Free as in Thread
August 21, 2023 8:32 AM Subscribe
Vores Øl, in English Free Beer,is a Danish brand of beer that markets itself as being the world's first open-source beer. And this is your free thread! Happy Monday.
My son revealed to us -- at age 19!! -- that he thought the name Pamela was pronounced "puh-MEL-uh," with emphasis on the second syllable like the name Prunella.
Oh, how we laughed.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:43 AM on August 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
Oh, how we laughed.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:43 AM on August 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
We spent the weekend at Mountain Lake Lodge in the VA Mountains, aka Kellerman's Resort from Dirty Dancing. The lake is completely dry, so we walked out into it and stood in the exact spot Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze were at when they filmed the lake scene practicing the dance lift. I also learned that the water was about 40F, and Grey was suffering from hypothermia as they filed that scene. There are no closeups of her in that scene in the movie because her lips were blue. Also, they filmed in October and had to spray paint the trees green as they were well into fall colors when they were shooting that movie set in the summertime. I learned way more about that movie than I really wanted to know.
posted by COD at 8:49 AM on August 21, 2023 [12 favorites]
posted by COD at 8:49 AM on August 21, 2023 [12 favorites]
The only one who could ever feed me
Was the son of a pizza-man
The only boy who could Crazy Bread me
Was the son of a pizza-man
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:53 AM on August 21, 2023 [6 favorites]
Was the son of a pizza-man
The only boy who could Crazy Bread me
Was the son of a pizza-man
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:53 AM on August 21, 2023 [6 favorites]
Thinking about having a salad for lunch...what dressing goes best with the devil's lettuce? I can never decide between Roquefort or a vinaigrette.
Croutons, or no?
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:57 AM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Croutons, or no?
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:57 AM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
toasted bagel slices
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:58 AM on August 21, 2023
posted by seanmpuckett at 8:58 AM on August 21, 2023
Feeling a little blah today. Want to dig into my video game backlog and start a dungeon crawler. Something I can disappear into for a couple of hours at a time.
Started a new high school rom-com manga this weekend called My Love Mix-Up! Boy likes girl, girl likes other boy, other boy mistakenly believes boy likes him. The art is by Aruko, who also drew My Love Story!!, and it's similarly funny and cute. Going to be sticking with this one.
posted by May Kasahara at 9:06 AM on August 21, 2023
Started a new high school rom-com manga this weekend called My Love Mix-Up! Boy likes girl, girl likes other boy, other boy mistakenly believes boy likes him. The art is by Aruko, who also drew My Love Story!!, and it's similarly funny and cute. Going to be sticking with this one.
posted by May Kasahara at 9:06 AM on August 21, 2023
So, there were Surprise Emergency Temporary Storage Kittens this weekend. A local foster, who is currently full until at least Saturday when her current litter will hopefully meet acceptance criteria for PAWS, suddenly had another litter drop in her lap. We got tapped to keep them for the week or two until the room opens up.
They were nervous (and one was a little barfy) yesterday, but by this morning they were happy little eating machines. And super friendly! Maybe 5-6 weeks, so a great age to get them socialized. No idea about the backstory, we haven’t asked yet.
Faced with three girls and a boy, I went with a Fire Nation theme. Azula (calico), Mai (dark tortie), Ty Lee (grey), and Zuko (buff and white).
posted by notoriety public at 9:08 AM on August 21, 2023 [16 favorites]
They were nervous (and one was a little barfy) yesterday, but by this morning they were happy little eating machines. And super friendly! Maybe 5-6 weeks, so a great age to get them socialized. No idea about the backstory, we haven’t asked yet.
Faced with three girls and a boy, I went with a Fire Nation theme. Azula (calico), Mai (dark tortie), Ty Lee (grey), and Zuko (buff and white).
posted by notoriety public at 9:08 AM on August 21, 2023 [16 favorites]
The good: I rebuilt, repaired, and reinforced our deck and replaced all of the deck boards, finishing up this weekend. It has gone from rotting and falling apart to looking new.
The bad: I strained my thigh muscles and it takes me a solid 6-8 seconds to stand up or sit down.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:09 AM on August 21, 2023 [8 favorites]
The bad: I strained my thigh muscles and it takes me a solid 6-8 seconds to stand up or sit down.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:09 AM on August 21, 2023 [8 favorites]
Today is the last day of my staycation, and I’ve blown off a bike ride in favor of sleeping in and a bit of apartment cleaning. Since it’s on the hot side, I am going with some of my favorite summery things: a movie (Barbie!), soft serve ice cream, and poké bowl (which you all helped me with).
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 9:15 AM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 9:15 AM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
I am gearing up for a fight with my bank (I don't know if there will be a fight, but my anxious brain thinks so). I have been a Wells Fargo customer for decades. When I moved to my current home 10 years ago, I transferred my accounts to the local branch and opened a safe deposit box, and I was going to be helping my nephew with college and it seemed easiest to have a checking account that we shared so I could just move money into as needed.
This was also during the time that Wells was "encouraging" its employees to open a bunch of accounts. So I have several: My main checking account that my direct deposit, bill pay, etc. are tied to, the nephew account that isn't needed anymore and a third account that I never could get a straight answer as to why it had to be opened, but my safe deposit yearly fee is taken from there, and a savings account (that has always paid little or no interest). I was ok with it all because no fees were charged for any of them.
I month or so ago I received some correspondence saying they were changing one of my accounts (it turned out to be the safe deposit box account) I didn't pay close attention (mistake, I know), and it wasn't until I was looking at my statement that they are now charging me a $25 monthly fee for an account that is meant to handle a $20 a year fee!
My plan is to close my safe deposit box in protest and also that account (I am getting the fire-proof case that was recommended in another thread) and also my nephew's account (he's been out of school for several years and neither of us use it). The last time I went into question the separate account for my sdbox payment I was given some convoluted answer that basically said I'd have to close everything and start over. I didn't want to do that because of how many things are linked to the main account. I'm preparing to have to be a grey rock over keeping the one account and ditching the other two. Send any positive thoughts you can spare.
posted by agatha_magatha at 9:25 AM on August 21, 2023 [7 favorites]
This was also during the time that Wells was "encouraging" its employees to open a bunch of accounts. So I have several: My main checking account that my direct deposit, bill pay, etc. are tied to, the nephew account that isn't needed anymore and a third account that I never could get a straight answer as to why it had to be opened, but my safe deposit yearly fee is taken from there, and a savings account (that has always paid little or no interest). I was ok with it all because no fees were charged for any of them.
I month or so ago I received some correspondence saying they were changing one of my accounts (it turned out to be the safe deposit box account) I didn't pay close attention (mistake, I know), and it wasn't until I was looking at my statement that they are now charging me a $25 monthly fee for an account that is meant to handle a $20 a year fee!
My plan is to close my safe deposit box in protest and also that account (I am getting the fire-proof case that was recommended in another thread) and also my nephew's account (he's been out of school for several years and neither of us use it). The last time I went into question the separate account for my sdbox payment I was given some convoluted answer that basically said I'd have to close everything and start over. I didn't want to do that because of how many things are linked to the main account. I'm preparing to have to be a grey rock over keeping the one account and ditching the other two. Send any positive thoughts you can spare.
posted by agatha_magatha at 9:25 AM on August 21, 2023 [7 favorites]
My first in-person class on my late-in-life return to college happened today, Film Production 101 (it's actually 172 but 101 is more accurate); we all had to go around the circle and introduce ourselves and why we chose this major. Almost everyone is a freshman and for several this was their first college class, period.
There was an audible gasp/murmur when I said I graduated high school in 1992.
College kids these days look so little! There are two seniors in the class, who sat way in the back and are clearly there just to get a credit they're missing to graduate, but otherwise it's full of freshly-minted college students looking at making content.
The inspiration for most of these students to choose their major are Studio Ghibli, anime in general, or George Lucas, and quite a few students were part of their high school's video production department/club, or have already started producing things for online using simple tools.
The instructor even pointed this out during his lecture, that just in the past few years the number of new students with a sizeable amount of content already produced is getting really common.
One other common thing inspiring these students are behind-the-scenes videos -- so if you've got a kid looking at making videos in their future, BTS documentaries are a key inspiration.
posted by AzraelBrown at 9:34 AM on August 21, 2023 [8 favorites]
There was an audible gasp/murmur when I said I graduated high school in 1992.
College kids these days look so little! There are two seniors in the class, who sat way in the back and are clearly there just to get a credit they're missing to graduate, but otherwise it's full of freshly-minted college students looking at making content.
The inspiration for most of these students to choose their major are Studio Ghibli, anime in general, or George Lucas, and quite a few students were part of their high school's video production department/club, or have already started producing things for online using simple tools.
The instructor even pointed this out during his lecture, that just in the past few years the number of new students with a sizeable amount of content already produced is getting really common.
One other common thing inspiring these students are behind-the-scenes videos -- so if you've got a kid looking at making videos in their future, BTS documentaries are a key inspiration.
posted by AzraelBrown at 9:34 AM on August 21, 2023 [8 favorites]
(A)This morning I finished the draft of my autobiography through 2022, which will be issued eventually in an issue of two copies, one for my adult kid and one for me to look at when I can’t remember what I did. It took since the end of 2022 and appears to be what happened to my brain after my husband died. Now I can get back to my multiple novel drafts, which will go on Kindle like the others I published and I can continue earning an average $5 a month.
(B) the grandchild who was born just before the pandemic and who was thereafter raised in a bubble by his parents and me is going to preschool in September and I will no longer be watching him twice a week. It was supposed to be for six weeks and it has been more than three years. He is vaccinated and has been wearing a mask indoors most of his life, and we have been masking as well.
C) I ordered a case for storing Matchbox cars and Hot Wheels because Mom-Mom gives him a new one every time he comes over. It looks great and I’m gonna order three more. Three years is a boatload of Hot Wheels.
posted by Peach at 9:36 AM on August 21, 2023 [9 favorites]
(B) the grandchild who was born just before the pandemic and who was thereafter raised in a bubble by his parents and me is going to preschool in September and I will no longer be watching him twice a week. It was supposed to be for six weeks and it has been more than three years. He is vaccinated and has been wearing a mask indoors most of his life, and we have been masking as well.
C) I ordered a case for storing Matchbox cars and Hot Wheels because Mom-Mom gives him a new one every time he comes over. It looks great and I’m gonna order three more. Three years is a boatload of Hot Wheels.
posted by Peach at 9:36 AM on August 21, 2023 [9 favorites]
My job hunt is frustratingly hanging fire in two places -
1. I am still working part-time at one place, but with no word yet about whether this will continue. There are positive signs but no official offer.
2. I applied to something last week, and got an email the next day from the staffing service who posted the ad wanting to talk. On Friday I chatted with the agent who posted the ad - she was a bit rushed, but thorough, and mentioned that her company was working on two other openings I might also be suited for. She said she needed to call her colleagues working on those openings, but definitely for sure would want to have a video call with me. She also really sold me on her staffing service in general, and I definitely was eager to follow up. She said she'd just get to the office and speak with her colleagues, and let me know when; it would definitely be sometime around 2:30 or 3 on Friday, she said.
.....aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand then she ghosted me.
I texted her back a couple times on Friday, and then a couple times today - no response. I may give it until tomorrow and then I may just innocently submit my resume to the staffing service in general.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:47 AM on August 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
1. I am still working part-time at one place, but with no word yet about whether this will continue. There are positive signs but no official offer.
2. I applied to something last week, and got an email the next day from the staffing service who posted the ad wanting to talk. On Friday I chatted with the agent who posted the ad - she was a bit rushed, but thorough, and mentioned that her company was working on two other openings I might also be suited for. She said she needed to call her colleagues working on those openings, but definitely for sure would want to have a video call with me. She also really sold me on her staffing service in general, and I definitely was eager to follow up. She said she'd just get to the office and speak with her colleagues, and let me know when; it would definitely be sometime around 2:30 or 3 on Friday, she said.
.....aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand then she ghosted me.
I texted her back a couple times on Friday, and then a couple times today - no response. I may give it until tomorrow and then I may just innocently submit my resume to the staffing service in general.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:47 AM on August 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
This weekend I learned that I can watch Mr Wizard's World for free on Pluto. I watched s1e1 during which I was served an ad for a bra, which seemed a bit odd for a children's show. Mr Wizard is great but Julius Sumner Miller's Demonstrations in Physics is more hilarious.
We lost one of our two 15-year old cats last week, after a yearlong illness. He'd been outside all summer and I found him Wednesday evening unable to walk with one leg flaccid. I brought him in and put him on our bed and stayed by him until the vet was available in the late afternoon. So, I got to be with him for his last 18 hours. He slept, I didn't. After it was over, I have felt mainly relief. Worrying about him had consumed so much of my mind over the last year. This week's task is to get some photos printed and framed. Our other old cat is in good health.
Two of my employees are out this week so I'm doing their work in addition to my own. But starting Saturday I have a 10 day vacation.
posted by neuron at 9:51 AM on August 21, 2023 [8 favorites]
We lost one of our two 15-year old cats last week, after a yearlong illness. He'd been outside all summer and I found him Wednesday evening unable to walk with one leg flaccid. I brought him in and put him on our bed and stayed by him until the vet was available in the late afternoon. So, I got to be with him for his last 18 hours. He slept, I didn't. After it was over, I have felt mainly relief. Worrying about him had consumed so much of my mind over the last year. This week's task is to get some photos printed and framed. Our other old cat is in good health.
Two of my employees are out this week so I'm doing their work in addition to my own. But starting Saturday I have a 10 day vacation.
posted by neuron at 9:51 AM on August 21, 2023 [8 favorites]
My son revealed to us -- at age 19!! -- that he thought the name Pamela was pronounced "puh-MEL-uh," with emphasis on the second syllable like the name Prunella.
Oh, how we laughed.
I can't recall where I read that it's unfair to mock people who had a good go at a word they only ever read, I expect your laughter is in in-joke territory full of good family love.
What's going on here? I got up way early this morning and I'm in a +3 hour-ahead time zone for my work place, it's weird.
posted by k3ninho at 10:18 AM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Oh, how we laughed.
I can't recall where I read that it's unfair to mock people who had a good go at a word they only ever read, I expect your laughter is in in-joke territory full of good family love.
What's going on here? I got up way early this morning and I'm in a +3 hour-ahead time zone for my work place, it's weird.
posted by k3ninho at 10:18 AM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
We finally evicted the squirrels from our rafters on Saturday morning, and yesterday evening I went outside and was accosted by a very, very angry squirrel. Running back and forth literally screaming at me, making a sound I have never heard a squirrel make before. There is footage from our security camera of me literally cowering when it seemed like the squirrel was going to jump off the roof onto me (it did not).
I'm hoping it's not because there are babies still stuck somewhere in the house, but I haven't heard skittering in the ceiling like we did before, so hopefully we just have an angry squirrel rather than a mother looking for her babies. I guess I'll have to mention it to the pest control guy when he comes back.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:37 AM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'm hoping it's not because there are babies still stuck somewhere in the house, but I haven't heard skittering in the ceiling like we did before, so hopefully we just have an angry squirrel rather than a mother looking for her babies. I guess I'll have to mention it to the pest control guy when he comes back.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:37 AM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Current partner and I went to lunch with all 4 of his grown sons, a bit nerve-wracking for me considering their parents divorced only a few years ago. But the older 2 of the four were very welcoming. The youngest (18) introduced himself and immediately asked "so what's your story?" Which was too funny coming from such a fresh-faced kid to be intimidating. The second youngest was wary, which is also fine. All went well, we ate mediocre Mexican food (oh Colorado, why is this so hard for you to master?) and life goes on for that family.
posted by emjaybee at 10:40 AM on August 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 10:40 AM on August 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
I'm nearing 1 year since I fractured my ankle at work. It still hurts sometimes but my personal trainer has been giving me lots of strengthening and stability exercises to help it. So it's doing good.
I'm also nearing 2 years of active recovery from workplace burnout. And I believe the experts when they say burnout can be 3-5 years of active recovery. I feel like I'm flirting with a bit of a relapse at the moment, so it helps to remind myself I'm very much still in this process.
posted by eekernohan at 10:41 AM on August 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
I'm also nearing 2 years of active recovery from workplace burnout. And I believe the experts when they say burnout can be 3-5 years of active recovery. I feel like I'm flirting with a bit of a relapse at the moment, so it helps to remind myself I'm very much still in this process.
posted by eekernohan at 10:41 AM on August 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
we ate mediocre Mexican food (oh Colorado, why is this so hard for you to master?)
My wife just got back from a short trip to visit a friend and her new baby in Colorado, and sent me a picture of a tremendous margarita with the message, "this is the worst margarita, and probably the worst Mexican food, I have ever had." We do not have great Mexican food near us (although we do have a place with better-than-average margaritas), so for this food to be exceptionally bad is a real accomplishment.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:44 AM on August 21, 2023
My wife just got back from a short trip to visit a friend and her new baby in Colorado, and sent me a picture of a tremendous margarita with the message, "this is the worst margarita, and probably the worst Mexican food, I have ever had." We do not have great Mexican food near us (although we do have a place with better-than-average margaritas), so for this food to be exceptionally bad is a real accomplishment.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:44 AM on August 21, 2023
The Murderbot Diaries are so unfair. They're so good! But they only last ~30 min each. But there's a whole bunch of books in the series! But they're so good, hold time is in weeks.
Silver lining: being occasionally blessed with more Murderbot is actually really fun. Usually I just scarf down good series so fast I feel ashamed afterwards
Dark cloud: I'm sick but i have no soothing, escapist adventures lined up yet. Woe, woe, woe is me
posted by Baethan at 10:44 AM on August 21, 2023 [8 favorites]
Silver lining: being occasionally blessed with more Murderbot is actually really fun. Usually I just scarf down good series so fast I feel ashamed afterwards
Dark cloud: I'm sick but i have no soothing, escapist adventures lined up yet. Woe, woe, woe is me
posted by Baethan at 10:44 AM on August 21, 2023 [8 favorites]
Oh, but Casa Bonita has finally reopened, so now in Colorado you can have bad mexican food and bad margaritas while watching cliff divers!
posted by hippybear at 10:48 AM on August 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 10:48 AM on August 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
OMG I just noticed there's a GRAPHIC in the sidebar on the front page of MetaFiilter!
posted by hippybear at 11:22 AM on August 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 11:22 AM on August 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Last night, tropical storm Hilary passed somewhat to the east of my location. Lots of wind, some rain (about 1 - 1 1/2 inches). The ground soaked up the water and this morning I dealt with all the leaves and broken branches scattered around. I think most folks had it worse than I did.
posted by SPrintF at 11:28 AM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by SPrintF at 11:28 AM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
We're getting our family house ready to sell. Asshole brother bullied his way into getting what he wanted. All I gotta say about that is Karma's a bitch.
Orkin is coming tomorrow to evict a possible yellow jacket colony. The plumber is coming to fix the drain pipe and install a new toilet. I'm boxing up 40+ years of memories and throwing out everything that has asshole brother in it aside from family pictures.
Head Start is beginning soon. Most of the school agers are going back to school tomorrow. I get to see my sweet babies this afternoon and practice my Spanish on the itty bitty one. I'm falling in love with River like I fell in love with Londynn (who's in my preschool class now).
My boss is going to Alabama to see her granddaughter who is finally being released from the hospital after being born at 23 weeks.
I found out Friday that my Medicaid was renewed and I literally cried. I was trying to figure out how I was going to pay for insurance on top of everything else.
Need to look into storage units. Finally rescheduled some doctors appointments that I've been putting off.
posted by kathrynm at 11:28 AM on August 21, 2023 [8 favorites]
Orkin is coming tomorrow to evict a possible yellow jacket colony. The plumber is coming to fix the drain pipe and install a new toilet. I'm boxing up 40+ years of memories and throwing out everything that has asshole brother in it aside from family pictures.
Head Start is beginning soon. Most of the school agers are going back to school tomorrow. I get to see my sweet babies this afternoon and practice my Spanish on the itty bitty one. I'm falling in love with River like I fell in love with Londynn (who's in my preschool class now).
My boss is going to Alabama to see her granddaughter who is finally being released from the hospital after being born at 23 weeks.
I found out Friday that my Medicaid was renewed and I literally cried. I was trying to figure out how I was going to pay for insurance on top of everything else.
Need to look into storage units. Finally rescheduled some doctors appointments that I've been putting off.
posted by kathrynm at 11:28 AM on August 21, 2023 [8 favorites]
So the fire situation has moved away from us to the west. They've finally reopened one of the routes out of town, but a stretch of the interstate is still burning and has trees across it so traffic is being funneled through our small town as a detour. Much of the tension since Friday night has dissipated in our household, although we do have some storm systems moving through this afternoon. Rainfall is greatly welcome, but accompanying winds and possible dry lightning strikes are not.
posted by hippybear at 11:30 AM on August 21, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 11:30 AM on August 21, 2023 [8 favorites]
RIP John Warnock
/Times-Sadness findfont
24 scalefont
setfont
72 200 moveto
(.) show
showpage
posted by skippyhacker at 11:44 AM on August 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
/Times-Sadness findfont
24 scalefont
setfont
72 200 moveto
(.) show
showpage
posted by skippyhacker at 11:44 AM on August 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Can someone talk me out of the ridiculous new website idea I am this close to building?
You know when you're reading someone say something bonkers online and you think, If I had time, I'd write this shit down somewhere so I could come back and laugh at this fucker later when this obviously off-base notion is proven false?
Idea: WrongStupidWrong.com
Users can log links and screenshots to stupid things internet commenters said with total confidence. You'd then tag them to make them easier to check on, and set up reminder emails that will advise you when it's time to check in on a prediction. It would greatly simplify the process of sending fucking told you so messages.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:45 AM on August 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
You know when you're reading someone say something bonkers online and you think, If I had time, I'd write this shit down somewhere so I could come back and laugh at this fucker later when this obviously off-base notion is proven false?
Idea: WrongStupidWrong.com
Users can log links and screenshots to stupid things internet commenters said with total confidence. You'd then tag them to make them easier to check on, and set up reminder emails that will advise you when it's time to check in on a prediction. It would greatly simplify the process of sending fucking told you so messages.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:45 AM on August 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
friends came in from out of town and really wanted to go to the Tonga Room. so we did...
its a very silly place, gimmicky and touristy. the food is incredibly over-priced for its very mediocre quality. (like, it wasn't bad but no one at our table of 8 was going "yum yum wow" at any point.)
got real drunk, danced like silly people (which is really what the Tonga Room is about).
had to spend Saturday recovering...
but got to do some art with friend B on Sunday, which is always awesome.
posted by supermedusa at 11:46 AM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
its a very silly place, gimmicky and touristy. the food is incredibly over-priced for its very mediocre quality. (like, it wasn't bad but no one at our table of 8 was going "yum yum wow" at any point.)
got real drunk, danced like silly people (which is really what the Tonga Room is about).
had to spend Saturday recovering...
but got to do some art with friend B on Sunday, which is always awesome.
posted by supermedusa at 11:46 AM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
k3ninho: I expect your laughter is in in-joke territory full of good family love.
Oh, 100% -- he laughed the loudest, and in fact he reminded us that he had mentioned this earlier this spring (to gales of laughter then, too). We're a family of readers so everyone of us has done this before.
The reason we laughed so much about this one in particular is that he has volunteered at a community farm since he was in grade school, and one of the leaders there is named Pam. He must have heard us calling her "Pamela" once in a while...and yet.
posted by wenestvedt at 11:47 AM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Oh, 100% -- he laughed the loudest, and in fact he reminded us that he had mentioned this earlier this spring (to gales of laughter then, too). We're a family of readers so everyone of us has done this before.
The reason we laughed so much about this one in particular is that he has volunteered at a community farm since he was in grade school, and one of the leaders there is named Pam. He must have heard us calling her "Pamela" once in a while...and yet.
posted by wenestvedt at 11:47 AM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
its a very silly place
it's only a model
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:51 AM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
it's only a model
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:51 AM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
the name Pamela was pronounced "puh-MEL-uh,"
I thought that was an acceptable pronunciation - see the history here.
posted by paduasoy at 11:51 AM on August 21, 2023
I thought that was an acceptable pronunciation - see the history here.
posted by paduasoy at 11:51 AM on August 21, 2023
Can someone talk me out of the ridiculous new website idea I am this close to building?
based purely on the DOT brand alone this idea has merit
it also sounds very cool, hope you build it and share on MeFi
posted by elkevelvet at 11:53 AM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
based purely on the DOT brand alone this idea has merit
it also sounds very cool, hope you build it and share on MeFi
posted by elkevelvet at 11:53 AM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Just completed registration for a short course at the University of Bergen in Norway. #AchievementUnlocked
posted by Wordshore at 11:59 AM on August 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by Wordshore at 11:59 AM on August 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Back we were youn'uns, Ms. Windo pronounced Penelope as Pen-eh-lope.
posted by Windopaene at 12:11 PM on August 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by Windopaene at 12:11 PM on August 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
paduasoy: I thought that was an acceptable pronunciation
Well, indeed yes, my class discussed that question when I read the original Richardson thirty-odd years ago, but my son's education leans more toward science and philosophy than to literature. :7)
posted by wenestvedt at 12:17 PM on August 21, 2023
Well, indeed yes, my class discussed that question when I read the original Richardson thirty-odd years ago, but my son's education leans more toward science and philosophy than to literature. :7)
posted by wenestvedt at 12:17 PM on August 21, 2023
Can someone talk me out of the ridiculous new website idea I am this close to building?
Nope, because I've often wished I had a system to track those sorts of things, so I'm not going to talk you out of building it.
posted by COD at 12:27 PM on August 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Nope, because I've often wished I had a system to track those sorts of things, so I'm not going to talk you out of building it.
posted by COD at 12:27 PM on August 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Our adopted 5 year old cats, Winston and Juan, have warmed up to us considerably. Especially Juan, who was quite fearful initially; he comes to me 2-3 times a day and demands to be brushed. Cat tax.
posted by dbmcd at 12:29 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by dbmcd at 12:29 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
DirtyOldTown: Honestly, the question it seems you need to be asking this audience is "who will help me fund this ridiculous new website idea I am this close to building?".
posted by hippybear at 12:31 PM on August 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 12:31 PM on August 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
Dear Free Thread: I have missed you. I'm glad you're here. Please keep finding patronage that keeps you going.
That is all.
posted by flamewise at 12:44 PM on August 21, 2023 [6 favorites]
That is all.
posted by flamewise at 12:44 PM on August 21, 2023 [6 favorites]
Back we were youn'uns, Ms. Windo pronounced Penelope as Pen-eh-lope.
Me too. Also epitome was epp-eh-tome. For years I thought "e-pit-o-mee" (heard in spoken language) and "epp-eh-tome" (encountered when reading) were synonyms, but different words. I guess I should have been (and still should be) curious enough to open a dictionary when encountering new words to check their pronunciation (not that I've ever been particularly great at deciphering the various symbols involved therein).
posted by maxwelton at 12:46 PM on August 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
Me too. Also epitome was epp-eh-tome. For years I thought "e-pit-o-mee" (heard in spoken language) and "epp-eh-tome" (encountered when reading) were synonyms, but different words. I guess I should have been (and still should be) curious enough to open a dictionary when encountering new words to check their pronunciation (not that I've ever been particularly great at deciphering the various symbols involved therein).
posted by maxwelton at 12:46 PM on August 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
Honestly, I had read the main female character's name as Her-My-One and assumed she was going to end up fucking Harry by the end.
posted by hippybear at 12:50 PM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 12:50 PM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Phoebe was also a single-syllable name to younger me. (To be fair, I've never met anyone with that name.)
posted by maxwelton at 12:56 PM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by maxwelton at 12:56 PM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Also epitome was epp-eh-tome.
I particularly remember saying oh-pay-cue (opaque) cause my mom laughed so hard (in a loving but memorable way)
Last night I mentioned I'd never seen Idiocracy ("idio-crassy") and my husband blinked at me for a second like he was processing that.
Apparently it's supposed to rhyme with democracy which I guess is logical
posted by Baethan at 1:20 PM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
I particularly remember saying oh-pay-cue (opaque) cause my mom laughed so hard (in a loving but memorable way)
Last night I mentioned I'd never seen Idiocracy ("idio-crassy") and my husband blinked at me for a second like he was processing that.
Apparently it's supposed to rhyme with democracy which I guess is logical
posted by Baethan at 1:20 PM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
My cassette digitizing journey continues.
One tape cuts out after just a few minutes of audio. The other side of the tape is completely full of audio. I haven't listened to any of it yet so maybe the tape is reverse-labeled?
The cassette thing I have seems to cut out from working once the temperatures get too warm. Or if it gets used too much in succession. Or something. So progress is made mostly in early hours. That's fine.
I plan on doing audio checks and editing and stuff after it's all in the computer. I still have all the sources so I can feed a thing back in again if needed.
I've also been building a cat stair out of some mammoth double-thick corrugated cardboard I have, and it's been an exercise in visualization and refinement. Nothing I've done has Gone Wrong so far, so cheers to me. I'm a long way from done with the stair construction and a light year away from digging through the garage for the scrap of outdoor carpeting I swear we have out there to put on this because cat claws and cardboard equal no climbing.
Anyway, if it doesn't work, at least I'll have distracted myself from the horror of These Days for a while, whilst I'm building the thing.
posted by hippybear at 1:22 PM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
One tape cuts out after just a few minutes of audio. The other side of the tape is completely full of audio. I haven't listened to any of it yet so maybe the tape is reverse-labeled?
The cassette thing I have seems to cut out from working once the temperatures get too warm. Or if it gets used too much in succession. Or something. So progress is made mostly in early hours. That's fine.
I plan on doing audio checks and editing and stuff after it's all in the computer. I still have all the sources so I can feed a thing back in again if needed.
I've also been building a cat stair out of some mammoth double-thick corrugated cardboard I have, and it's been an exercise in visualization and refinement. Nothing I've done has Gone Wrong so far, so cheers to me. I'm a long way from done with the stair construction and a light year away from digging through the garage for the scrap of outdoor carpeting I swear we have out there to put on this because cat claws and cardboard equal no climbing.
Anyway, if it doesn't work, at least I'll have distracted myself from the horror of These Days for a while, whilst I'm building the thing.
posted by hippybear at 1:22 PM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
I like to mispronounce "pedant" ...just to see who bites.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:23 PM on August 21, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:23 PM on August 21, 2023 [7 favorites]
Fire ants plus urine equals pedant.
posted by hippybear at 1:25 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 1:25 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Phoebe was also a single-syllable name to younger me.
One of my favorite limericks ever, by which I learned how to pronounce that name many many years ago (reciting the last line aloud always makes me laugh):
A certain young fellow named Beebee
Wished to wed with a lady named Phoebe.
"But," said he, "I must see
What the clerical fee be,
Before Phoebe be Phoebe Beebee."
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:48 PM on August 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
One of my favorite limericks ever, by which I learned how to pronounce that name many many years ago (reciting the last line aloud always makes me laugh):
A certain young fellow named Beebee
Wished to wed with a lady named Phoebe.
"But," said he, "I must see
What the clerical fee be,
Before Phoebe be Phoebe Beebee."
posted by Greg_Ace at 1:48 PM on August 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
For some reason I started getting a flood of phone calls and text messages asking about my current dispatch and the status of a load. Some company thinks I'm a truck driver.
I've been trying for an hour to speak with someone at this company (not naming names, but it rhymes with GLOBALTRANZ) and nobody is helping.
So I guess I'm going to start taking the jobs. We'll see how quickly the calls stop. Or they'll get worse before they stop, methinks. 10-4, good buddy!
posted by JoeZydeco at 1:52 PM on August 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
I've been trying for an hour to speak with someone at this company (not naming names, but it rhymes with GLOBALTRANZ) and nobody is helping.
So I guess I'm going to start taking the jobs. We'll see how quickly the calls stop. Or they'll get worse before they stop, methinks. 10-4, good buddy!
posted by JoeZydeco at 1:52 PM on August 21, 2023 [4 favorites]
Wait, what? JoeZydeco isn't a truck driver.
Oh man, now I have to put everything he's commented here into a different context.
posted by hippybear at 1:55 PM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh man, now I have to put everything he's commented here into a different context.
posted by hippybear at 1:55 PM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Well now I got a code to install a dispatch app on my phone, which worked. I just dropped off a load in West Jordan UT and got to Chicago IL in approximately 10 seconds, where I just dropped off another load. I'm really good at this!
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:12 PM on August 21, 2023 [10 favorites]
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:12 PM on August 21, 2023 [10 favorites]
Your ability to evade speeding tickets is truly legendary.
As is your vehicle.
posted by hippybear at 2:23 PM on August 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
As is your vehicle.
posted by hippybear at 2:23 PM on August 21, 2023 [3 favorites]
The load was due in Chicago on the 23rd so I guess I have two days to kill here. Any suggestions?
And if you say any pizza joint other than Vito and Nick's I'm putting you on block.
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:25 PM on August 21, 2023
And if you say any pizza joint other than Vito and Nick's I'm putting you on block.
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:25 PM on August 21, 2023
There's lots of theater in Chicago. Take in a few shows.
posted by hippybear at 2:28 PM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 2:28 PM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
( JoeZydeco, if you really are messing around with their data, companies will still go "OMG WE WUZ HACKED" and sick lawyers on you, because they clearly know your phone number and can find you. It doesn't mean they'll win, but they can still be a bigger pain than unwanted texts are)
The best plan of attack is to play stupid, every text respond "who is this", if their app/thing lets you leave comments, always comment "what is this" or "what does this mean". Giving people correct information is always the wrong path; be wrong so they can fix it for you.
posted by AzraelBrown at 2:29 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
The best plan of attack is to play stupid, every text respond "who is this", if their app/thing lets you leave comments, always comment "what is this" or "what does this mean". Giving people correct information is always the wrong path; be wrong so they can fix it for you.
posted by AzraelBrown at 2:29 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Yeah, you make a good point. Hopefully this will stop soon. Thanks for being the voice of reason. Sending UNSUBSCRIBE to their bots might actually have more of an effect than their dispatchers, who continually hung up on me.
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:30 PM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:30 PM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
I have returned from my bank errand and it went well—like so many things my anxious brain tries to convince me are going to be terrible. The young man who helped me (they are all sooo young these days) was very nice. We traded recipes and restaurant suggestions while the computer was doing its thing.
posted by agatha_magatha at 2:31 PM on August 21, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by agatha_magatha at 2:31 PM on August 21, 2023 [6 favorites]
MetaFilter: Thanks for being the voice of reason.
Wait what?
posted by hippybear at 2:42 PM on August 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
Wait what?
posted by hippybear at 2:42 PM on August 21, 2023 [5 favorites]
Ugh. So my work has continued to have drama, as mail has been mis-mailed and now we are going to get an avalanche of complaints because the printer effed up. Awesome! I got "in trouble" for doing my job two times over, too. I threw out someone's damaged document they said they didn't want and then they decided they wanted it back (luckily for me they changed their mind again) and another ripped me a new one for emailing her again about something. Yay.
Also, I made pasta salad like 2 days ago and brought it for lunch and it's ALREADY got mold on it?!? How the hell does food mold so fast? Is the fridge broken or something? Or am I just an idiot who can't finish food in time because all of it is made in such large portions and my appetite is kinda gone in summer?
I did have a fruitful conversation with the temporary work therapist again, which led to my finding out that my work isn't offering career counseling now because they just hired a new one. Which is all to the good since the old one was pretty weak, but there's no timeline as to when she has sessions, sigh. The temporary one said she didn't think I'm a mess at all (I beg to differ, but that was nice) and she said I deserve more compassion. I agree, but I won't be getting it here.
Meanwhile, someone called in a bomb threat to the library in town and that gave me deja vu flashbacks that were super not fun, and I have nothing to eat now, and man, I just want to leave already. I have very few plans this week other than singing lessons and dog sitting, and I should be writing cover letters, but...
my brain chemistry is not allowing me to do them because it doesn't see the reward/benefit of doing them as being adequate to the effort.
Ah, yes, this sums it up right and proper. There is no reward for churning out more boring cover letters for jobs I don't want to have but feel obligated to apply for and I shouldn't get anyway and probably won't get if I put that effort in. Even the temporary work therapist was all "it's literally all the same stuff in these jobs anyway."
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:28 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Also, I made pasta salad like 2 days ago and brought it for lunch and it's ALREADY got mold on it?!? How the hell does food mold so fast? Is the fridge broken or something? Or am I just an idiot who can't finish food in time because all of it is made in such large portions and my appetite is kinda gone in summer?
I did have a fruitful conversation with the temporary work therapist again, which led to my finding out that my work isn't offering career counseling now because they just hired a new one. Which is all to the good since the old one was pretty weak, but there's no timeline as to when she has sessions, sigh. The temporary one said she didn't think I'm a mess at all (I beg to differ, but that was nice) and she said I deserve more compassion. I agree, but I won't be getting it here.
Meanwhile, someone called in a bomb threat to the library in town and that gave me deja vu flashbacks that were super not fun, and I have nothing to eat now, and man, I just want to leave already. I have very few plans this week other than singing lessons and dog sitting, and I should be writing cover letters, but...
my brain chemistry is not allowing me to do them because it doesn't see the reward/benefit of doing them as being adequate to the effort.
Ah, yes, this sums it up right and proper. There is no reward for churning out more boring cover letters for jobs I don't want to have but feel obligated to apply for and I shouldn't get anyway and probably won't get if I put that effort in. Even the temporary work therapist was all "it's literally all the same stuff in these jobs anyway."
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:28 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
After much confusion and irritating mistakes, I finally had the MRI for my left shoulder. I don't like MRIs; I have to have open ones as I get claustrophobic; and when I showed up for my appointment three weeks ago, the doctors office had mistakenly sent the script for my right shoulder. This is an injury that happened at work six years ago - duly reported; I've had physical therapy that ended in 2020, but it's only gotten progressively worse.
So now, I have an appointment on Wednesday morning to get the results from the MRI. (Do doctors offices think no one has a job or responsibilities that they can just schedule a person willy nilly?) I am anxious and also hopeful to get answers and go forward with this thing.
posted by annieb at 4:43 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
So now, I have an appointment on Wednesday morning to get the results from the MRI. (Do doctors offices think no one has a job or responsibilities that they can just schedule a person willy nilly?) I am anxious and also hopeful to get answers and go forward with this thing.
posted by annieb at 4:43 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Because Doctors are more important than you, and because you want to get answers and move forward with this thing. I have had 9 months of horrible medical shit, I hope ending in three weeks. But all my docs use myChart, so I get to read those results, and then try to schedule an appointment if it looks like I need to, or even just send my doctors a message, and I mostly get replies eventually to my questions.
This does seem bogus, as I'm sure you will charged for this appointment, (and probably did for the wrong shoulder MRI as well, which I'm pretty sure wasn't your fault). Ugh. Rent-seeking behavior it seems to me. Good luck with the results and moving on.
And it seems like all the MRI/diagnotic test folks are never coming from your doctors, but rather from some affiliated company that only uses the facilities of your provider/hospital. It is infuraiting.
posted by Windopaene at 6:53 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
This does seem bogus, as I'm sure you will charged for this appointment, (and probably did for the wrong shoulder MRI as well, which I'm pretty sure wasn't your fault). Ugh. Rent-seeking behavior it seems to me. Good luck with the results and moving on.
And it seems like all the MRI/diagnotic test folks are never coming from your doctors, but rather from some affiliated company that only uses the facilities of your provider/hospital. It is infuraiting.
posted by Windopaene at 6:53 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
I think we’re still actually buying this house. Just got a new closing costs statement and the interest rate I had locked a couple of weeks ago has gone down.
I’m just going to assume it’s wrong and will be corrected on closing day.
posted by The Monster at the End of this Thread at 7:10 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
I’m just going to assume it’s wrong and will be corrected on closing day.
posted by The Monster at the End of this Thread at 7:10 PM on August 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
But all my docs use myChart, so I get to read those results
OMG I went to the emergency room a few of years ago for what turned out to be pancreatitis brought on by a Zantac prescription, of all things. When I got out of the hospital after I think 2 nights, 3 days, I got home and looked at MyChart and I was utterly shocked by what I was reading there.
Because pancreatitis is often associated with alcoholism, I was seeing notes by people all across my intake through the emergency room and into imaging and tests and up into my being in a room, all saying variations of "we need to discharge this guy into a halfway house and tell him nothing about why" and "why are we even treating this person" and other such comments.
I was stunned and didn't even really comprehend what I was seeing, but when I went back to MyChart a few hours later thinking I needed to re-read these things, all the pages had been cleaned up and made professional and none of those disparaging remarks were there any longer. And I don't know if those are saved in some draft someplace or have been entirely unwritten/overwritten.
The lesson I've learned from this is that I don't take nearly enough screenshots and am far too trusting about digital data remaining the same over time.
posted by hippybear at 7:26 PM on August 21, 2023 [7 favorites]
OMG I went to the emergency room a few of years ago for what turned out to be pancreatitis brought on by a Zantac prescription, of all things. When I got out of the hospital after I think 2 nights, 3 days, I got home and looked at MyChart and I was utterly shocked by what I was reading there.
Because pancreatitis is often associated with alcoholism, I was seeing notes by people all across my intake through the emergency room and into imaging and tests and up into my being in a room, all saying variations of "we need to discharge this guy into a halfway house and tell him nothing about why" and "why are we even treating this person" and other such comments.
I was stunned and didn't even really comprehend what I was seeing, but when I went back to MyChart a few hours later thinking I needed to re-read these things, all the pages had been cleaned up and made professional and none of those disparaging remarks were there any longer. And I don't know if those are saved in some draft someplace or have been entirely unwritten/overwritten.
The lesson I've learned from this is that I don't take nearly enough screenshots and am far too trusting about digital data remaining the same over time.
posted by hippybear at 7:26 PM on August 21, 2023 [7 favorites]
I have seen similar things. As my necrotising fasciitis, in my buttocks region is often seen in alcoholics. Every doc I saw asked my how much I drink...
Several other "intersting" notes were in some of my other results as well. But I do dislike having to pay for stupid follow up appointments where basically nothing transpires, other than, "OK, that all seems good". My general surgeon got a colorectal surgeon involved, and he examined me, and wanted an MRI, and even though those came back fine, he still wants to do an examination under anesthesia, in case he wants to cut something out. So I had to wait for all the cardio tests, (monitor, echo, and then stress test), until both surgeons could tag team me on the same day.
If I wake up in recovery and still have this colostomy bag, I am going to be really pissed. Too many doctors spoil the diagnoses, or something like that...
posted by Windopaene at 7:56 PM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Several other "intersting" notes were in some of my other results as well. But I do dislike having to pay for stupid follow up appointments where basically nothing transpires, other than, "OK, that all seems good". My general surgeon got a colorectal surgeon involved, and he examined me, and wanted an MRI, and even though those came back fine, he still wants to do an examination under anesthesia, in case he wants to cut something out. So I had to wait for all the cardio tests, (monitor, echo, and then stress test), until both surgeons could tag team me on the same day.
If I wake up in recovery and still have this colostomy bag, I am going to be really pissed. Too many doctors spoil the diagnoses, or something like that...
posted by Windopaene at 7:56 PM on August 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
I've been in mold hell for two days. We found some mold and I had to kill all of it, so I wiped down and scrubbed about half of the apartment and contents. I did the carpet in the pantry with ammonia and until just a little while ago I would have described it as a "piss cave" and "what have I done." Mold's probably dead.
posted by blnkfrnk at 12:13 AM on August 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by blnkfrnk at 12:13 AM on August 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
I had my first MRI a few weeks ago. They booked me to come back the next day for the results which I -- being a n00b -- blithely accepted. I was in the car in the way there when the doctor called and said not to come in because of course they didn't have the results yet.
So thanks for saving me the copay and a wasted hour but also WTH is your staff making appointments too close together?!?!
posted by wenestvedt at 4:37 AM on August 22, 2023
So thanks for saving me the copay and a wasted hour but also WTH is your staff making appointments too close together?!?!
posted by wenestvedt at 4:37 AM on August 22, 2023
I am currently rebasing a local test branch to master and had to do a pull from the remote local. I am experiencing conflict hell. The only good news is that I only want the changes from master, but my fingers are tired from retyping diffg LOCAL. I have no doubt there is a solution that says "take just the local, throw out all of remote" but information on such a solution is scant.
In better news, spouse starts a new job early next month and kiddo has an unprecedented two week holiday break this year when offered the opportunity to travel asked to go to Paris. Spouse may not be able to join us and has a deadline of September 15 to tell me he can get the time off or I plan the trip without him. I'm excited that my kid wants to do something with just me. Lodging is going to be EXPENSIVE but I don't want to pass up this opportunity.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 5:13 AM on August 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
In better news, spouse starts a new job early next month and kiddo has an unprecedented two week holiday break this year when offered the opportunity to travel asked to go to Paris. Spouse may not be able to join us and has a deadline of September 15 to tell me he can get the time off or I plan the trip without him. I'm excited that my kid wants to do something with just me. Lodging is going to be EXPENSIVE but I don't want to pass up this opportunity.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 5:13 AM on August 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
Took my cat siblings, Oliver and Rusty, in for their checkups with a new veterinarian, who exclaimed “I can’t believe these two are 17 years old!” and today they’re getting extra celebratory hugs.
The vet observed that Rusty’s teeth “have some stains” so I said I’d tell her to quit smoking.
Without missing a beat, the vet remarked “well, her lungs are clear.”
I like our new vet.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:34 AM on August 22, 2023 [8 favorites]
The vet observed that Rusty’s teeth “have some stains” so I said I’d tell her to quit smoking.
Without missing a beat, the vet remarked “well, her lungs are clear.”
I like our new vet.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:34 AM on August 22, 2023 [8 favorites]
What the heck - I've just applied to another posting made by someone else from the fancy staffing service where someone ghosted me, just to get my foot in the door.
This is a staffing service that is getting LOVE LETTERS on Yelp, and it sounds like they really, REALLY look out for their clients. Like, you can turn a place down simply because you don't like the vibe and they'll be "okay, no problem."
If I don't get a bite back from that I will just call them in a week to sign up more generally.
....I'm also starting to see where I could squeeze in at the place I've BEEN working - the bulk of my work is bookkeeping, and that's the background of the person who's going to be starting in a couple weeks. But - hoo boy does the owner ever need an assistant, and so does the VP. And they need someone to focus on keeping spaces clean and organized (the "pantry area" is a complete disaster). So I may focus on looking absolutely indispensable in that regard for the next couple weeks ("hey, can I tidy up the food area?....Hey, you need someone to do some organizing of the file drawers?") and see if that helps.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:54 AM on August 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
This is a staffing service that is getting LOVE LETTERS on Yelp, and it sounds like they really, REALLY look out for their clients. Like, you can turn a place down simply because you don't like the vibe and they'll be "okay, no problem."
If I don't get a bite back from that I will just call them in a week to sign up more generally.
....I'm also starting to see where I could squeeze in at the place I've BEEN working - the bulk of my work is bookkeeping, and that's the background of the person who's going to be starting in a couple weeks. But - hoo boy does the owner ever need an assistant, and so does the VP. And they need someone to focus on keeping spaces clean and organized (the "pantry area" is a complete disaster). So I may focus on looking absolutely indispensable in that regard for the next couple weeks ("hey, can I tidy up the food area?....Hey, you need someone to do some organizing of the file drawers?") and see if that helps.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:54 AM on August 22, 2023 [3 favorites]
Trip update: I already found a place to stay for an eye-watering amount of money, but I don't have to pay AND can cancel the booking 4 days before departure without penalty, so I'm taking it.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 6:14 AM on August 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 6:14 AM on August 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
I've been in mold hell for two days.
Sunday I stopped in to get beers on my way to a celebratory meal for a friend, on the occasion of their Canadian citizenship. I recognized the young person clerking, I have know them since they were middle school aged, I think they graduated high school in the past 3 years. Last I checked, they were working toward Year 2 of their auto mechanic apprenticeship. This person has been suffering from exposure to black mold for the past 2+ years, they are on their second rental. The current rental appears to have a worse black mold situation than the previous place, the effects to their health have been dramatic: dizziness, vomiting, blacking out, noticeable weight loss. I am looking for another place for this person but there is not much out there, it's an upsetting situation.
posted by elkevelvet at 7:39 AM on August 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
Sunday I stopped in to get beers on my way to a celebratory meal for a friend, on the occasion of their Canadian citizenship. I recognized the young person clerking, I have know them since they were middle school aged, I think they graduated high school in the past 3 years. Last I checked, they were working toward Year 2 of their auto mechanic apprenticeship. This person has been suffering from exposure to black mold for the past 2+ years, they are on their second rental. The current rental appears to have a worse black mold situation than the previous place, the effects to their health have been dramatic: dizziness, vomiting, blacking out, noticeable weight loss. I am looking for another place for this person but there is not much out there, it's an upsetting situation.
posted by elkevelvet at 7:39 AM on August 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
in case it helps somebody and because I think it’s funny:
Oh Shit, Git!
posted by clew at 8:17 AM on August 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
Oh Shit, Git!
posted by clew at 8:17 AM on August 22, 2023 [2 favorites]
in case it helps somebody and because I think it’s funny:
Oh Shit, Git!
That is hilarious! TOC is missing "I'm still learning and I pushed out a tracking branch to remote with an amended commit at the top" which is what got me into this mess.
Then I made things worse by letting the remote go stale for two months, as my brain just stopped functioning every time I tried to fix it.
But I found a solution. If you don't want to track the branch anyway (which I didn't, I want to use it to squash commits), the fast and loose way to fix this is git branch -unset-upstream [branchname] as it removes the association between local and remote.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 10:48 AM on August 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
Oh Shit, Git!
That is hilarious! TOC is missing "I'm still learning and I pushed out a tracking branch to remote with an amended commit at the top" which is what got me into this mess.
Then I made things worse by letting the remote go stale for two months, as my brain just stopped functioning every time I tried to fix it.
But I found a solution. If you don't want to track the branch anyway (which I didn't, I want to use it to squash commits), the fast and loose way to fix this is git branch -unset-upstream [branchname] as it removes the association between local and remote.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 10:48 AM on August 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
In other exciting cat news, we received word today that two cats that we had fostered almost two years ago, who got taken in by Hinsdale Humane Society but languished there for the whole interim, finally got placed yesterday, and together! They were part of a neighborhood hoard, and it was hoped that they would thrive at the shelter and place quickly, but it took a long time for a family to come along and accept them for the shy cats that they are. So wish a happy Furever Home Day to Pete and Mama Cass!
posted by notoriety public at 6:52 PM on August 22, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by notoriety public at 6:52 PM on August 22, 2023 [6 favorites]
We've got the builders in. Tidying up the place, fixing bits and bobs and painting it from top to bottom. With a heavy heart. I've lived here since 1979. It's been home thru thick and thin. I bought it hoping it might make my wife happier. It didn't. Turned out that the problem wasn't the little flat we lived in before but me, and astonishingly, our son. "Boys are aliens," she told me by way of explanation. He was 7 and lovely. I was 29 and evidently not so lovely. The house was witness to a bloody separation. We all recovered. Ish. Me and my son lived here very happily for years as I got to experience life as a single parent. We were mates or a kid bringing up a kid as one friend put it. The garden bloomed too. Roses framed the front window, magnificent colours, fragrance and beauty. I sat there gazing out at them one late summer evening, full of food, good wine, musings and ruminations after a wonderful family dinner, brother and sister, Mum and Dad and my boy. Lost in thought. She smiled at me thru the window. Looked no less beautiful than the roses, better even. Climbed in thru the open window to make me laugh and cos she was then and is she is now a glorious free spirit. I thought she'd come. A month earlier, not long after meeting her and realising how special she was, I'd hoped she would meet a man who loved her and she could love in return, have kids and be happy. It had not occurred to me that I might be that man. She didn't climb out of the window. She stayed. We had kids. They played on the street outside. Attended the school over the road. A riot of multi ethnic colour, vitality and pure unadulterated fun. We went to my Dad's funeral from here. Later my Mum's. Hers too. We're still together. We're still here. And now we're going to sell it.
There's too much pain on the streets, too much poverty, untreated mental health, unloved kids, too much crack and spice. Years of neglect, underfunding of public services, decline, dirt, litter and the endless scourge of drugs. The streets once fun are now the locus of a harsh and brutal struggle for survival. It used to be 'giro city' - everyone's on welfare. It was never that but now welfare cheques are beyond the wildest imaginings of many. It's a shadow state, a shadow town, a shadow market. Drug money is the only welfare.
But Dutch, do you want to grow old here? Asks Mrs Dutch. I laugh. I am old here. Doesn't 73 count for anything? The question is the answer of course (as always and everywhere no matter the field) she doesn't want to live here as an oldie (she's presently a whipper snapper in her mid 60s). What it will be like when you feel fragile and vulnerable out there? she wonders. So sell it we will. After 44 years of everything, joy and laughter, blood, sweat and tears. I'm looking out of the window now as I write. It's dahlias now not roses but she'd look as lovely as ever in their midst. Funny old business this life thingy.
posted by dutchrick at 3:32 AM on August 23, 2023 [15 favorites]
There's too much pain on the streets, too much poverty, untreated mental health, unloved kids, too much crack and spice. Years of neglect, underfunding of public services, decline, dirt, litter and the endless scourge of drugs. The streets once fun are now the locus of a harsh and brutal struggle for survival. It used to be 'giro city' - everyone's on welfare. It was never that but now welfare cheques are beyond the wildest imaginings of many. It's a shadow state, a shadow town, a shadow market. Drug money is the only welfare.
But Dutch, do you want to grow old here? Asks Mrs Dutch. I laugh. I am old here. Doesn't 73 count for anything? The question is the answer of course (as always and everywhere no matter the field) she doesn't want to live here as an oldie (she's presently a whipper snapper in her mid 60s). What it will be like when you feel fragile and vulnerable out there? she wonders. So sell it we will. After 44 years of everything, joy and laughter, blood, sweat and tears. I'm looking out of the window now as I write. It's dahlias now not roses but she'd look as lovely as ever in their midst. Funny old business this life thingy.
posted by dutchrick at 3:32 AM on August 23, 2023 [15 favorites]
So: by way of context, my current sorta-part-time-but-maybe-it-can-go-longer-if-they-like-me gig is in construction, and my main duties are finance-related.
I got in this morning to find an email from the owner, asking me to check whether "the 27 K wire we received" was "what had been requested." ....Now, I should add that there has been a coil of electrical wire sitting next to a neighbors' desk for a couple days now. But I haven't been advised what that was for, what kind of wiring was needed on a given project, or suchlike. Baffled, I forwarded the email to my direct boss, asking who could help me research that; he suggested a couple names. I forwarded the email to those people, with my boss and the owner in copy, asking if they could assist. My boss quickly then followed up, saying only "never mind, I'll help EC with this." And then he told me to check an invoice I'd just sent to the client.
I pulled up the invoice, but it only bore information about payments the client had made to us. Just as I was about to turn to my boss and ask him about the construction details....it hit me:
* The invoice contained a record of wire transfer payments.
* We had similarly sent wire payment instructions to the client.
* Therefore, the owner was not asking me to verify ELECTRICAL wire details, he was asking for wire PAYMENT info.
....I replied to everyone explaining my mix-up and confirming that yes, the wire payment we received was what we'd asked for.
If anyone needs me I'll be sitting over in this corner feeling stupid.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:27 AM on August 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
I got in this morning to find an email from the owner, asking me to check whether "the 27 K wire we received" was "what had been requested." ....Now, I should add that there has been a coil of electrical wire sitting next to a neighbors' desk for a couple days now. But I haven't been advised what that was for, what kind of wiring was needed on a given project, or suchlike. Baffled, I forwarded the email to my direct boss, asking who could help me research that; he suggested a couple names. I forwarded the email to those people, with my boss and the owner in copy, asking if they could assist. My boss quickly then followed up, saying only "never mind, I'll help EC with this." And then he told me to check an invoice I'd just sent to the client.
I pulled up the invoice, but it only bore information about payments the client had made to us. Just as I was about to turn to my boss and ask him about the construction details....it hit me:
* The invoice contained a record of wire transfer payments.
* We had similarly sent wire payment instructions to the client.
* Therefore, the owner was not asking me to verify ELECTRICAL wire details, he was asking for wire PAYMENT info.
....I replied to everyone explaining my mix-up and confirming that yes, the wire payment we received was what we'd asked for.
If anyone needs me I'll be sitting over in this corner feeling stupid.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:27 AM on August 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
Last week an old old friend who, like, we've turned into "people who send each other memes and hang out every two years" but we used to be actual friends, sent a sincere "I miss you, what have you been up to!"
And i got so excited, because for once, I have actually been up to things! And moreover this is a friend who has previously expressed frustration with me for being negative and a downer, so I was like YES, now I get to send a cheerful update. So I wrote up the quick and dirty, told her I missed her too and asked what she'd been up to.
Radio silence. She completely blanked me for a week, and then today replied with an unrelated meme.
So now I feel like a braggy, bullshit asshole for just answering her question, and I feel a little tricked frankly because she was the one who asked!! I didn't just spam her with my good news. The generous interpretation is that she might be having a super hard time (we're middle aged, people are mostly having a terrible time) and just wasn't ready to hear that but didn't realize she wasn't ready.
The ironic thing is, if she'd just continued the conversation, she would have learned that these exciting things were also really stressful, and difficult, and I have some real mixed feelings about them. It's been an exciting year but not an easy one by half. OH WELL.
She's an old enough friend that I won't stay mad at her or cut her off but it sucks.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 10:25 AM on August 23, 2023 [5 favorites]
And i got so excited, because for once, I have actually been up to things! And moreover this is a friend who has previously expressed frustration with me for being negative and a downer, so I was like YES, now I get to send a cheerful update. So I wrote up the quick and dirty, told her I missed her too and asked what she'd been up to.
Radio silence. She completely blanked me for a week, and then today replied with an unrelated meme.
So now I feel like a braggy, bullshit asshole for just answering her question, and I feel a little tricked frankly because she was the one who asked!! I didn't just spam her with my good news. The generous interpretation is that she might be having a super hard time (we're middle aged, people are mostly having a terrible time) and just wasn't ready to hear that but didn't realize she wasn't ready.
The ironic thing is, if she'd just continued the conversation, she would have learned that these exciting things were also really stressful, and difficult, and I have some real mixed feelings about them. It's been an exciting year but not an easy one by half. OH WELL.
She's an old enough friend that I won't stay mad at her or cut her off but it sucks.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 10:25 AM on August 23, 2023 [5 favorites]
I ran into an old manager from my old volunteer job last night, who has moved back to town. She randomly came into the karaoke bar/pizza place I was in and we reunited, I introduced her to current friends, and she got really into dancing and singing. Hopefully I see her again in the future, because that went GREAT.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:35 AM on August 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:35 AM on August 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
The generous interpretation is that she might be having a super hard time
Based on my own similar experiences and that of a couple friends (with other friends), it's also possible that they just flat dizzed out and forgot to reply, or maybe even got distracted and missed your response entirely. Then they forgot about it, leading to responding with an unrelated text a week later.
Being middle aged also means we're not always as on-the-ball as we might wish! :)
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:14 PM on August 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Based on my own similar experiences and that of a couple friends (with other friends), it's also possible that they just flat dizzed out and forgot to reply, or maybe even got distracted and missed your response entirely. Then they forgot about it, leading to responding with an unrelated text a week later.
Being middle aged also means we're not always as on-the-ball as we might wish! :)
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:14 PM on August 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
YouTube has blocked me. “Your browser is not supported.” TikTok and Instagram and Facebook won’t show me content without logging in which I will not do. Vast swathes of the corporate social web, which we’ve built with our contributions are being cut off because we don’t want to pay and risk ever increasing amounts of attention on ads and privacy. The more they lock it down, the more the creative people will rotate away.
They built their empire on our eyeballs and to destroy them we need merely to look away.
posted by seanmpuckett at 3:04 PM on August 23, 2023
They built their empire on our eyeballs and to destroy them we need merely to look away.
posted by seanmpuckett at 3:04 PM on August 23, 2023
Tired: Barbenheimer.
Wired: SAW PATROL.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:41 PM on August 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
Wired: SAW PATROL.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:41 PM on August 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
They built their empire on our eyeballs and to destroy them we need merely to look away.
I was recently at a picnic for a local arts organization, and I was surprised at the number of people of all ages who simply "don't do" Facebook or Instagram or Twitter.
It seems the instinct for organizations who start losing hold of their users is to tighten control, and none seem to be aware of how that only increases their users' abandonment.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:26 AM on August 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
I was recently at a picnic for a local arts organization, and I was surprised at the number of people of all ages who simply "don't do" Facebook or Instagram or Twitter.
It seems the instinct for organizations who start losing hold of their users is to tighten control, and none seem to be aware of how that only increases their users' abandonment.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:26 AM on August 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Our order of Hatch green chile arrived today. We get it from a place that picks it and puts it directly into boxes for shipment so it gets to our house only 3 or 4 days out of the field. Husbear is out back roasting it right now on our gas grill.
This house is full of the aroma of roasting fresh green chile and its making my mouth water so much... Oh man!
posted by hippybear at 2:21 PM on August 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
This house is full of the aroma of roasting fresh green chile and its making my mouth water so much... Oh man!
posted by hippybear at 2:21 PM on August 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
I have been building a cat stair out of some great double-thick corrugated cardboard. I've finally got the entire cardboard structure done, which is a rather steep set of stairs and some braces for stability and I think I'm going to add a couple of bricks underneath for weight to counterbalance our hefty boy I'm building this for.
I still have to buy carpet to put on it. Cats can't climb cardboard. I've found some carpet runners I could buy but I'm going to hit up an actual carpet shop tomorrow to see if they have any remnants of outdoor carpet because these other things are rather thick and I'd like to have something thinner to glue onto the surface.
My poor elderly fat boy cat has been exhibiting signs of having more sore joints for a few years now. He is unwilling to take in any of the stuff that might make him feel better, like glucosamine or CBD oil or anything mixed into his food. And he's been making a leap up to a piano bench and then up to a shelf-top to find his favorite looking-out-the-window spot.
My hopes are finishing this stair will allow him to make this journey upward easier. I can't afford a stair lift, and he has no thumbs.
posted by hippybear at 7:29 PM on August 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
I still have to buy carpet to put on it. Cats can't climb cardboard. I've found some carpet runners I could buy but I'm going to hit up an actual carpet shop tomorrow to see if they have any remnants of outdoor carpet because these other things are rather thick and I'd like to have something thinner to glue onto the surface.
My poor elderly fat boy cat has been exhibiting signs of having more sore joints for a few years now. He is unwilling to take in any of the stuff that might make him feel better, like glucosamine or CBD oil or anything mixed into his food. And he's been making a leap up to a piano bench and then up to a shelf-top to find his favorite looking-out-the-window spot.
My hopes are finishing this stair will allow him to make this journey upward easier. I can't afford a stair lift, and he has no thumbs.
posted by hippybear at 7:29 PM on August 25, 2023 [2 favorites]
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posted by seanmpuckett at 8:41 AM on August 21, 2023 [5 favorites]