set up like mission control, consultant alongside me feeding in wires, team shouting numbers back and forth for angles, tools and I don't know what. X-ray machine on some sort of arrangement to take every view from around my chest. Absolutely fascinating.
Second, the symptoms I had when I enquired at the doctor felt pretty trivial at the time. A faint discomfort from my Adams apple to my sternum and a mild shortness of breath walking uphill. Not had any of those symptoms in three months, even on a 5 mile country walk. Feel exceptionally lucky to have got tested and discovered how bad my heart was and got it treated without the trouble (fingers crossed) of a massive event and the possible loss of significant (or all) heart function.
posted by biffa at 11:06 AM on May 30, 2022 [17 favorites]
Ho hum, Memorial Day all over this uncivilized country and mrs. kingless and I are just about done with our 1st experience of Covid. It wasn't so bad since we're vaccinated and boosted—me twice, her only once (because she had an injection appointment the afternoon of the day of the morning she tested positive).
I'm planning to read some of the books I have going (The Nutmeg of Consolation, Real Tigers, Russia in Flames, Asta's Book, and Ducks, Newburyport) and marinate some tofu. We'll probably watch something this evening.
posted by kingless at 11:34 AM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm planning to read some of the books I have going (The Nutmeg of Consolation, Real Tigers, Russia in Flames, Asta's Book, and Ducks, Newburyport) and marinate some tofu. We'll probably watch something this evening.
posted by kingless at 11:34 AM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
I have made potato salad with mustardy garlicky dressing. The kebab ingredients are prepped, and the beets are cooked (for the green salad).
My kid and I have been for a walk, and she is currently getting started on her summer reading project (the assignment is 45 books by the time first grade starts).
My partner has planted some things and removed some poison ivy, and is now taking his turn being read to. The flies are biting outside, fiercely. It is HOT, with no rain forecasted for a few days, so it’s nice to be indoors in the cool.
Taking the day to rest, to rest, to rest. The world is currently too much for my poor heart, so am thankful for the chance, and grateful for the current bounty in my own life.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 11:45 AM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
My kid and I have been for a walk, and she is currently getting started on her summer reading project (the assignment is 45 books by the time first grade starts).
My partner has planted some things and removed some poison ivy, and is now taking his turn being read to. The flies are biting outside, fiercely. It is HOT, with no rain forecasted for a few days, so it’s nice to be indoors in the cool.
Taking the day to rest, to rest, to rest. The world is currently too much for my poor heart, so am thankful for the chance, and grateful for the current bounty in my own life.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 11:45 AM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
Another feral cat colony update.
I have failed as a feral cat colony caretaker. I really can't lift anything over about five pounds without some pretty severe consequences, which makes dealing with eight pound cats in five pound cages difficult. And Luna, the one cat I had yet to have spayed or neutered, was really shy and was being guarded by The Phantom, who has figured out how to trigger traps from the outside so nobody gets caught. She's the colony's leader, and she's frighteningly smart. I've actually seen her do it, she gets up nest to the cage and nudges it with her shoulder until the door drops, then walks away.
So I tried to get help, but the person I've been working with had Covid and the humane society is overwhelmed, and a couple of weeks ago Luna started showing signs of being pregnant. I made a last effort to try to trap her, but with no luck. And a few days back she disappered for a day or so, and came back looking somewhat deflated.
Somewhere in a seriously overgrown vacant lot a couple of houses away a litter of kittens is growing up. And I'm bummed that I failed to control the situation, but... kittens!
According to the knowledgeable people I've been working with, here's what I'm up against. The kittens shouldn't be taken away from their mother until they're about eight weeks old. They can't go to foster homes unless they're socialized to be friendly with human beings, so the presence of their new humans doesn't stress them out. But the window to socialize them closes somewhere around the six to eight week mark; after that it's much harder.
Now I've been leaving the colony alone on the theory that they really shouldn't be too trusting of humans, so we have a cordial relationship. They get within a couple of feet of me at mealtimes. But now I have the world's most adorable chore.
I have to befriend a litter of kittens so they can go to loving homes.
I've started by trying to get closer to Luna. Whenever I see her around I come out and very slowly place food near her; treats or a bowl of special food for mother cats. She used to run as soon as I came out, but now she's staying put. I figure I've got maybe a couple more weeks until I even see the kittens, so I'll keep working to gain Luna's trust through patience and bribery.
In the meantime, I've seen coyotes in my yard twice in the past week, so I'm hoping the colony is well dug in and defended. I've looked for where Luna is hiding the kittens, and I can't find it, so hopefully the coyotes can't either.
And later this week, I go see a more specialized surgeon, so I'm not sure how that's going to impact the whole kitten situation.
It's all a little too much drama for me. But... kittens!
posted by MrVisible at 11:47 AM on May 30, 2022 [14 favorites]
I have failed as a feral cat colony caretaker. I really can't lift anything over about five pounds without some pretty severe consequences, which makes dealing with eight pound cats in five pound cages difficult. And Luna, the one cat I had yet to have spayed or neutered, was really shy and was being guarded by The Phantom, who has figured out how to trigger traps from the outside so nobody gets caught. She's the colony's leader, and she's frighteningly smart. I've actually seen her do it, she gets up nest to the cage and nudges it with her shoulder until the door drops, then walks away.
So I tried to get help, but the person I've been working with had Covid and the humane society is overwhelmed, and a couple of weeks ago Luna started showing signs of being pregnant. I made a last effort to try to trap her, but with no luck. And a few days back she disappered for a day or so, and came back looking somewhat deflated.
Somewhere in a seriously overgrown vacant lot a couple of houses away a litter of kittens is growing up. And I'm bummed that I failed to control the situation, but... kittens!
According to the knowledgeable people I've been working with, here's what I'm up against. The kittens shouldn't be taken away from their mother until they're about eight weeks old. They can't go to foster homes unless they're socialized to be friendly with human beings, so the presence of their new humans doesn't stress them out. But the window to socialize them closes somewhere around the six to eight week mark; after that it's much harder.
Now I've been leaving the colony alone on the theory that they really shouldn't be too trusting of humans, so we have a cordial relationship. They get within a couple of feet of me at mealtimes. But now I have the world's most adorable chore.
I have to befriend a litter of kittens so they can go to loving homes.
I've started by trying to get closer to Luna. Whenever I see her around I come out and very slowly place food near her; treats or a bowl of special food for mother cats. She used to run as soon as I came out, but now she's staying put. I figure I've got maybe a couple more weeks until I even see the kittens, so I'll keep working to gain Luna's trust through patience and bribery.
In the meantime, I've seen coyotes in my yard twice in the past week, so I'm hoping the colony is well dug in and defended. I've looked for where Luna is hiding the kittens, and I can't find it, so hopefully the coyotes can't either.
And later this week, I go see a more specialized surgeon, so I'm not sure how that's going to impact the whole kitten situation.
It's all a little too much drama for me. But... kittens!
posted by MrVisible at 11:47 AM on May 30, 2022 [14 favorites]
I have nothing to say and I am saying it.
posted by mazola at 12:00 PM on May 30, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by mazola at 12:00 PM on May 30, 2022 [5 favorites]
I recently made the acquaintance of a man who has an incredible Axiom CNC router set up and have since been using Sketchup to create intricate and precise shelving designs to display glassbaby up high in windows. I send him the DXF file and, a couple days later, go pick up the finished pieces. The results, milled from MDF or solid acrylic, are exquisite. It's magic.
posted by bz at 12:05 PM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by bz at 12:05 PM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
I was going to Do Something but I started on an estrogen patch two weeks ago, all was glorious (truly glorious!!) for two weeks and now all of a sudden I have a sick headache, cramps, and surprisingly heavy bleeding. The internet says these are normal while adjusting and will pass in a few weeks but I feel a lot worse than I would have anticipated just from reading the list of side effects. It's raining anyway so I don't mind that much but I do hope it passes. I've also started feeling irritable, so I wonder if I don't need to lower the dosage.
posted by HotToddy at 12:14 PM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by HotToddy at 12:14 PM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
MrVisible, you are doing the Lord's work.
I went to Amoeba Music in Berkeley for the first time since pando started and traded in a bunch of CDs. They wouldn't take the DVD of WALL-E though.
I had lunch at Super Duper Burgers and was delighted to see a bronze plaque on the floor proclaiming the existence of a time capsule to be opened in 2042. Didn't get a photo because people were sitting over it.
I've been reading Gary Lachman's Holy Russia with mixed feelings since it's very much armchair scholarship. Then I found a little icon painted on a wood block by the trash bins of a neighborhood apartment building. So now I'm looking up how to clean and restore it and you guessed it, vodka is involved.
No less than four of my coworkers have tested positive for COVID in the past week, and my cousin emailed me from the ER on Friday and hasn't been in touch since. Think we need another fucking fuck thread.
posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 12:35 PM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
I went to Amoeba Music in Berkeley for the first time since pando started and traded in a bunch of CDs. They wouldn't take the DVD of WALL-E though.
I had lunch at Super Duper Burgers and was delighted to see a bronze plaque on the floor proclaiming the existence of a time capsule to be opened in 2042. Didn't get a photo because people were sitting over it.
I've been reading Gary Lachman's Holy Russia with mixed feelings since it's very much armchair scholarship. Then I found a little icon painted on a wood block by the trash bins of a neighborhood apartment building. So now I'm looking up how to clean and restore it and you guessed it, vodka is involved.
No less than four of my coworkers have tested positive for COVID in the past week, and my cousin emailed me from the ER on Friday and hasn't been in touch since. Think we need another fucking fuck thread.
posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 12:35 PM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
I went down a rabbit hole today (Garbage Day/Atlantic/YouTube) and realized I never actually saw this.
posted by Peach at 1:09 PM on May 30, 2022
posted by Peach at 1:09 PM on May 30, 2022
Man! And I just paid $3 for a thread!
Metafilter should totally do something like tumblr's blaze where if you pay $20, whether or not you're in town, 100 random mefites have to read your post and post a comment.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 1:13 PM on May 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
Metafilter should totally do something like tumblr's blaze where if you pay $20, whether or not you're in town, 100 random mefites have to read your post and post a comment.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 1:13 PM on May 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
MrVisible, you are doing the Lord's work.
That just makes me think I'm spectacularly underqualified.
posted by MrVisible at 1:36 PM on May 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
That just makes me think I'm spectacularly underqualified.
posted by MrVisible at 1:36 PM on May 30, 2022 [4 favorites]
My Memorial Day Weekend activity was sitting around a bonfire in my sister's backyard, telling stories with the family on a late spring evening. After smores and pudgie pies, I kicked back in a zero-gravity chair and alerted everyone to all the satellites going over (including a very bright ISS pass).
I keep reading stories today about people dying during recreational activities over the weekend and feeling a little bit smug about my choices.
posted by BrashTech at 2:05 PM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
I keep reading stories today about people dying during recreational activities over the weekend and feeling a little bit smug about my choices.
posted by BrashTech at 2:05 PM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
One of my sons is now moved into his summer sublet while the other one just passed his state EMT exam. And one of their sisters has...the flu? Man, it's a lot for one day, especially a vacation day.
Relevant to Memorial Day, my great-uncle died parachuting into Germany in late March 1945, which is especially tragic so close to the end of the war in Europe. He was part of the 513th PIR, similar to the "Band of Brothers" guys. RIP, great uncle Galen.
posted by wenestvedt at 3:07 PM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
Relevant to Memorial Day, my great-uncle died parachuting into Germany in late March 1945, which is especially tragic so close to the end of the war in Europe. He was part of the 513th PIR, similar to the "Band of Brothers" guys. RIP, great uncle Galen.
posted by wenestvedt at 3:07 PM on May 30, 2022 [1 favorite]
Well THAT was awkward.
I settled on "just take a book and some knitting to the garden", packed everything up and head thither; I put my stuff down by the table and then started in on some quick garden-tending tasks first (the herbs I put in pots yesterday looked like they could stand some watering, and I also was weeding my own patch and giving the compost bin a stir. And while I was doing that, a couple wandered in; they weren't members, they were just looking for a place to sit. It's fine for non-members to hang out, as long as a member is there.
But when I finished my jobs I went back over to sit down near them - and they were caught up in what sounded like an Intense Relationship Conversation. "Ah, okay," I silently thought, "I shall do some other things for a few minutes." So I then trimmed some dead branches off the roses. Then edged over - nope, they were still talking. "Okay, I shall sweep the stoop." I finished that, and they were still talking...okay, let's re-coil that stubborn hose in the corner.....yikes, they're still at it, okay we'll check on the hedges....
Finally after a half hour with no sign of them stopping, I crept over as unobtrusively as I could and grabbed my bag, moving to a table further back. And hovered there as they talked for another hour still. Finally - about five minutes before I was going to have to leave anyway - they got up and strolled out.
So I self-medicated with some ice cream before setting to the kitchen tasks I had to do.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:22 PM on May 30, 2022 [5 favorites]
I settled on "just take a book and some knitting to the garden", packed everything up and head thither; I put my stuff down by the table and then started in on some quick garden-tending tasks first (the herbs I put in pots yesterday looked like they could stand some watering, and I also was weeding my own patch and giving the compost bin a stir. And while I was doing that, a couple wandered in; they weren't members, they were just looking for a place to sit. It's fine for non-members to hang out, as long as a member is there.
But when I finished my jobs I went back over to sit down near them - and they were caught up in what sounded like an Intense Relationship Conversation. "Ah, okay," I silently thought, "I shall do some other things for a few minutes." So I then trimmed some dead branches off the roses. Then edged over - nope, they were still talking. "Okay, I shall sweep the stoop." I finished that, and they were still talking...okay, let's re-coil that stubborn hose in the corner.....yikes, they're still at it, okay we'll check on the hedges....
Finally after a half hour with no sign of them stopping, I crept over as unobtrusively as I could and grabbed my bag, moving to a table further back. And hovered there as they talked for another hour still. Finally - about five minutes before I was going to have to leave anyway - they got up and strolled out.
So I self-medicated with some ice cream before setting to the kitchen tasks I had to do.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:22 PM on May 30, 2022 [5 favorites]
MrVisible, my feedback given my own feral kitten experience:
If you can give them at least 5 weeks, that's best. The maintenance bar is MUCH higher before they are pooping and eating on their own. The situation would have to be pretty urgent to do it any earlier. The Emergency Kittens we rescued last Halloween weekend were that kind of deal. The friend who found them did not have ANY time to do kitten things (despite enormous love of cats). Very skittish mother. Winter was imminent. They were 4-5 weeks at that point, so I bit the bullet and swiped them, and we had our work cut out for us for that first week or so. They socialized extremely well, and were all successfully adopted away.
As a counterpoint, when we had the first litter of kittens show up in our own backyard about 4 years ago, we similarly swiped them (and got momma TNRed) immediately (at age around 5 weeks), but we SHOULD have waited a couple of weeks. They had a pretty safe situation in our yard, and we could have held off. But we were inexperienced and panicked, and did the deed immediately. We adopted two away, and kept two. The fifth sadly died of FIP around 3 months, but that's all in the Kitten Game.
The upside was that our yard was now open for a SECOND litter of kittens which showed up from another mom within a week or two of the first litter snatch. We didn't have room for them in the house, so they got to mature safely in our yard until they got old enough to trap, neuter, and rehome. Well, 3 out of 4, anyway. One vanished, but again, that's all in the Kitten Game. They got plenty of interaction with us the whole time and were fully socialized when we adopted them away. We had to hurry eventually because mom was already pregnant again and needed to that nipped in the bud.
I guess the point is: 1) don't panic, 2) use your judgement for the situation, 3) do your best. It is indeed the Lord's work.
posted by notoriety public at 3:56 PM on May 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
If you can give them at least 5 weeks, that's best. The maintenance bar is MUCH higher before they are pooping and eating on their own. The situation would have to be pretty urgent to do it any earlier. The Emergency Kittens we rescued last Halloween weekend were that kind of deal. The friend who found them did not have ANY time to do kitten things (despite enormous love of cats). Very skittish mother. Winter was imminent. They were 4-5 weeks at that point, so I bit the bullet and swiped them, and we had our work cut out for us for that first week or so. They socialized extremely well, and were all successfully adopted away.
As a counterpoint, when we had the first litter of kittens show up in our own backyard about 4 years ago, we similarly swiped them (and got momma TNRed) immediately (at age around 5 weeks), but we SHOULD have waited a couple of weeks. They had a pretty safe situation in our yard, and we could have held off. But we were inexperienced and panicked, and did the deed immediately. We adopted two away, and kept two. The fifth sadly died of FIP around 3 months, but that's all in the Kitten Game.
The upside was that our yard was now open for a SECOND litter of kittens which showed up from another mom within a week or two of the first litter snatch. We didn't have room for them in the house, so they got to mature safely in our yard until they got old enough to trap, neuter, and rehome. Well, 3 out of 4, anyway. One vanished, but again, that's all in the Kitten Game. They got plenty of interaction with us the whole time and were fully socialized when we adopted them away. We had to hurry eventually because mom was already pregnant again and needed to that nipped in the bud.
I guess the point is: 1) don't panic, 2) use your judgement for the situation, 3) do your best. It is indeed the Lord's work.
posted by notoriety public at 3:56 PM on May 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
Also, every one of these free thread titles lately had made me giggle. I *do* prefer to hang out with people who bathe regularly, but I'm glad we're free to pursue goals that are incompatible. Even if I forget that on a crowded train sometimes. Quietly.
posted by eotvos at 4:27 PM on May 30, 2022
posted by eotvos at 4:27 PM on May 30, 2022
EmpressCallipygos: when I went out on my patio, I brought my laptop and ordered a streaming play show to watch...and then five minutes later EVERY LAWN GUY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD started making noisy rackets right in front of my patio.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:38 PM on May 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:38 PM on May 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
...a catheter in my right wrist...
I had this in February. The cardiologist inserted a catheter in my right wrist (radial artery) but couldn't advance it past the elbow for some reason and wound up doing the procedure through my groin (femoral artery).
The femoral artery hole was plugged with a thin collagen rod that is designed to dissolve over several weeks. I was allowed to walk about 4 hours after the procedure and never had any problem in the groin except for a big bruise.
My wrist, on the other hand... The hole was covered by a transparent inflated band. Beginning 2 hours after the procedure a nurse would withdraw a small amount of air every 15 minutes. On about the third such partial deflation, blood starting squirting out from underneath the wristband and all over the bed. So, another 2 hours wait.
The wristband was then deflated in steps and removed and the hole was covered with a bandaid. The nurse got me up and walked me to the end of the hall and back to my room. At the doorway, we noticed that my wrist was *gushing* blood and we had left a trail the length of the hall. A mass of gauze was quickly applied. I did manage to go home a couple of hours after that. My had to wear a splint for a week and the wrist was sore for about a month.
At the time I thought it was all hilarious. And not because of the drugs; it's just my way.
posted by neuron at 11:38 PM on May 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
I had this in February. The cardiologist inserted a catheter in my right wrist (radial artery) but couldn't advance it past the elbow for some reason and wound up doing the procedure through my groin (femoral artery).
The femoral artery hole was plugged with a thin collagen rod that is designed to dissolve over several weeks. I was allowed to walk about 4 hours after the procedure and never had any problem in the groin except for a big bruise.
My wrist, on the other hand... The hole was covered by a transparent inflated band. Beginning 2 hours after the procedure a nurse would withdraw a small amount of air every 15 minutes. On about the third such partial deflation, blood starting squirting out from underneath the wristband and all over the bed. So, another 2 hours wait.
The wristband was then deflated in steps and removed and the hole was covered with a bandaid. The nurse got me up and walked me to the end of the hall and back to my room. At the doorway, we noticed that my wrist was *gushing* blood and we had left a trail the length of the hall. A mass of gauze was quickly applied. I did manage to go home a couple of hours after that. My had to wear a splint for a week and the wrist was sore for about a month.
At the time I thought it was all hilarious. And not because of the drugs; it's just my way.
posted by neuron at 11:38 PM on May 30, 2022 [3 favorites]
Neuron, I also had the plastic pressure band on my wrist that was deflated over a couple of hours, thankfully it didn't bleed at the end. Same as to the fancy sticking plaster. I guess the problem is they have you on drugs to thin your blood to make the op safer, but it can bite you. They did warn me they would go to my femoral of there was any issue with the arm, maybe after trying the other arm first. Glad they' didn't have to try that, I had a canula in my left arm go wrong not long before the op and it swelled up like an egg on my forearm (Hematoma).
Just waiting to be let out now.
posted by biffa at 1:40 AM on May 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Just waiting to be let out now.
posted by biffa at 1:40 AM on May 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
I just stumbled on this picture on Wikipedia of Hans Bethe at 12 years old with his parents.
I hope my boy feels as loved by his science-parents as much as Hans Bethe's parents clearly loved him.
posted by Alex404 at 2:38 AM on May 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
I hope my boy feels as loved by his science-parents as much as Hans Bethe's parents clearly loved him.
posted by Alex404 at 2:38 AM on May 31, 2022 [2 favorites]
they have you on drugs to thin your blood
Yeah, I recall now the nurse saying that I had gotten an unusually large amount of heparin. I should request my records.
posted by neuron at 8:10 AM on May 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Yeah, I recall now the nurse saying that I had gotten an unusually large amount of heparin. I should request my records.
posted by neuron at 8:10 AM on May 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
I desperately want to watch a self-driving car deal with the bollards flood.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:38 AM on May 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 8:38 AM on May 31, 2022 [3 favorites]
I just finished moving offices again today, which is a real pain in the ass and very badly timed. But, it *does* mean I get to hang out briefly with my favorite janitor again every evening. (Well, my favorite janitor here. Tied for favorite in general.) We've both been moved several times between buildings and floors in the last six years. The staff on my old floor are fine people, but we never talked about cats or shared food. I'm not sure it counts as a real friendship, given the difference in rank, but it's fun to chat briefly with someone I genuinely like every day. And the view is better from here too.
posted by eotvos at 4:42 PM on May 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by eotvos at 4:42 PM on May 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
Did they at least let you keep your red Swingline stapler?
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:56 PM on May 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:56 PM on May 31, 2022 [1 favorite]
I desperately want to see someone with Gene Kelly's moves navigate the bollards flood.
"I'm siiiinging in the rain... just siiiinging in th..." *whoosh... floop/splash... glug-glug-glug....*
"Siiiinging...." *fades into distance*
posted by TrishaU at 8:39 PM on May 31, 2022
"I'm siiiinging in the rain... just siiiinging in th..." *whoosh... floop/splash... glug-glug-glug....*
"Siiiinging...." *fades into distance*
posted by TrishaU at 8:39 PM on May 31, 2022
I just finished reading Red, White and Royal Blue . I read it mostly because of all the recommendations I saw here on Metafilter.
I'm sad to say I was disappointed. Loved about the 1st third, but then it just didn't pay off for me.
Felt like it got too caught up in the very predictable election shenanigans. I was really looking forward to the confrontation with the Royal family at the end and it just felt too easy.
Am sad as I really wanted to enjoy it.
A lot of the writing is really good. Vivid and evocative. But unsatisfying plot.
Am reading Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall now. Am enjoying it so far.
Have to start working again today. Last day of my Covid isolation.
posted by Zumbador at 9:38 PM on May 31, 2022
I'm sad to say I was disappointed. Loved about the 1st third, but then it just didn't pay off for me.
Felt like it got too caught up in the very predictable election shenanigans. I was really looking forward to the confrontation with the Royal family at the end and it just felt too easy.
Am sad as I really wanted to enjoy it.
A lot of the writing is really good. Vivid and evocative. But unsatisfying plot.
Am reading Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall now. Am enjoying it so far.
Have to start working again today. Last day of my Covid isolation.
posted by Zumbador at 9:38 PM on May 31, 2022
THE OUTLAW NUNS WHO TRADED THEIR CONVENT FOR CARS, CASH AND CASTLES Seriously, can I be this kind of nun?!?!
In other news, I am both enjoying time off and REALLY MISSING THE HELL OUT OF MY THEATER PEOPLE RIGHT NOW. I have no excuse to see most of them (except my new singing teacher--yes, I booked one!) this month, more or less, and they're all busy in the show I didn't want to do, and WAH.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:46 PM on June 1, 2022
In other news, I am both enjoying time off and REALLY MISSING THE HELL OUT OF MY THEATER PEOPLE RIGHT NOW. I have no excuse to see most of them (except my new singing teacher--yes, I booked one!) this month, more or less, and they're all busy in the show I didn't want to do, and WAH.
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:46 PM on June 1, 2022
Did they at least let you keep your red Swingline stapler?I laughed. They don't actually give us staplers here. (But, I sure as hell took my personal ACE 102 with me. I'm not complaining; I'm incredibly spoiled. They do give us couches and enormous wall-mounted televisions that nobody actually wants and an astonishingly sophisticated ethernet phone that I use as a dumb phone twice a year.)
I do wonder whether couches in faculty offices are off-putting to students. I think in my specific case, the way I behave and the "safe space" placard on the wide-open door makes it clear that my couch isn't a creepy couch. But, enough bad shit has gone down on faculty couches at many institutions, there might be a good argument against allowing them. On the other hand, when spending hours reading things on paper/tablet, it's sure nice to have a seating option that isn't an office chair. And it lets five people occupy an office comfortably, or at least it did before COVID.
posted by eotvos at 7:04 AM on June 2, 2022
Funny how quickly life changes and how important to remember that 'this is how it's going to be from now on' is not always the case and often not the case. A few days ago, my messed up hip (osteoarthritis) which I have managed pretty well for 30 years finally got my knees. Those knobbly old rascals have been fighting the good fight all that time, compensating for the hip and twisted out of shape by pelvic contortions but threw in the towel on Friday. Going upstairs to fish a jumper out of the wardrobe, ( up three flights in a creaky narrow old Victorian house) was a yelp, coming down a yelp and an ouch, ouch, ouch on every tread, sitting down, standing up a north bound and a south bound yarooch. Move one way the hip howls, move another and the left knee starts screeching, another and the right turns into a midnight banshee. Meds don't help. Saturday, I got through a Beethoven quartet, one I love to bits, only by mentally aligning the pain song of the joints with the music, the hip was down in the cello basement someplace, left knee hit the high notes along with the first violin. It was a long 32 minutes. By the time I got home from the concert hall, I confess I was feeling sorry for myself. How am I going to manage this? Another 30 years? It's too much, a step too far, a hurt that reverberates, tingles and keens at the core of my being. 2 telephone moans later and a friend mentions a pain management programme, yeh, I know but they are off the scale expensive, it's free. What?!! I applied Sunday, they replied Tuesday, I was assessed today Thursday. It starts on Monday! Hope doesn't wait, thank heaven and kicked in immediately and boy, does hope have analgesic properties. And there's more. It's run by a fancy gym, I got a card to fancy gym and all its fancy facilities for free for 6 months! And yet more! My wife loves fancy gyms, pretty much fancy anything to be honest. I suggested we bust open the piggy bank and buy her a membership for the same period. While I am in class developing my pain slaying superpowers, she can be doing her regular work outs, afters we can go together to a fancy eatery, the sort she loves, (fancy gym is in a much smarter part of the city than the splendid multicultural war zone we live in). Her eyes were twinkling and her toes dancing at my plan.
It's wonderful that my pain, which sadly, affects her too, can also bring pleasure. I got hope and respite, my lovely wife got fancy and togetherness. From doom and gloom to blossom, bloom and wonder in under a week. Haha. We are blessed!
posted by dutchrick at 11:32 AM on June 2, 2022 [6 favorites]
It's wonderful that my pain, which sadly, affects her too, can also bring pleasure. I got hope and respite, my lovely wife got fancy and togetherness. From doom and gloom to blossom, bloom and wonder in under a week. Haha. We are blessed!
posted by dutchrick at 11:32 AM on June 2, 2022 [6 favorites]
p.s. I just love the free thread!
posted by dutchrick at 11:36 AM on June 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by dutchrick at 11:36 AM on June 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
I just read a DELIGHTFUL rant at work over email. Like I would have gotten a talking to, written up, and fired for sending this level of rant, but this person is a work buddy from another office, so presumably he will not. The word "sadism" was used, I'll leave it at that.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:46 AM on June 2, 2022
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:46 AM on June 2, 2022
just remember that selling is service and service is selling - even if you're selling an oosik
posted by pyramid termite at 7:31 PM on June 2, 2022
posted by pyramid termite at 7:31 PM on June 2, 2022
I actually witnessed this. The stapler broke in the sixth floor dietary office at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah. Sue, the trusty diet tech, pulled out the box the stapler came in 25 years before, and on the box was a lifetime guarantee, and she got a new one for free, for the office. I don't even know how you would contact Swingline, but she did.
posted by Oyéah at 10:03 PM on June 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Oyéah at 10:03 PM on June 2, 2022 [1 favorite]
P.S. I picked out the best watermelon today. Oh it was good. I split it with my grandson, because I don't have room for a great big one. I took home a big baggie of pink cubes of goodness! Maybe I can make some popsicles!
posted by Oyéah at 10:09 PM on June 2, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Oyéah at 10:09 PM on June 2, 2022 [3 favorites]
In contrast, we had the world's most flavourless honeydew melon. You have reminded me there are some smoothie icepops in the freezer though, and this is as good a time as any to get one out.
posted by biffa at 7:24 AM on June 3, 2022
posted by biffa at 7:24 AM on June 3, 2022
My thirteen year-old is mowing the yard without having been asked/ordered to do so. We are watching the sun set from the porch and sipping Pošip wine. Even including the two hour root canal I had midday which has left me feeling like I was punched in the jaw, the day has turned out pretty nice.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 5:59 PM on June 3, 2022
posted by DirtyOldTown at 5:59 PM on June 3, 2022
I accosted a youngster at the gas station across the street because his hoodie had "Art is what you can get away with" emblazoned on the back. Made me chuckle, worth a "like your hoodie" sort of thing, good quote, thumbs up. Dude told me while he was pumping gas that it was a hoodie from this YouTube musician. So I checked them out... It's rap/hip-hop and not my thing like a bit of dialect that isn't easy for me to understand. But if you're bored or into that genre... Croosh - YouTube. I can't tell if they're any good or not, but hey! tots random artist with a fan base of at least one!
posted by zengargoyle at 10:59 PM on June 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by zengargoyle at 10:59 PM on June 4, 2022 [1 favorite]
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Am I going fucking nuts or what?
/disgruntled grumping
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 5:53 AM on May 30, 2022 [7 favorites]