a little madness
October 24, 2022 3:01 AM Subscribe
Who said "I hope for nothing. I fear nothing. I am free." a) Fernando António Nogueira Pessoa; b) Bobby McGee; c) Nikos Kazantzakis; d) This Thread
Mondays bring few promises, but this thread is here; please feel free to post with with no expectations or trepidations, but maybe just a little madness.
Mondays bring few promises, but this thread is here; please feel free to post with with no expectations or trepidations, but maybe just a little madness.
Please vote for Gil Penalosa, Toronto, let's get that chucklefuck doormat ford patsy Tory out of the mayor's office. (And see how fast the province's "strong mayor" initiative goes cold as death.)
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:51 AM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:51 AM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
Also, my partner just headed downstairs to run the polling station in our building's board room. 12+ hour workdays are a thing for election workers, bring them coffee, bring them snacks, bring them your kind regards and respect.
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:55 AM on October 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:55 AM on October 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
Happy Kukur Tihar to all your good dogs! And happy Diwali to all who celebrate!
posted by the primroses were over at 4:55 AM on October 24, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by the primroses were over at 4:55 AM on October 24, 2022 [8 favorites]
I threatened, on Thursday, to take today off. Ultimately I don't think it's gonna happen, there's enough work to deal with that I'd just have a bad day tomorrow if I didn't take advantage of today at least a little. I'm already somewhat well known for many taking wheel of the year dates off. The conversation went a little something like this:
But yeah, I'll probably spend a decent fraction of the day jumpstarting the design of something that'd be a struggle for other folks to whip together as easily as I can as the designated institutional knowledge repository. Then I'll go smoke a chicken.
posted by majick at 5:38 AM on October 24, 2022 [8 favorites]
ME is sitting out on the deck bleary-eyed and unbathed, peering into the meeting on his lap.Later in the day I was thinking, hey, as a visibly super-Americanized non-Indian person who apparently a bunch of people pay attention to for some reason this is an opportunity to make a point about regional and ethnic holidays being celebrated in our community. So I pontificated in Slack:
MANAGEMENT PERSON: We should come back to this on Monday.
OTHER MANAGEMENT PERSON: Monday! Diwali! Will everyone be online?
ME: You can't see me on video right now but I am making the face that says I might take Diwali off.
MANAGEMENT PERSON: Most people celebrate Diwali by eating. In the evening.
ME: ...and someone cooks that food!
BOTH MANAGEMENT PERSONS start giving menu ideas
I may not have grown up with Diwali -- my mom's puja practice was in the Tibetan traditions -- but I work and live alongside many who do, folks who are my leaders, my mentors, role models, peers and students and friends. Embracing the light!At which point, coincidentally, the shard of our infrastructure that supports our customers in India blew up.
But yeah, I'll probably spend a decent fraction of the day jumpstarting the design of something that'd be a struggle for other folks to whip together as easily as I can as the designated institutional knowledge repository. Then I'll go smoke a chicken.
posted by majick at 5:38 AM on October 24, 2022 [8 favorites]
that quote reminded me of this Brazilian Girls song: "Some people have nothing and want nothing and are free". Not sure that I endorse that analysis of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, but I'll endorse it as a Monday morning dance jam.
posted by okonomichiyaki at 5:56 AM on October 24, 2022
posted by okonomichiyaki at 5:56 AM on October 24, 2022
Started crocheting again, more as a fidget than anything, and a way to use up a ball of yarn that doesn't match anything and keeps turning up around here. I'm making a dish cloth. I remember making a couple of lovely baby blankets that weren't very difficult at all, but looked elaborate -- those children are in the middle of grade school now. The secret to knitting or crocheting something that looks harder than it is? Ombre yarn. Changes color every few feet without any effort from you.
My right hand is punishing me for this, and also for taking up the first Legend of Zelda in the evenings.
posted by Countess Elena at 6:15 AM on October 24, 2022 [5 favorites]
My right hand is punishing me for this, and also for taking up the first Legend of Zelda in the evenings.
posted by Countess Elena at 6:15 AM on October 24, 2022 [5 favorites]
Madness - Our House (Official 4K Video) - YouTube.
posted by zengargoyle at 6:22 AM on October 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by zengargoyle at 6:22 AM on October 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
Today, I have forgotten to eat lunch and now I am cold and shaky. But it is always nice to get something done and talk with nice people, and also: today I got wordle in two! So this looks like a good day. I also really like the view from my window in autumn.
It's time to take a little walk and get some fresh air and fresh ideas.
posted by mumimor at 6:43 AM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
It's time to take a little walk and get some fresh air and fresh ideas.
posted by mumimor at 6:43 AM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
I have discovered the joy of Plastikman.
Spent most of the evening unable to stop myself from dancing. It had been an unusually stressful day, so badly needed. It felt as if my brain was being defragged.
On that topic, some types of music make me feel as if it locks into my brain and fixes whatever is wrong in there.
Steve Reich - Electric Counterpoint Fast
Tortoise - Spiderwebbed
Brian Eno - Iced World
Can - Future Days remix
Orem Ambarchi - Hubris
Aunti Flo - Rainfall on Red Earth
Robot Koch - Circle 19 Foam and Sand
posted by Zumbador at 6:44 AM on October 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
Spent most of the evening unable to stop myself from dancing. It had been an unusually stressful day, so badly needed. It felt as if my brain was being defragged.
On that topic, some types of music make me feel as if it locks into my brain and fixes whatever is wrong in there.
Steve Reich - Electric Counterpoint Fast
Tortoise - Spiderwebbed
Brian Eno - Iced World
Can - Future Days remix
Orem Ambarchi - Hubris
Aunti Flo - Rainfall on Red Earth
Robot Koch - Circle 19 Foam and Sand
posted by Zumbador at 6:44 AM on October 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
Went to see Wardruna Friday night in Chicago; driving up wasn't too bad traffic-wise, we got street-level parking a block or two away, and the band was awesome. I also got my double shot (COVID enhanced booster and flu) on Tuesday, so I was over the aftereffects (which were kind of mild anyway) well before the show.
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:49 AM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 6:49 AM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want To Have Fun (Official Video) - YouTube.
posted by zengargoyle at 7:03 AM on October 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by zengargoyle at 7:03 AM on October 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
Yesterday I sat in the sunshine in my son's backyard. Another son- I have three of them- brought our old friend J. by. J. is, like me, in her seventies: I've known her for 45 years or so. Our kids went to school together. A few years ago Jo started showing signs of dementia. Her world started shrinking. Her balance was bad, she got lost, she was confused, etc. She saw lots of doctors who told her it was dementia. She'd watched both of her parents succumb to it, albeit somewhat later in life.
A new doctor did some different tests. IANAD, I don't know what they were. She was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, had a shunt put in and is noticeably better.
This has been a public service announcement!
posted by mareli at 7:11 AM on October 24, 2022 [11 favorites]
A new doctor did some different tests. IANAD, I don't know what they were. She was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, had a shunt put in and is noticeably better.
This has been a public service announcement!
posted by mareli at 7:11 AM on October 24, 2022 [11 favorites]
I've finally decided to get a new gaming PC! Put together a parts list yesterday and going to make the final decision on said parts today. It'll be my first home-built desktop machine; I've been using dual-booting Mac Pros since 2006, and a Dell before that.
Going to keep my trusty trashcan for awhile longer, mostly so I can continue doing Mac stuff on the desktop, but since the cheese grater has long been largely ridiculous in my eyes for my specific use cases, I'm going back to non-Mac hardware for gaming. Excited!
posted by May Kasahara at 7:32 AM on October 24, 2022
Going to keep my trusty trashcan for awhile longer, mostly so I can continue doing Mac stuff on the desktop, but since the cheese grater has long been largely ridiculous in my eyes for my specific use cases, I'm going back to non-Mac hardware for gaming. Excited!
posted by May Kasahara at 7:32 AM on October 24, 2022
My kid wants a gaming PC for Christmas. She's speced out the parts, and we're going to give her the money to buy them. Then she'll put it together with a friend. She's really excited to put together her first PC.
posted by Spike Glee at 7:42 AM on October 24, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by Spike Glee at 7:42 AM on October 24, 2022 [8 favorites]
Finally getting my bivalent booster this morning, so, "Yay".
Horribly phobic about needles, so "not yay".
And have about a billion things to do tomorrow, so here's to "no side effects this time"...
posted by Windopaene at 7:53 AM on October 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
Horribly phobic about needles, so "not yay".
And have about a billion things to do tomorrow, so here's to "no side effects this time"...
posted by Windopaene at 7:53 AM on October 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
Listening to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers "Moanin" while I have the other half of last nights dinner for breakfast. I can't help thinking it's a day full of promise. So, Happy Monday (and other holidays) to all who celebrate!
posted by evilDoug at 8:01 AM on October 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by evilDoug at 8:01 AM on October 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
I saw three plays this weekend - none of which were Zorba, alas. But they were all excellent, and thought-provoking, and engaged with current issues.
Today was the first day of early voting, so I did that on the way to work.
posted by mersen at 8:03 AM on October 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
Today was the first day of early voting, so I did that on the way to work.
posted by mersen at 8:03 AM on October 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
So, my apartment building is run by a management company that owns about 5-6 buildings dotted throughout Brooklyn and Queens. My own specific building is very close to a couple restaurants...and, well, rodents are a thing that exist. Ostensibly we have an exterminator who visits monthly to check up on things....but the last time I spoke with him, he confided that there is a weird disconnect between himself, the super, and the management company:
* The management company has asked him to come by once a month, on Saturdays, to check up on everyone.
* However, the management company has also told him to coordinate with our super for access to the building - and the super takes Saturdays off.
...We can get a confirmed appointment with the exterminator (on the ordained Saturday) if we contact the manager. And a couple times we've asked him to come out because my roommate has heard something scurrying in the walls and ceiling of his own room; we're in a duplex, and he's in the basement while I have the upper half. The exterminator hasn't been able to do much without the super letting him into certain areas, so he does what he can. I also booked him last month to alert him to rats outside in the back yard - he wasn't able to get access there in the past, but I got him back there and he saw a lot of burrows and got going on those. My roommate said that nothing has really helped, and he still hears things.
...Then two nights ago, I started hearing critters in MY walls and ceiling. Scurrying, scratching, and - most alarmingly - what sounded like scraping and grinding.
I talked to a couple neighbors who said that they've heard stuff too, and I encouraged them to email the manager to emphasize that this is an issue above and beyond just sending the exterminator to us with glue traps and that maybe we gotta call out the bigger guns (or let this poor guy have more access to the building). I've emailed her and we'll see what happens (I even offered to be at home if they wanted to call him in on a weekday).
But in the meantime...last night I got on AskMe out of desperation, after being awakened by scurrying at midnight. And found someone with a similar issue (renter, rodents in walls, landlord not really as effective as one might hope), and one of the answers suggested using peppermint oil judiciously. I have an essential oil diffuser, so I put that on with a whack of peppermint oil...and by God, I think it worked. Within only 10 minutes, I was still hearing scurrying, but it was scurrying that was moving away from where I'd set the diffuser. I also stopped hearing the chewing and grinding. I sent a very excited email to my roommate with a link to the diffuser unit I got ("dude, it's only 20 bucks on Amazon!") and at the very least this may be a stopgap until the exterminator gets here.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:29 AM on October 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
* The management company has asked him to come by once a month, on Saturdays, to check up on everyone.
* However, the management company has also told him to coordinate with our super for access to the building - and the super takes Saturdays off.
...We can get a confirmed appointment with the exterminator (on the ordained Saturday) if we contact the manager. And a couple times we've asked him to come out because my roommate has heard something scurrying in the walls and ceiling of his own room; we're in a duplex, and he's in the basement while I have the upper half. The exterminator hasn't been able to do much without the super letting him into certain areas, so he does what he can. I also booked him last month to alert him to rats outside in the back yard - he wasn't able to get access there in the past, but I got him back there and he saw a lot of burrows and got going on those. My roommate said that nothing has really helped, and he still hears things.
...Then two nights ago, I started hearing critters in MY walls and ceiling. Scurrying, scratching, and - most alarmingly - what sounded like scraping and grinding.
I talked to a couple neighbors who said that they've heard stuff too, and I encouraged them to email the manager to emphasize that this is an issue above and beyond just sending the exterminator to us with glue traps and that maybe we gotta call out the bigger guns (or let this poor guy have more access to the building). I've emailed her and we'll see what happens (I even offered to be at home if they wanted to call him in on a weekday).
But in the meantime...last night I got on AskMe out of desperation, after being awakened by scurrying at midnight. And found someone with a similar issue (renter, rodents in walls, landlord not really as effective as one might hope), and one of the answers suggested using peppermint oil judiciously. I have an essential oil diffuser, so I put that on with a whack of peppermint oil...and by God, I think it worked. Within only 10 minutes, I was still hearing scurrying, but it was scurrying that was moving away from where I'd set the diffuser. I also stopped hearing the chewing and grinding. I sent a very excited email to my roommate with a link to the diffuser unit I got ("dude, it's only 20 bucks on Amazon!") and at the very least this may be a stopgap until the exterminator gets here.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:29 AM on October 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
Bread just went in the oven -- with a splash of water inside the Dutch oven for a better crust -- and it should start smelling good any time now.
posted by wenestvedt at 8:56 AM on October 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 8:56 AM on October 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
I am in St. Lawrence Market in Toronto regularly. In the lower level there is a shop selling fudge and chocolates and the like, run by a francophone family (who always seem delighted when I speak French with them).
More than once this summer I have sat and eaten my lunch — one of the epic sandwiches from Moustachio — at a nearby table, perhaps five steps from the counter. They have a little sound system and overhead speakers playing music.
A half-dozen visits since July or so have done nothing to disabuse me of my initial notion that their sound system has a single song on repeat: Juice Newton’s cover of “Angel of the Morning.”
I love love love the Merilee Rush original and it is one of a very few songs I have yet to find the upper limit of my patience for hearing it. Juice, however? Turns out four times consecutively pretty much does it for me. I have also learned that it takes me about six repeats of the song to finish a Moustachio sandwich.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:56 AM on October 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
More than once this summer I have sat and eaten my lunch — one of the epic sandwiches from Moustachio — at a nearby table, perhaps five steps from the counter. They have a little sound system and overhead speakers playing music.
A half-dozen visits since July or so have done nothing to disabuse me of my initial notion that their sound system has a single song on repeat: Juice Newton’s cover of “Angel of the Morning.”
I love love love the Merilee Rush original and it is one of a very few songs I have yet to find the upper limit of my patience for hearing it. Juice, however? Turns out four times consecutively pretty much does it for me. I have also learned that it takes me about six repeats of the song to finish a Moustachio sandwich.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:56 AM on October 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
My son was playing a reggae-fied version of “Angel of the morning” just earlier. He had never heard the original. I played it for him and, sadly, did not grow in his estimation of my ultimately cool-ness.
posted by From Bklyn at 9:08 AM on October 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by From Bklyn at 9:08 AM on October 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
Sadness accrues.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:56 AM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:56 AM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
♫♪ Just brush my teeth before you leave me, baby ♫
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:02 AM on October 24, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:02 AM on October 24, 2022 [7 favorites]
Steve Reich - Electric Counterpoint Fast
God yes. That piece is exultant.
* * *
So today as others have noted, it's Civic Election day in Ontario Canada.
About 3 weeks prior, we received voter cards with our details and which polling station to go to. (and if you didn't get a card or aren't registered, you just bring ID confirming who you are and where you live - like a photo health card or drivers' licence, and a utility or tax bill - and they register you in a couple of minutes.)
Our designated polling station this time is a 10 min walk from the house. (and on a lovely fall day, a nice walk). There was good signage outside and people guiding voters to the entrance. The station has parking and is fully accessible. There was a 3 or 4 person lineup. You step up to the desk corresponding to your last name (the alphabet was divided into 4 groups), present your card and one piece of ID, they hand you a ballot, provide instructions, and point you to the private marking stations. You mark your ballot, then present it (in a provided folder to hide your selection) to an official who feeds it into a scanner while you watch, and the ballot drops into a collection box, in case of recounts.
Whole process, from arriving to leaving, was about 10 minutes. Easy as pie, and many pleasant and helpful officials making it flow. Just about all our elections (municipal, provincial, national) run this smoothly, and the longest wait we ever had was maybe 30 min.
Voting should be this easy for everyone, no?
posted by Artful Codger at 10:17 AM on October 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
God yes. That piece is exultant.
* * *
So today as others have noted, it's Civic Election day in Ontario Canada.
About 3 weeks prior, we received voter cards with our details and which polling station to go to. (and if you didn't get a card or aren't registered, you just bring ID confirming who you are and where you live - like a photo health card or drivers' licence, and a utility or tax bill - and they register you in a couple of minutes.)
Our designated polling station this time is a 10 min walk from the house. (and on a lovely fall day, a nice walk). There was good signage outside and people guiding voters to the entrance. The station has parking and is fully accessible. There was a 3 or 4 person lineup. You step up to the desk corresponding to your last name (the alphabet was divided into 4 groups), present your card and one piece of ID, they hand you a ballot, provide instructions, and point you to the private marking stations. You mark your ballot, then present it (in a provided folder to hide your selection) to an official who feeds it into a scanner while you watch, and the ballot drops into a collection box, in case of recounts.
Whole process, from arriving to leaving, was about 10 minutes. Easy as pie, and many pleasant and helpful officials making it flow. Just about all our elections (municipal, provincial, national) run this smoothly, and the longest wait we ever had was maybe 30 min.
Voting should be this easy for everyone, no?
posted by Artful Codger at 10:17 AM on October 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
I just realized that there is an election here in a week and a day, and we haven't received our election cards. That is strange. Better do something about it tomorrow. There are solutions for those who haven't received their cards, but I'm worried the kids won't vote if everything isn't laid out for them.
When the election (for parliament) was announced, I was very worried, because it looked like a new racist and anti culture party (as if we didn't have enough) was about to get a lot of votes. But now the polls are saying people are moving towards the middle and voters are beginning to think about the climate again, after a period of tabloid-induced rage. Well, a woman can hope. A lot can happen in a week, both good and bad.
posted by mumimor at 10:25 AM on October 24, 2022
When the election (for parliament) was announced, I was very worried, because it looked like a new racist and anti culture party (as if we didn't have enough) was about to get a lot of votes. But now the polls are saying people are moving towards the middle and voters are beginning to think about the climate again, after a period of tabloid-induced rage. Well, a woman can hope. A lot can happen in a week, both good and bad.
posted by mumimor at 10:25 AM on October 24, 2022
The problem with voting, at least in this area, is that nobody in the local media has bothered to really do anything to get the candidates on record to explain their platforms.
In the past, the local Rogers community channel hosted actual debates.* This year, they didn't really do that. They asked some candidates (i.e. not school board ones) to answer a bunch of pre-recorded questions. Some candidates complied, some didn't (i.e. the majority of the mayoralty candidates didn't). The local newspapers sent out a bunch of canned questions for candidates via email and asked for responses. The responses, as you'd guess, are so terrible and vague as to be mostly** useless.
As for the candidates themselves, most are really pathetic: No websites or broken websites (URLs not found) or websites so thin in content (look, here's a bunch of selfies) that I wonder why they even bothered. And, no, sorry, if your only online presence is a facebook page, I'm not going to facebook, and I'm not voting for you. Very few bothered to knock on doors (or at least on my door)--although I did manage to have one chat with a long-time member running for another position, and it felt good to tell her that, she wasn't getting my vote as she has done a lousy job over the past number of years, and I thought her solution to all of the local problems (which amounts to "lobby the province to go against everything the current government at Queen's Park believes in") isn't likely to get us any results at all. I will say this for her, she stood there and took it, which is a HUGE improvement over her last campaign door-knocking encounter with a family member which involved her running away as soon as my relative and a neighbour started asking her questions.
*They were always terrible debates with poor moderation and questions, but at least they forced the candidates to actually provide unrehearsed answers and to interact with other people.
**The only way they aren't totally useless is that some of the rabid, right-wingers couldn't help but avoid/deliberately chose to use the kind of language nods that indicate exactly what their political stripes are. "Transparency" was the most commonly used, but there were others.
posted by sardonyx at 10:36 AM on October 24, 2022
In the past, the local Rogers community channel hosted actual debates.* This year, they didn't really do that. They asked some candidates (i.e. not school board ones) to answer a bunch of pre-recorded questions. Some candidates complied, some didn't (i.e. the majority of the mayoralty candidates didn't). The local newspapers sent out a bunch of canned questions for candidates via email and asked for responses. The responses, as you'd guess, are so terrible and vague as to be mostly** useless.
As for the candidates themselves, most are really pathetic: No websites or broken websites (URLs not found) or websites so thin in content (look, here's a bunch of selfies) that I wonder why they even bothered. And, no, sorry, if your only online presence is a facebook page, I'm not going to facebook, and I'm not voting for you. Very few bothered to knock on doors (or at least on my door)--although I did manage to have one chat with a long-time member running for another position, and it felt good to tell her that, she wasn't getting my vote as she has done a lousy job over the past number of years, and I thought her solution to all of the local problems (which amounts to "lobby the province to go against everything the current government at Queen's Park believes in") isn't likely to get us any results at all. I will say this for her, she stood there and took it, which is a HUGE improvement over her last campaign door-knocking encounter with a family member which involved her running away as soon as my relative and a neighbour started asking her questions.
*They were always terrible debates with poor moderation and questions, but at least they forced the candidates to actually provide unrehearsed answers and to interact with other people.
**The only way they aren't totally useless is that some of the rabid, right-wingers couldn't help but avoid/deliberately chose to use the kind of language nods that indicate exactly what their political stripes are. "Transparency" was the most commonly used, but there were others.
posted by sardonyx at 10:36 AM on October 24, 2022
Here in AZ, we just filled out our ballots. Most of the statewide and national offices had obvious answers, so as usual the majority of our research time went to smaller statewide offices and to the local offices (school boards, and oh-so-many judge retentions).
Many of the small local races like this are officially “nonpartisan”; as a result we were reading through various candidate questionnaire responses looking for tells, same as sardonyx. Yes, again some of the rabid rightwingers definitely have them. (I was however particularly annoyed by one questionnaire that explicitly excluded pandemic response from a “what would you want to change as a school board member” question; given the number of school board candidates in recent years whose entire platform has been “covid is a hoax” it seemed very strange not to ask.)
posted by nat at 11:10 AM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
Many of the small local races like this are officially “nonpartisan”; as a result we were reading through various candidate questionnaire responses looking for tells, same as sardonyx. Yes, again some of the rabid rightwingers definitely have them. (I was however particularly annoyed by one questionnaire that explicitly excluded pandemic response from a “what would you want to change as a school board member” question; given the number of school board candidates in recent years whose entire platform has been “covid is a hoax” it seemed very strange not to ask.)
posted by nat at 11:10 AM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
yea, I'm planning to vote today (toronto ward 11) but haven't really been following any candidates. I foolishly left any attempt to research the options until yesterday, and am not feeling good about making informed choices here. Like I'll look up someone who seems ok, but then they'll be against vaccine mandates or something and blarrrg.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 11:31 AM on October 24, 2022
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 11:31 AM on October 24, 2022
Not Madness, but The Cure. Hallo from Praha!
(My credit and debit cards need help from an ATM to re-enable contactless payments, especially overseas in the EU. None of the places I tried a PIN unlock reported success, I'm not upset that's just the mascara running.)
posted by k3ninho at 11:42 AM on October 24, 2022
(My credit and debit cards need help from an ATM to re-enable contactless payments, especially overseas in the EU. None of the places I tried a PIN unlock reported success, I'm not upset that's just the mascara running.)
posted by k3ninho at 11:42 AM on October 24, 2022
[The ghost of Chief Justice John Marshall has temporarily blocked this comment]
posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 11:56 AM on October 24, 2022
posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 11:56 AM on October 24, 2022
today I got wordle in two!
mumimor you reminded me I hadn’t done it yet today so I went over and got it in two, too!
posted by waving at 12:23 PM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
mumimor you reminded me I hadn’t done it yet today so I went over and got it in two, too!
posted by waving at 12:23 PM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
[Waves at waving].
So after a nice curry dinner and a bit more work, I went out with the dog. After two minutes it started raining. OK. I was wearing my raincoat and the dog could need a shower. After ten minutes it was full-on torrential biblical rain. And when you've been walking away for ten minutes, there are ten minutes back. The dog got his shower for sure.
But that was crazy. I can't stand the rain.
posted by mumimor at 12:33 PM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
So after a nice curry dinner and a bit more work, I went out with the dog. After two minutes it started raining. OK. I was wearing my raincoat and the dog could need a shower. After ten minutes it was full-on torrential biblical rain. And when you've been walking away for ten minutes, there are ten minutes back. The dog got his shower for sure.
But that was crazy. I can't stand the rain.
posted by mumimor at 12:33 PM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
I missed our last free thread but I thought I'd report a story of good. I lost my wallet about 3 weeks back.
Wasn't sure I'd actually brought it with me (contactless payment for the win) but I thought I had because "well, I'm not sure my wife's doctor's parking garage will take it".
Couldn't find my wallet anywhere. Couldn't find it in the parking garage. Called the doctor's office, they didn't have it. Scoured my house top to bottom. And Again... And again... and once more for good measure. Canceled the one big useful credit card. And took advantage of my Credit Union's "card lock" feature in the mobile app so I could unlock the card for Apple Pay just before paying for something and lock it back up. Turned on reporting to see if anyone was trying to use it. Nothing.
Did this for a bit, just out of dragging my feet because ugh - what do I have to replace? IDs of various stripes, cards of others, HSA and medical thingys, on and on and on some more.
Finally, took a half day to start the whole process and just on a whim stopped by the garage again since it was a small detour from the route to the bank. Caught the attendant this time who reported that yes indeed he had found a wallet previously, what was my name? He checked the ID inside and looked at me and realized no one would desperately claim that goofy beard if not his own.
He handed me back my wallet, I slipped him a $20 away from the cameras (it was all I had in the wallet at the time) and I danced a happy jig of sudden lightness of being.
Thank you Mr. Parking Attendant!
posted by drewbage1847 at 12:51 PM on October 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
Wasn't sure I'd actually brought it with me (contactless payment for the win) but I thought I had because "well, I'm not sure my wife's doctor's parking garage will take it".
Couldn't find my wallet anywhere. Couldn't find it in the parking garage. Called the doctor's office, they didn't have it. Scoured my house top to bottom. And Again... And again... and once more for good measure. Canceled the one big useful credit card. And took advantage of my Credit Union's "card lock" feature in the mobile app so I could unlock the card for Apple Pay just before paying for something and lock it back up. Turned on reporting to see if anyone was trying to use it. Nothing.
Did this for a bit, just out of dragging my feet because ugh - what do I have to replace? IDs of various stripes, cards of others, HSA and medical thingys, on and on and on some more.
Finally, took a half day to start the whole process and just on a whim stopped by the garage again since it was a small detour from the route to the bank. Caught the attendant this time who reported that yes indeed he had found a wallet previously, what was my name? He checked the ID inside and looked at me and realized no one would desperately claim that goofy beard if not his own.
He handed me back my wallet, I slipped him a $20 away from the cameras (it was all I had in the wallet at the time) and I danced a happy jig of sudden lightness of being.
Thank you Mr. Parking Attendant!
posted by drewbage1847 at 12:51 PM on October 24, 2022 [6 favorites]
Aw dang... Leslie Jordan Killed in Car Crash After Suffering Medical Emergency. He was a goofy little ray of sunshine.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:44 PM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:44 PM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
I went looking for that reggae version of "Angel of the Morning", and although I'm more familiar with Shaggy's version, I also found this one by Joya Landis that was very nice. Also, I have cheered myself up on a dismal day simply by watching the opening of Deadpool. [TW: Deadpoolery]
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:44 PM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:44 PM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
I voted this afternoon. I walked over to the polling station wearing short pants because the weather is beautiful and of course I can! My ward, Scarborough Ward 23, is in the unusual position that our incumbent councillor, Cynthia Lai, died on Friday. Advanced votes have already been received, but the rules say that if there are two or more challengers, the election must proceed anyway. There may be a byelection. I was in and out in five minutes, including the time that the poll worker took to inform me that Lai had died.
I had a very mixed weekend. I spent the weekend with some friends. My friends are lovely, smart, funny, and generous. The food was excellent, the weather and the autumn colours were beautiful, BUT! I went with my girlfriend and her adult son. I have seen some red flags from my girlfriend, so I already have questions about where our relationship is going. This is the first time I have spent much time with her son. To put it judiciously, my girlfriend's son is trash. Granted, he is upset about a recent disruption in his life, but he said some things over the weekend that really offended me. I am thinking of making this into an AskMeFi question, but the whole situation really upsets me.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 1:46 PM on October 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
I had a very mixed weekend. I spent the weekend with some friends. My friends are lovely, smart, funny, and generous. The food was excellent, the weather and the autumn colours were beautiful, BUT! I went with my girlfriend and her adult son. I have seen some red flags from my girlfriend, so I already have questions about where our relationship is going. This is the first time I have spent much time with her son. To put it judiciously, my girlfriend's son is trash. Granted, he is upset about a recent disruption in his life, but he said some things over the weekend that really offended me. I am thinking of making this into an AskMeFi question, but the whole situation really upsets me.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 1:46 PM on October 24, 2022 [3 favorites]
Make the ask!
posted by mumimor at 1:56 PM on October 24, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by mumimor at 1:56 PM on October 24, 2022 [7 favorites]
Just got back from voting. In and out in five minutes.
The most annoying thing was the illegally placed election signs right at the driveway of the school where I vote. These were signs by very experienced and qualified incumbents who know the rules. Shame. What makes it even worse is that they were just being taken down now, after being up all day (and some since last night, according to various family members). There really is no excuse for that kind of dirty campaigning.
posted by sardonyx at 2:04 PM on October 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
The most annoying thing was the illegally placed election signs right at the driveway of the school where I vote. These were signs by very experienced and qualified incumbents who know the rules. Shame. What makes it even worse is that they were just being taken down now, after being up all day (and some since last night, according to various family members). There really is no excuse for that kind of dirty campaigning.
posted by sardonyx at 2:04 PM on October 24, 2022 [2 favorites]
My own weekend was also mixed, in a different way...
I'd made a plan to meet up with a friend (for the first time since Covid), and asked my roommate if he also wanted to tag along; she's the friend who set us up for roommateship, so he agreed readily (and so did she). We theoretically were going to be doing two of these self-guided walking tours of Prospect Park, both run through an app; we only did one, because the first one....well, let's chalk it up to being a situational mismatch; it was better suited to be a quietly meditative walk for a single person to be taking with their headphones, encouraging you to look around you at the natural beauty and pause in your steps to try to catch sight of chipmunks and reflect upon all the other people who have trod these same steps throughout history or whatever, and we were three giggly talkative people trying to listen to it, and ended up cracking jokes about ASMR. So we blew off the second app and hit up the Prospect Park Zoo instead, followed by a stroll through our own neighborhood to go Halloween decor peeping; then an indulgent dinner at a restaurant up the block (their mac-and-cheese had the option of getting bacon with it, but instead of bacon bits, your bowl of mac-and-cheese comes with a three-inch-cube of seared pork belly placed in the center, and a knife sticking out of it like Excalibur).
The thing is, we walked the whole way - my step-counting app puts me at 13400 steps for the day Saturday. So Sunday I blew off the plans to do some out-of-the-house errands, my roommate blew off his bowling league, and we both did pretty much jack shit. (Well - I did make a mean batch of chili to clear out the fridge a bit, but that was about it.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:20 PM on October 24, 2022 [8 favorites]
I'd made a plan to meet up with a friend (for the first time since Covid), and asked my roommate if he also wanted to tag along; she's the friend who set us up for roommateship, so he agreed readily (and so did she). We theoretically were going to be doing two of these self-guided walking tours of Prospect Park, both run through an app; we only did one, because the first one....well, let's chalk it up to being a situational mismatch; it was better suited to be a quietly meditative walk for a single person to be taking with their headphones, encouraging you to look around you at the natural beauty and pause in your steps to try to catch sight of chipmunks and reflect upon all the other people who have trod these same steps throughout history or whatever, and we were three giggly talkative people trying to listen to it, and ended up cracking jokes about ASMR. So we blew off the second app and hit up the Prospect Park Zoo instead, followed by a stroll through our own neighborhood to go Halloween decor peeping; then an indulgent dinner at a restaurant up the block (their mac-and-cheese had the option of getting bacon with it, but instead of bacon bits, your bowl of mac-and-cheese comes with a three-inch-cube of seared pork belly placed in the center, and a knife sticking out of it like Excalibur).
The thing is, we walked the whole way - my step-counting app puts me at 13400 steps for the day Saturday. So Sunday I blew off the plans to do some out-of-the-house errands, my roommate blew off his bowling league, and we both did pretty much jack shit. (Well - I did make a mean batch of chili to clear out the fridge a bit, but that was about it.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:20 PM on October 24, 2022 [8 favorites]
That seems like the very best Sunday, Empress
posted by mumimor at 2:23 PM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by mumimor at 2:23 PM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
Started a new medication that caused severe insomnia for the last week, with disturbing strange-assed dreams for the brief moments I get into REM, started taking it in the morning instead of at night, got some naps over the weekend, maybe starting to adjust but even with 4 hours of sleep last night, I'm starting to get a big whacking headache, my neck and shoulders are getting crackly again (think cracking knuckles), and it's still two more hours till I can leave work.
But yay, I've gotten bold enough to mefi while at work.
posted by porpoise at 2:51 PM on October 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
But yay, I've gotten bold enough to mefi while at work.
posted by porpoise at 2:51 PM on October 24, 2022 [4 favorites]
breaking through - gale garnett and the gentle reign - (she had a big hit with "sing in the sunshine") - this is nothing like this - it's weird and dark and rather knowing ...
sgt sunshine by roy harper - that's sandy denny singing with him ...
melvin laid an egg by bloodrock
alo alo marciano by elis regina - rita lee wrote this
posted by pyramid termite at 5:29 PM on October 24, 2022
sgt sunshine by roy harper - that's sandy denny singing with him ...
melvin laid an egg by bloodrock
alo alo marciano by elis regina - rita lee wrote this
posted by pyramid termite at 5:29 PM on October 24, 2022
If all goes well, I’ll be starting my first job in two years next Monday! And it’ll be my first ever non-food/retail job. It’s entry-level with a crappy schedule, but I’m beyond excited.
posted by Night_owl at 5:34 PM on October 24, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by Night_owl at 5:34 PM on October 24, 2022 [5 favorites]
When did it become a legal thing to sell fireworks in Ontario in the fall (well past Victoria Day and July 1st)? There were two tractor trailers full of the things set up along the main drag in town and all day today (yes, even during the daylight hours) some idiots have been setting them off. Just sitting here now, I'ver heard the loud bang-bang-bang of the more exploding kind and the hsssttt---hsssttt of the more cascading ones. Now, it's the fast-popping ones. Is this some kind of Diwali thing?
posted by sardonyx at 6:19 PM on October 24, 2022
posted by sardonyx at 6:19 PM on October 24, 2022
That DOES seem like an awesome weekend, Empress! I laughed out loud at "your bowl of mac-and-cheese comes with a three-inch-cube of seared pork belly placed in the center, and a knife sticking out of it like Excalibur" What is the name of this restaurant?
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 6:59 PM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 6:59 PM on October 24, 2022 [1 favorite]
What is the name of this restaurant?
I'm a little uneasy giving out the name at large, because it'd be a little easy to triangulate and get my approximate address...sorry.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:54 AM on October 25, 2022
I'm a little uneasy giving out the name at large, because it'd be a little easy to triangulate and get my approximate address...sorry.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 3:54 AM on October 25, 2022
My brain is full of miscellaneous cruft. In no particular order:
- I really, really hate OneDrive and would happily punt whoever designed the memory management for it into the sun. I've removed as much of it as possible, but I can't get the creeping remnants off my machine without nuking the OS install and IT will not let me do that.
- I am officially out of my previous team and full time on the new one. I already had the distinct pleasure, this morning, of sending an email that boiled down to "this is no longer my problem". It felt great.
- If a loved one offers you a smoked cocktail, be sure to find out "what" they used for smoke. I find the odor of Cohiba cigars pleasant. The taste not so much. Most of yesterday was spent feeling like I had a done a bar crawl pre-smoking ban.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 4:22 AM on October 25, 2022 [5 favorites]
- I really, really hate OneDrive and would happily punt whoever designed the memory management for it into the sun. I've removed as much of it as possible, but I can't get the creeping remnants off my machine without nuking the OS install and IT will not let me do that.
- I am officially out of my previous team and full time on the new one. I already had the distinct pleasure, this morning, of sending an email that boiled down to "this is no longer my problem". It felt great.
- If a loved one offers you a smoked cocktail, be sure to find out "what" they used for smoke. I find the odor of Cohiba cigars pleasant. The taste not so much. Most of yesterday was spent feeling like I had a done a bar crawl pre-smoking ban.
posted by theBigRedKittyPurrs at 4:22 AM on October 25, 2022 [5 favorites]
Got to see the last third of the sold out King Gizzard show for free last night, it was super fun...I'll have to be sure to get tickets next time.
Taking a continued education class this week for work and the pre-class videos would probably solve insomnia. Probably going to have to double my coffee intake this week in response.
posted by schyler523 at 6:11 AM on October 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
Taking a continued education class this week for work and the pre-class videos would probably solve insomnia. Probably going to have to double my coffee intake this week in response.
posted by schyler523 at 6:11 AM on October 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
Ground beef, brown rice, green onions, yogurt, salt, and I spilled too much curry powder in my lunch but I'm eating it anyway.
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:32 AM on October 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by seanmpuckett at 9:32 AM on October 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
"Too much curry powder"?
I'm not sure that is really a thing...
posted by Windopaene at 10:09 AM on October 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm not sure that is really a thing...
posted by Windopaene at 10:09 AM on October 25, 2022 [1 favorite]
I got my covid booster and flu shot yesterday. I barely recall feeling feverish, sore, and crappy, at about 1:00 AM. Then later I covered up again, and woke up Feeling OK. So I am glad to not lose a day. My mind is a different story, but OK.
posted by Oyéah at 12:27 PM on October 25, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Oyéah at 12:27 PM on October 25, 2022 [2 favorites]
Voting should be this easy for everyone, no?
It should be but it is not.
I have a disability and do not drive, and because of this — specifically because I do not have a driver’s license — I have had decades of poll workers refusing to give me a ballot. I can bring (and have brought) along provincial photo ID, a passport, utility bills in my name, cohabitants to vouch for me; I have pointed at the prominently posted sign showing that all these are valid; but more than half the time, historically, I get turned away. “Oh, we only accept drivers’ licenses.”
At some point I started writing to Elections Canada and Elections Ontario afterwards to ask why this is so. I have a thick file of letters of apology from various returning officers, promising to do better next time. (You’ll never guess what happens next time.) Now I actually work as a DRO for a lot of elections so as to try to counterbalance this nonsense.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 12:44 PM on October 25, 2022 [5 favorites]
It should be but it is not.
I have a disability and do not drive, and because of this — specifically because I do not have a driver’s license — I have had decades of poll workers refusing to give me a ballot. I can bring (and have brought) along provincial photo ID, a passport, utility bills in my name, cohabitants to vouch for me; I have pointed at the prominently posted sign showing that all these are valid; but more than half the time, historically, I get turned away. “Oh, we only accept drivers’ licenses.”
At some point I started writing to Elections Canada and Elections Ontario afterwards to ask why this is so. I have a thick file of letters of apology from various returning officers, promising to do better next time. (You’ll never guess what happens next time.) Now I actually work as a DRO for a lot of elections so as to try to counterbalance this nonsense.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 12:44 PM on October 25, 2022 [5 favorites]
I finished my Halloween costume! I've been working on it since January.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:00 PM on October 25, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:00 PM on October 25, 2022 [3 favorites]
We had a memorial picnic in the park for my spouse who died a month ago. 75 people came and had a good time. Our grown up kid did an amazing job organizing and catering it. Photo cards of the spouse when he was much younger were provided with a poem (Kay Ryan, “Eggs”) on the back and everyone commented with astonishment and approval on how hot he was when he was young. Apparently they thought he was always an old man.
posted by Peach at 7:30 PM on October 25, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by Peach at 7:30 PM on October 25, 2022 [9 favorites]
HAHA, YES
I think the anti-critter stuff is working. I have been running peppermint in the oil diffuser nightly since Sunday, and it's already driven the critter-in-the-wall moments dramatically down from "several minutes of loud scratching, scurrying, grinding, and gnawing, repeatedly through the night" down to "three seconds of scurrying, maybe, once".
I also talked to a few surrounding neighbors - and one told me about this stuff she used when she moved in; a mint oil spray that she said she hosed her space down with as a preventative measure when she first moved in. She added a spritz or two once or twice in the ensuing month - "and I haven't heard anything in 8 months since." I got some of that and used that too, and the "three seconds of scurrying" was well away from where I spritzed.
And I also found another such spray designed to go on the outside of your building, which lasts for a few months at a time; a half-gallon of that was only $20 bucks. I got that too and will be hosing down the back wall. We've been having some freakishly warm weather as well, which will likely be encouraging any last critters to go back outside - and I'll have a day or two to get the spray on everything before it gets cold again, so I'll have time to get the barricade up.
I'm honestly okay keeping that up, I can afford to throw the occasional $20 at this now and then if need be while the exterminator and the landlord hammer out how to play the long game.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:05 AM on October 26, 2022 [5 favorites]
I think the anti-critter stuff is working. I have been running peppermint in the oil diffuser nightly since Sunday, and it's already driven the critter-in-the-wall moments dramatically down from "several minutes of loud scratching, scurrying, grinding, and gnawing, repeatedly through the night" down to "three seconds of scurrying, maybe, once".
I also talked to a few surrounding neighbors - and one told me about this stuff she used when she moved in; a mint oil spray that she said she hosed her space down with as a preventative measure when she first moved in. She added a spritz or two once or twice in the ensuing month - "and I haven't heard anything in 8 months since." I got some of that and used that too, and the "three seconds of scurrying" was well away from where I spritzed.
And I also found another such spray designed to go on the outside of your building, which lasts for a few months at a time; a half-gallon of that was only $20 bucks. I got that too and will be hosing down the back wall. We've been having some freakishly warm weather as well, which will likely be encouraging any last critters to go back outside - and I'll have a day or two to get the spray on everything before it gets cold again, so I'll have time to get the barricade up.
I'm honestly okay keeping that up, I can afford to throw the occasional $20 at this now and then if need be while the exterminator and the landlord hammer out how to play the long game.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:05 AM on October 26, 2022 [5 favorites]
Empress, do you think this will work with mice, too?
Just home from a meeting I chaired. I didn't die or anything. Contrariwise, I felt happy and energetic for the first time in ages, I can't even remember when the last time was. We decided to focus even harder on climate change. On the way home, I met someone I've been trying to persuade to join us for a(nother) big project, and after he has been very dismissive for a long while, suddenly it was his project!
So now, I am having a glass of wine to celebrate before I walk the dog and go to bed early, before the ugly reality returns tomorrow. Some days are good days..
posted by mumimor at 11:20 AM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Just home from a meeting I chaired. I didn't die or anything. Contrariwise, I felt happy and energetic for the first time in ages, I can't even remember when the last time was. We decided to focus even harder on climate change. On the way home, I met someone I've been trying to persuade to join us for a(nother) big project, and after he has been very dismissive for a long while, suddenly it was his project!
So now, I am having a glass of wine to celebrate before I walk the dog and go to bed early, before the ugly reality returns tomorrow. Some days are good days..
posted by mumimor at 11:20 AM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
do you think this will work with mice, too?
The spray I got says it's for "rodents", and covers both. It could very well be just mice in the walls (although they're hella loud so I'd be surprised) since we did have a couple mice sightings inside the apartment proper this summer. (That I took care of with a $20 can of this sealant foam stuff that worked a treat; I found a couple cracks between wall-and-floor, hit them with a psssssssh of the stuff, and boom, no mice inside.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:29 AM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
The spray I got says it's for "rodents", and covers both. It could very well be just mice in the walls (although they're hella loud so I'd be surprised) since we did have a couple mice sightings inside the apartment proper this summer. (That I took care of with a $20 can of this sealant foam stuff that worked a treat; I found a couple cracks between wall-and-floor, hit them with a psssssssh of the stuff, and boom, no mice inside.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:29 AM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Two cat tweets I must share:
His arrival was foretold by the ancient murals
Hast thou seen this catte?
posted by taz at 11:34 AM on October 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
His arrival was foretold by the ancient murals
Hast thou seen this catte?
posted by taz at 11:34 AM on October 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
"The short arms of a rascal" would make a good user name.
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:45 AM on October 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 11:45 AM on October 26, 2022 [2 favorites]
My oldest rat, Maurice, is getting a bit thin and I think he gets pushed aside during the daily battle for food with the other rats. And maybe his teeth are no longer that strong?
So I've been enjoying coming up with little recipes to tempt him to eat. Mostly using left overs from my own supper and adding extra bits.
So far he has enjoyed:
Cooked chickpea and carrots, mashed up with a tiny bit of sesame oil.
Baked butternut, green beans and baby fennel, mashed together with a bit of cooked angel fish.
Avo, mashed together with ground up lin seeds and coconut flour, and a bit of Tahini. (He didn't like this one so much. I think it was a bit too dry. )
Raw green beans, sweet corn and rocket ground up extremely fine, mashed up with banana.
Yogurt and avo mashed up together.
Maurice is a real sweetheart. He especially loves being hand fed. I think he's pretty much blind by now so he kind of loses track of where the food is if I just put it in a bowl.
Tomorrow, I'm thinking maybe avo with sweetcorn and a tiny bit of boiled egg. Can't give him too much protein as that's bad for his kidneys .
posted by Zumbador at 11:46 AM on October 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
So I've been enjoying coming up with little recipes to tempt him to eat. Mostly using left overs from my own supper and adding extra bits.
So far he has enjoyed:
Cooked chickpea and carrots, mashed up with a tiny bit of sesame oil.
Baked butternut, green beans and baby fennel, mashed together with a bit of cooked angel fish.
Avo, mashed together with ground up lin seeds and coconut flour, and a bit of Tahini. (He didn't like this one so much. I think it was a bit too dry. )
Raw green beans, sweet corn and rocket ground up extremely fine, mashed up with banana.
Yogurt and avo mashed up together.
Maurice is a real sweetheart. He especially loves being hand fed. I think he's pretty much blind by now so he kind of loses track of where the food is if I just put it in a bowl.
Tomorrow, I'm thinking maybe avo with sweetcorn and a tiny bit of boiled egg. Can't give him too much protein as that's bad for his kidneys .
posted by Zumbador at 11:46 AM on October 26, 2022 [4 favorites]
Okay:
The outdoor rodent repellent came today, and first thing after work I hosed the back yard down with it. It's all along the bottom edge of the back wall, and in some spaces even UP the wall, and I saw some cracks in the pavement that I hosed some bits down there too. I also sprayed it into some cracks in the steps down to the basement, and even snuck down to the basement when I was back inside and found the closet where all the meters are and shot some around the pipes.
I'd already blasted my indoor walls with the indoor mint stuff last night, to the point that I can smell it still.
....It is 10:30 pm, and I have heard absolutely nothing.
I think I have won the first battle.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:28 PM on October 26, 2022 [5 favorites]
The outdoor rodent repellent came today, and first thing after work I hosed the back yard down with it. It's all along the bottom edge of the back wall, and in some spaces even UP the wall, and I saw some cracks in the pavement that I hosed some bits down there too. I also sprayed it into some cracks in the steps down to the basement, and even snuck down to the basement when I was back inside and found the closet where all the meters are and shot some around the pipes.
I'd already blasted my indoor walls with the indoor mint stuff last night, to the point that I can smell it still.
....It is 10:30 pm, and I have heard absolutely nothing.
I think I have won the first battle.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:28 PM on October 26, 2022 [5 favorites]
Mmmmm. Angelfish.
How old is Maurice?
Angelfish is, for some reason, the cheapest fresh fish here, and it is really good too.
Maurice is a bit more than 2 years old.
posted by Zumbador at 8:15 PM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
How old is Maurice?
Angelfish is, for some reason, the cheapest fresh fish here, and it is really good too.
Maurice is a bit more than 2 years old.
posted by Zumbador at 8:15 PM on October 26, 2022 [1 favorite]
Yesterday, for the second time in a quarter-century or so of cell phone ownership, I made the same stupid mistake: I was doing some chores in the basement last night and at some point I concluded and went to head upstairs. I could not locate my phone so I paged it from my tablet with no audible response. I suddenly noticed that although I had fished out wallet and keys and such from the trousers I had been wearing before tossing my clothes into the laundry, my phone was not in the pile of miscellanea from my pockets.
I stopped the washer and dug around and felt a familiar slab in one pocket... yes, my phone went through the washer.
Almost twenty years ago I did the same sort of thing and had to acquire a new phone. I had had no spare time to set it up beyond charging it and making sure it worked because the next day I was travelling several hundred km for work. At the far end, got a call where I learned my brother had died that morning. I of course knew no one’s phone number — everything was in the memory of the dead phone — so there was barely anyone among friends and family I could call to talk with.
However, looks like phone technology has improved since the early 2000s: the phone that went through a laundry cycle yesterday is the one I am typing this on right now. No bag of rice or anything needed.
(The “no audible response” thing above was a bit of an inaccuracy — I could hear nothing at first but then I turned the washer off; to my surprise I could hear faint muffled chirps from inside the machine. My emotions were mixed: a sinking feeling that I had sent the single priciest thing I use daily through the laundry but surprise and cautious optimism that clearly it had survived well enough to receive a signal and, as it turns out, it appears to be unscathed.)
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:37 AM on October 27, 2022 [12 favorites]
I stopped the washer and dug around and felt a familiar slab in one pocket... yes, my phone went through the washer.
Almost twenty years ago I did the same sort of thing and had to acquire a new phone. I had had no spare time to set it up beyond charging it and making sure it worked because the next day I was travelling several hundred km for work. At the far end, got a call where I learned my brother had died that morning. I of course knew no one’s phone number — everything was in the memory of the dead phone — so there was barely anyone among friends and family I could call to talk with.
However, looks like phone technology has improved since the early 2000s: the phone that went through a laundry cycle yesterday is the one I am typing this on right now. No bag of rice or anything needed.
(The “no audible response” thing above was a bit of an inaccuracy — I could hear nothing at first but then I turned the washer off; to my surprise I could hear faint muffled chirps from inside the machine. My emotions were mixed: a sinking feeling that I had sent the single priciest thing I use daily through the laundry but surprise and cautious optimism that clearly it had survived well enough to receive a signal and, as it turns out, it appears to be unscathed.)
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:37 AM on October 27, 2022 [12 favorites]
Small personal note, but I quit drinking five weeks ago and this time, I don't miss it.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:13 PM on October 28, 2022 [13 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:13 PM on October 28, 2022 [13 favorites]
Headline: Mondrian painting has been hanging upside down for 75 years
My brain: immediate reaction
(3-second video clip with sound)
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:52 PM on October 28, 2022 [6 favorites]
My brain: immediate reaction
(3-second video clip with sound)
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:52 PM on October 28, 2022 [6 favorites]
I just knew that watching Gilligan's Island reruns after school would pay off one day!!
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:30 PM on October 28, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:30 PM on October 28, 2022 [3 favorites]
Here's a question too small for AskMe. People who like canned tuna (in water): is it usual to eat it right out of the can? Or would that be gross without salt, pepper, mayonnaise, or something else? I ask because I have some cans of tuna, but personally I've never liked it, and I was thinking of giving it to someone who's sleeping rough around here (together with bread, a utensil, and some other things to eat). But if it would be like giving someone a plain baked potato, I'll give something else.
posted by Countess Elena at 7:58 AM on October 29, 2022
posted by Countess Elena at 7:58 AM on October 29, 2022
You really need to mix it with *something* like mayo or salad dressing or something else wet.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:07 AM on October 29, 2022
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:07 AM on October 29, 2022
OK, thanks! I'll give the tuna to a pantry instead --
posted by Countess Elena at 10:37 AM on October 29, 2022
posted by Countess Elena at 10:37 AM on October 29, 2022
Counterpoint: I've eaten it right out of the can in the past. I'd ask the person and maybe give them a can to see what they think.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:54 AM on October 29, 2022
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:54 AM on October 29, 2022
Hehe, should come in handy someday.... FFmpeg.guide - One stop solution to all things FFmpeg. A GUI for building `ffmpeg` command lines like graphs.
posted by zengargoyle at 11:48 AM on October 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by zengargoyle at 11:48 AM on October 29, 2022 [1 favorite]
Creamed Tuna on Toast...
I always get the in oil, to need less butter for the roux, but...
posted by Windopaene at 6:23 PM on October 29, 2022
I always get the in oil, to need less butter for the roux, but...
posted by Windopaene at 6:23 PM on October 29, 2022
Couldn't you get little bags of mayo from Mc Donald's or a similar establishment?
posted by mumimor at 1:05 AM on October 31, 2022
posted by mumimor at 1:05 AM on October 31, 2022
Still greatly-reduced critter noises in my apartment. And both the super AND the building manager paid me a visit on Friday to discuss the situation; the super is going to go whole hog on rodent mitigation in the back yard, and the building manager is currently hiring a better exterminator. (I liked the other guy, but he was getting into a weirdly stubborn pissing match with the building manager about building access and he wasn't visiting as much as he was supposed to.)
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:55 AM on October 31, 2022
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:55 AM on October 31, 2022
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posted by dobbs at 4:11 AM on October 24, 2022 [4 favorites]