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September 12, 2022 3:12 AM Subscribe
This is your Free Thread for the week, funlovers! Feel free to chat and link freely.
Last week I passed the "20 years on Metafilter" milestone. I don't comment or post as much as I used to, but I still visit every day and still learn a lot every time I do. Thanks a bunch for being here and being you, MeFites.
posted by Paragon at 3:16 AM on September 12, 2022 [60 favorites]
posted by Paragon at 3:16 AM on September 12, 2022 [60 favorites]
Huh, I just checked and I passed my ten years a few months ago.
I wish I had something interesting to write about, but I'm a bore (I mistyped that as 'vore', but no). I used to be a pretty decent runner, but during covid I more or less fell apart. However, I saw that the local half marathon is returning this year so I went to sign up. Imagine my surprise when I found that I came in 2nd in my age group in 2019 (the last time it was held) and qualify for free entry. Huzzah! I'm in no shape to run that distance though, so I downgraded to the 10k with the hopes that I can at least get into a semblance of shape in the next two months.
posted by Literaryhero at 3:57 AM on September 12, 2022 [8 favorites]
I wish I had something interesting to write about, but I'm a bore (I mistyped that as 'vore', but no). I used to be a pretty decent runner, but during covid I more or less fell apart. However, I saw that the local half marathon is returning this year so I went to sign up. Imagine my surprise when I found that I came in 2nd in my age group in 2019 (the last time it was held) and qualify for free entry. Huzzah! I'm in no shape to run that distance though, so I downgraded to the 10k with the hopes that I can at least get into a semblance of shape in the next two months.
posted by Literaryhero at 3:57 AM on September 12, 2022 [8 favorites]
Congrats Paragon!
...So my community garden has a bake sale coming up in a month. Our chairwoman is a little overwhelmed; she had the chairwoman position just sort of thrust upon her last year after only one year there (much like I was approached about being co-chair after only 4 months of membership myself). So I offered to take over coordinating the thing - getting the word out to the members, drumming up staffing volunteers and baked goods.
I was already planning on baking a whole bunch of things for it, and still plan on it; the guy who was the founding member is also a fabulous baker, and it's triggering some weird competitive spirit in me. (Not to the point of beating him, I just want a tie; "oh, EC can also bake! Sweet!") I've got a short list of recipes I'm considering, but many of them are things I haven't tried before. So last night was week one of a 4-week recipe test process, which consists of: "hey, roomie, you can have some cake if you give me your honest review OF that cake." ...So far I've done a chocolate orange beet cake; the verdict was, "...Good. Yep, I taste the orange, no I don't taste the beet. Or, at least, it doesn't register AS beet."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:01 AM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
...So my community garden has a bake sale coming up in a month. Our chairwoman is a little overwhelmed; she had the chairwoman position just sort of thrust upon her last year after only one year there (much like I was approached about being co-chair after only 4 months of membership myself). So I offered to take over coordinating the thing - getting the word out to the members, drumming up staffing volunteers and baked goods.
I was already planning on baking a whole bunch of things for it, and still plan on it; the guy who was the founding member is also a fabulous baker, and it's triggering some weird competitive spirit in me. (Not to the point of beating him, I just want a tie; "oh, EC can also bake! Sweet!") I've got a short list of recipes I'm considering, but many of them are things I haven't tried before. So last night was week one of a 4-week recipe test process, which consists of: "hey, roomie, you can have some cake if you give me your honest review OF that cake." ...So far I've done a chocolate orange beet cake; the verdict was, "...Good. Yep, I taste the orange, no I don't taste the beet. Or, at least, it doesn't register AS beet."
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:01 AM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
After years of watching my family enjoy their tarantulas, I am finally getting in on the act with one of my own. It'll be arriving tomorrow, a Dolichothele diamantinensis, aka the Brazilian blue dwarf beauty. It's such a pretty species, with brilliant colors, but--and this was important for my purposes since I'm a big scaredy-cat--with no urticating hairs to flick at me, and a medically insignificant bite. I'm not sure how big the spiderling will be, so I've set up two tiny enclosures for it, one a little larger than the other, with a little area in back for webbing, and hopefully a stage area in front where it will sit still for pictures. I'm pretty nervous--the consensus seems to be that this one is a little skittish and speedy for a first-time tarantula owner--but hopefully having folks here in the house to advise me will help. There's kind of a running joke in the house about how people always put skulls in their tarantula enclosure, so every time I see a skull when I'm out (especially now with Halloween decor on every shelf), I ask if that would be appropriate for my spider. Thus far the consensus is no.
posted by mittens at 4:10 AM on September 12, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by mittens at 4:10 AM on September 12, 2022 [8 favorites]
(Also, chocolate orange beet cake that doesn't taste like beets sounds absolutely magical.)
posted by mittens at 4:11 AM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by mittens at 4:11 AM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Surprisingly-colored spiders lurking in skulls, and putting root vegetables where they don't usually go... So far so good.
My mom passed away two nights ago (in hospice at home with her family, so it's... okay), and yesterday, I'm sitting at her desk when I notice a small box there. It was originally a notecard/envelope box. I open it and find a bunch of small strips of paper rattling around inside. Each one is folded up to a small square, and each has writing on it, only visible when unfolded.
I open one and read it. "Mammals - Choose one order: monotremes, marsupials, or placentals."
Another: "The Middle East."
Another: "Hair"
"Time, time zones, daylight saving time, and other time management"
"The Opium Wars"
"Canada"
"Genius"
Any guesses yet?
I'm thinking, "Some game? A balderdash/scattergories kinda thing?" Mom enjoyed a good thinking game, but it has been a while since she has been in a group where I think that sort of thing might happen.
I read a few more.
"The U.S. Constitution (the document, not the ship)"
It's a tiny mystery. A bit of my mom I can ponder and marvel at for a moment, but nothing concerning or important. I'm sure I can figure it out if I just ask a few people. I'm thinking AskMefi would have ideas, if it comes to that.
Then I notice that right underneath the box is a notepad. A few of these strips are stapled to it. There are dates. Clearly written and updated at different times with different pens. At the top is a heading: "Book Grp Topics"
I think my mom would have liked Metafilter.
posted by whatnotever at 4:55 AM on September 12, 2022 [44 favorites]
My mom passed away two nights ago (in hospice at home with her family, so it's... okay), and yesterday, I'm sitting at her desk when I notice a small box there. It was originally a notecard/envelope box. I open it and find a bunch of small strips of paper rattling around inside. Each one is folded up to a small square, and each has writing on it, only visible when unfolded.
I open one and read it. "Mammals - Choose one order: monotremes, marsupials, or placentals."
Another: "The Middle East."
Another: "Hair"
"Time, time zones, daylight saving time, and other time management"
"The Opium Wars"
"Canada"
"Genius"
Any guesses yet?
I'm thinking, "Some game? A balderdash/scattergories kinda thing?" Mom enjoyed a good thinking game, but it has been a while since she has been in a group where I think that sort of thing might happen.
I read a few more.
"The U.S. Constitution (the document, not the ship)"
It's a tiny mystery. A bit of my mom I can ponder and marvel at for a moment, but nothing concerning or important. I'm sure I can figure it out if I just ask a few people. I'm thinking AskMefi would have ideas, if it comes to that.
Then I notice that right underneath the box is a notepad. A few of these strips are stapled to it. There are dates. Clearly written and updated at different times with different pens. At the top is a heading: "Book Grp Topics"
I think my mom would have liked Metafilter.
posted by whatnotever at 4:55 AM on September 12, 2022 [44 favorites]
Whatnotever, that's really special.
After my mother died I kept hoping I would find a letter from her, among her possessions. Rationally I knew that was not possible, but I still hoped.
I love finding things with her handwriting. I have a hanger in my closet, that she wrote my name on.
Mittens, getting a tarantula sounds amazing. Are they high maintenance pets?
I had a small victory today. My oldest rat, Maurice, is starting to struggle to just climb up the side of the cage like he used to, and his eyesight seems to be failing too.
I got him a special ladder, but while the younger rats immediately started using it, he didn't seem to understand its purpose.
I spent a bit of time today showing him how to use it, just placing him on it and gently preventing him from climbing any direction but up. He figured it out pretty quickly.
He's such a sweetheart. Gentle and patient. The moment I pick him up, he relaxes in my hand, feels like he's melting.
posted by Zumbador at 5:20 AM on September 12, 2022 [14 favorites]
After my mother died I kept hoping I would find a letter from her, among her possessions. Rationally I knew that was not possible, but I still hoped.
I love finding things with her handwriting. I have a hanger in my closet, that she wrote my name on.
Mittens, getting a tarantula sounds amazing. Are they high maintenance pets?
I had a small victory today. My oldest rat, Maurice, is starting to struggle to just climb up the side of the cage like he used to, and his eyesight seems to be failing too.
I got him a special ladder, but while the younger rats immediately started using it, he didn't seem to understand its purpose.
I spent a bit of time today showing him how to use it, just placing him on it and gently preventing him from climbing any direction but up. He figured it out pretty quickly.
He's such a sweetheart. Gentle and patient. The moment I pick him up, he relaxes in my hand, feels like he's melting.
posted by Zumbador at 5:20 AM on September 12, 2022 [14 favorites]
After my father passed I discovered a slip of paper, well-worn, inside his wallet. He had obviously carried it for years. On it was carefully typed: “Jim—when appropriate, would you please sing.”
My father was a quiet, dignified old metallurgical engineer who did not ask for or expect attention. Never heard him sing. I would kill to know the story behind that note.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:26 AM on September 12, 2022 [28 favorites]
My father was a quiet, dignified old metallurgical engineer who did not ask for or expect attention. Never heard him sing. I would kill to know the story behind that note.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:26 AM on September 12, 2022 [28 favorites]
I've got a short list of recipes I'm considering, but many of them are things I haven't tried before.
Chocolate Ripple Cake has two ingredients if you don't count the berries that can optionally accompany it, doesn't even need baking, and is just absurdly good.
posted by flabdablet at 5:29 AM on September 12, 2022
Chocolate Ripple Cake has two ingredients if you don't count the berries that can optionally accompany it, doesn't even need baking, and is just absurdly good.
posted by flabdablet at 5:29 AM on September 12, 2022
I investigated getting a tarantula. But Australian tarantulas attack. You can't handle them, they're too aggressive. I asked my uber driver, since he was a javelin spider, what he thought about having them as pets. 'Good way to get a javelin in your chest' - there was a laugh in his hiss, it seemed like three of his lidless eyes winked. 'Look in your garden if you want a spider friend' he said as he cut-off an old VW, 'there are more there than you imagine'.
I love Australia.
posted by adept256 at 5:40 AM on September 12, 2022 [8 favorites]
I love Australia.
posted by adept256 at 5:40 AM on September 12, 2022 [8 favorites]
Gumi (red birb) is endlessly amazing and a highly sentient genius red birb, watch if you love levity and being surprised, wuewuewue
posted by yueliang at 5:44 AM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by yueliang at 5:44 AM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
There exists a very active subreddit, r/tarantulas/ that you might find advice on.
I've read that carrot cakes originated due to wartime sugar rationing (carrots are sweet but weren't rationed). Perhaps beets in cakes were due to red velvet shortages.
posted by Bee'sWing at 5:44 AM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
I've read that carrot cakes originated due to wartime sugar rationing (carrots are sweet but weren't rationed). Perhaps beets in cakes were due to red velvet shortages.
posted by Bee'sWing at 5:44 AM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
Sleater Kinney, Courtney Barnett and Fred Armisen in a very physical cover of "Physical".
posted by Gorgik at 6:14 AM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Gorgik at 6:14 AM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
I am eating the last of the potatoes from my first bake-up of the fall season. Bell peppers, red onion, sweet potatoes and regular potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces, drizzled with canola oil and baked until fork-tender. Very nice.
I have more to bake, but the temps don't get down into the 80s until next week.
Timing is everything for a hot kitchen in late summer.
posted by TrishaU at 6:18 AM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
I have more to bake, but the temps don't get down into the 80s until next week.
Timing is everything for a hot kitchen in late summer.
posted by TrishaU at 6:18 AM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
TrishaU, we filled calzones with a mix of roasted veggies like that (usually green peppers, onion, broccoli, and...yellow squash or whatever is around). So good!
As you say, baking the veggies makes a great side dish, too -- summer or winter.
My youngest discovered the magic of the microwave baked potato last week (i.e., stab, slather with oil & seasonings, nuke for 10 minutes) and she feels like ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED. BAKED POTATOES ANY TIME SHE WANTS!!11!1!
So my wife bought her a small bag of new potatoes and now she's Making Plans to bring them as a school lunch. :7)
posted by wenestvedt at 6:26 AM on September 12, 2022 [6 favorites]
As you say, baking the veggies makes a great side dish, too -- summer or winter.
My youngest discovered the magic of the microwave baked potato last week (i.e., stab, slather with oil & seasonings, nuke for 10 minutes) and she feels like ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED. BAKED POTATOES ANY TIME SHE WANTS!!11!1!
So my wife bought her a small bag of new potatoes and now she's Making Plans to bring them as a school lunch. :7)
posted by wenestvedt at 6:26 AM on September 12, 2022 [6 favorites]
I have a few postcards my late father wrote to me when I was away at summer camp. Whenever I'm at home, helping my mom clear out stuff, I keep a sharp eye out for any scraps of his writing I can grab, but they're few and far between, since he died about 12 years ago. Still, something occasionally turns up - we're a cluttered family.
My grandma is probably dying this week (although she was also probably dying a few months ago, so we'll see). My favorite things in her handwriting are some recipe cards I have.
I am also excited about the eminent return of oven weather in my area - going to make this garlicky, lemony chicken and rice skillet this week to try to summon crisper air. (The rice is so good, but I find I need to use a little less liquid then that recipe calls for to prevent it going mushy, fyi)
posted by the primroses were over at 6:32 AM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
My grandma is probably dying this week (although she was also probably dying a few months ago, so we'll see). My favorite things in her handwriting are some recipe cards I have.
I am also excited about the eminent return of oven weather in my area - going to make this garlicky, lemony chicken and rice skillet this week to try to summon crisper air. (The rice is so good, but I find I need to use a little less liquid then that recipe calls for to prevent it going mushy, fyi)
posted by the primroses were over at 6:32 AM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
I'm starting a downswing in my mental health; I've always been very cyclical and I am thankful for my meds because before that, I coped with my mental health through heavy drinking..which was a terrible idea that I did for nearly twenty years. Anyway, I know when to recognize them--things feel flat, I feel flat, and I feel at loose ends brain-wise--and let my partner know they're coming. In an ideal world, I would take time off work to deal with it because I am not really "there" when this is happening though sometimes I can fake it really well.
My therapist is back from summer holidays so I am so very glad that I can resume therapy.
All this to say I am happy to read things that make people happy even if I don't feel that way myself.
posted by Kitteh at 6:34 AM on September 12, 2022 [12 favorites]
My therapist is back from summer holidays so I am so very glad that I can resume therapy.
All this to say I am happy to read things that make people happy even if I don't feel that way myself.
posted by Kitteh at 6:34 AM on September 12, 2022 [12 favorites]
I planned for ten years to move to San Francisco and moved into my first San Francisco apartment on September 7, 2001. On September 11, 2001 I binge-read Metafilter for the news - I’d forgotten that there was a TV in my new place. A few weeks later I had a “duh” moment and actually created an account here.
September 11, 2001 and San Francisco and MetaFilter are all forever linked in my mind.
posted by bendy at 6:47 AM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
September 11, 2001 and San Francisco and MetaFilter are all forever linked in my mind.
posted by bendy at 6:47 AM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
It's amazing how much the internet has evolved in the last 25 years. (How is it possible it's only been 25 years!?!) Around the turn of the century, MetaFilter was just one of the many places I hung out and read what people around the world were saying, and today it's just about my only online refuge from the firehose of awful the internet spews.
I'm so glad it and all of you are here.
posted by Ickster at 7:15 AM on September 12, 2022 [6 favorites]
I'm so glad it and all of you are here.
posted by Ickster at 7:15 AM on September 12, 2022 [6 favorites]
After my father passed I discovered a slip of paper, well-worn, inside his wallet. He had obviously carried it for years. On it was carefully typed: “Jim—when appropriate, would you please sing.”
My father was a quiet, dignified old metallurgical engineer who did not ask for or expect attention. Never heard him sing.
Clearly he never felt the moment to be appropriate.
It is a good tale, though. I have enjoyed several stories over the years of children puzzling out the notes of deceased parents.
I occasionally wonder what my family will make of my jottings and notes to myself after I am gone. I just grabbed a nearby notebook that is the most recent in a long series of commonplace books I have accrued. On the inside back cover (and with my explanation here for you of what each means):
• a list reading “Thematic, Organized, Relevant, Entertaining” (crucial aspects for a walking tour)
• the cell phone number of a friend in Switzerland (when he was visiting we were trying to arrange a meetup for lunch)
• an unattributed quote — “After two-thirds of a portion, I find myself thinking, ‘Maybe we can get sober me on the phone and see what he’d do.’” (something I once noted while under the influence of some powerful edibles)
• the IPA for three different consonants in Xhosa (I can never remember which is which on those rare occasions I have to read a Xhosa name)
• a couple of Latin verbs that lead to the names Amanda and Miranda (see here)
• a reminder of how much flour goes into a forgotten recipe (??)
• the full name of Johann Gambolputty (etc.) (I have had in the back of my head since my teenage Python geek days a hitherto unrealized ambition to learn it)
• the full name of ISO in English, French, and Russian (I am doing some contract work for ISO)
• a list of three mystery titles and authors (possible Xmas gifts for my mother-in-law)
• a string of five digits which I suspect is a password for... something (no clue)
• an unattributed quote: “You don’t need a parachute to go skydiving. You need a parachute to go skydiving twice.” (again, no idea)
Will I leave behind some bereaved people? Maybe. Some mystified ones? Most definitely.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:25 AM on September 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
My father was a quiet, dignified old metallurgical engineer who did not ask for or expect attention. Never heard him sing.
Clearly he never felt the moment to be appropriate.
It is a good tale, though. I have enjoyed several stories over the years of children puzzling out the notes of deceased parents.
I occasionally wonder what my family will make of my jottings and notes to myself after I am gone. I just grabbed a nearby notebook that is the most recent in a long series of commonplace books I have accrued. On the inside back cover (and with my explanation here for you of what each means):
• a list reading “Thematic, Organized, Relevant, Entertaining” (crucial aspects for a walking tour)
• the cell phone number of a friend in Switzerland (when he was visiting we were trying to arrange a meetup for lunch)
• an unattributed quote — “After two-thirds of a portion, I find myself thinking, ‘Maybe we can get sober me on the phone and see what he’d do.’” (something I once noted while under the influence of some powerful edibles)
• the IPA for three different consonants in Xhosa (I can never remember which is which on those rare occasions I have to read a Xhosa name)
• a couple of Latin verbs that lead to the names Amanda and Miranda (see here)
• a reminder of how much flour goes into a forgotten recipe (??)
• the full name of Johann Gambolputty (etc.) (I have had in the back of my head since my teenage Python geek days a hitherto unrealized ambition to learn it)
• the full name of ISO in English, French, and Russian (I am doing some contract work for ISO)
• a list of three mystery titles and authors (possible Xmas gifts for my mother-in-law)
• a string of five digits which I suspect is a password for... something (no clue)
• an unattributed quote: “You don’t need a parachute to go skydiving. You need a parachute to go skydiving twice.” (again, no idea)
Will I leave behind some bereaved people? Maybe. Some mystified ones? Most definitely.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:25 AM on September 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
Perhaps beets in cakes were due to red velvet shortages.
Not exactly. Beet juice was/still can be used to color red velvet cakes when cocoa was in short supply but most recipes never called for adding beets themselves. (Originally "red velvet" just referred to a velvet cake that was made with undutched cocoa instead of melted chocolate--the undutched cocoa interacted with the acids in the batter to create a very slightly red tinge.)
Anyway I haven't slept in three days and I may very well come home tonight to a flooded out apartment and this week can verily go FUCK itself, I don't care if it is only 9:30 Monday morning.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:27 AM on September 12, 2022 [6 favorites]
Not exactly. Beet juice was/still can be used to color red velvet cakes when cocoa was in short supply but most recipes never called for adding beets themselves. (Originally "red velvet" just referred to a velvet cake that was made with undutched cocoa instead of melted chocolate--the undutched cocoa interacted with the acids in the batter to create a very slightly red tinge.)
Anyway I haven't slept in three days and I may very well come home tonight to a flooded out apartment and this week can verily go FUCK itself, I don't care if it is only 9:30 Monday morning.
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 7:27 AM on September 12, 2022 [6 favorites]
Also, chocolate orange beet cake that doesn't taste like beets sounds absolutely magical.
Well, if you think about it....chocolate zucchini cake doesn't taste of zucchini. So....yeah, same principle; the vegetable element is mainly for bulk and extra moisture, and the rest of the recipe has been developed to counter any flavor that it would be adding. I think this is partly why this is a chocolate orange beet cake as opposed to just a chocolate beet cake - there is an entire oranges' worth of zest in there. Maybe there's a hint of "earthiness" that just reads as "ooh, we went for the fancy cocoa powder, I think."
Well, that, and the glaze is a bright fuschia - that's from about a half tablespoon of very super-finely grated beet getting mixed in and coloring it, but you don't taste the beet because there's also a splash of orange juice and a shit-ton of sugar.
....I'm also considering a cranberry cake that has grated parsnip in it, but that also has several fall spices mixed in to balance out whatever flavor there would be from the parsnips. And parsnips have a kind of weird peppery flavor anyway that would mix well with that.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:35 AM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Well, if you think about it....chocolate zucchini cake doesn't taste of zucchini. So....yeah, same principle; the vegetable element is mainly for bulk and extra moisture, and the rest of the recipe has been developed to counter any flavor that it would be adding. I think this is partly why this is a chocolate orange beet cake as opposed to just a chocolate beet cake - there is an entire oranges' worth of zest in there. Maybe there's a hint of "earthiness" that just reads as "ooh, we went for the fancy cocoa powder, I think."
Well, that, and the glaze is a bright fuschia - that's from about a half tablespoon of very super-finely grated beet getting mixed in and coloring it, but you don't taste the beet because there's also a splash of orange juice and a shit-ton of sugar.
....I'm also considering a cranberry cake that has grated parsnip in it, but that also has several fall spices mixed in to balance out whatever flavor there would be from the parsnips. And parsnips have a kind of weird peppery flavor anyway that would mix well with that.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:35 AM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Last week I passed the "20 years on Metafilter" milestone. I don't comment or post as much as I used to, but I still visit every day and still learn a lot every time I do. Thanks a bunch for being here and being you, MeFites.
Congrats Paragon, my profile hit 21 years four days ago, so I can now legally drink and smoke, and let me tell you, it's just as awesome as I imagined!
I joke, but Mefi, 9/11, and the age 21 are legitimately a part of my life. My son was born in July, 2001 (so he just turned 21 this summer!), and I was a stay-at-home dad for his first year.
I was watching one of the morning shows that day while feeding him a bottle of his mom's milk and saw the second plane hit live. The next hour was a blur of panic and phone calls, and of course I was checking MeFi immediately.
Around 10am it was time for his morning nap, and I brought him into our bedroom and against all odds I was able to fall asleep for over an hour or so.
When we both woke up, i decided that even though he was only two months old, the energy of the apocalyptic tv coverage was not a good vibe to introduce into our house. So I kept the TV off and turned to Mefi for coverage, and that's how I discovered the first tower had fell.
The knowledge that the world had just changed hit particularly hard with this fragile being being under my care, but to end on a less bleak note: that infant is now a man who cares deeply about this world, who fights for climate change, prefers poetry over technology and gives me hope for the future on a daily basis.
posted by jeremias at 7:45 AM on September 12, 2022 [10 favorites]
Congrats Paragon, my profile hit 21 years four days ago, so I can now legally drink and smoke, and let me tell you, it's just as awesome as I imagined!
I joke, but Mefi, 9/11, and the age 21 are legitimately a part of my life. My son was born in July, 2001 (so he just turned 21 this summer!), and I was a stay-at-home dad for his first year.
I was watching one of the morning shows that day while feeding him a bottle of his mom's milk and saw the second plane hit live. The next hour was a blur of panic and phone calls, and of course I was checking MeFi immediately.
Around 10am it was time for his morning nap, and I brought him into our bedroom and against all odds I was able to fall asleep for over an hour or so.
When we both woke up, i decided that even though he was only two months old, the energy of the apocalyptic tv coverage was not a good vibe to introduce into our house. So I kept the TV off and turned to Mefi for coverage, and that's how I discovered the first tower had fell.
The knowledge that the world had just changed hit particularly hard with this fragile being being under my care, but to end on a less bleak note: that infant is now a man who cares deeply about this world, who fights for climate change, prefers poetry over technology and gives me hope for the future on a daily basis.
posted by jeremias at 7:45 AM on September 12, 2022 [10 favorites]
About to go take my US citizenship interview, wish me luck.
posted by bxvr at 7:51 AM on September 12, 2022 [27 favorites]
posted by bxvr at 7:51 AM on September 12, 2022 [27 favorites]
🤞
posted by TWinbrook8 at 8:10 AM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by TWinbrook8 at 8:10 AM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Remember Ryu Numbers? We had a post about them and everything.
I am still on that.
It's more difficult to find Ryu Numbers for Shakespeare characters than you might suspect. Even when there's a video game adaptation of a Shakespeare play (and those aren't easy to find, even with his more popular works), they're usually pretty self-contained, so the problem becomes finding a link out.
Richard and Alan's Escape From Hell and To Be or Not To Be are secure ways to get to Hamlet characters, but for Romeo & Juliet my best bet is currently a Japanese otome game where Romeo is a vampire and Juliet is a vampire hunter.
I don't understand Japanese, so it's somewhat of an obstacle.
posted by KChasm at 8:19 AM on September 12, 2022
I am still on that.
It's more difficult to find Ryu Numbers for Shakespeare characters than you might suspect. Even when there's a video game adaptation of a Shakespeare play (and those aren't easy to find, even with his more popular works), they're usually pretty self-contained, so the problem becomes finding a link out.
Richard and Alan's Escape From Hell and To Be or Not To Be are secure ways to get to Hamlet characters, but for Romeo & Juliet my best bet is currently a Japanese otome game where Romeo is a vampire and Juliet is a vampire hunter.
I don't understand Japanese, so it's somewhat of an obstacle.
posted by KChasm at 8:19 AM on September 12, 2022
I was just joking, but it turns out that use of beets was due to wartime shortages. Also, I thought red velvet cake originated in the 1950s, but it is much older.
posted by Bee'sWing at 8:20 AM on September 12, 2022
posted by Bee'sWing at 8:20 AM on September 12, 2022
@bxvr - good luck! You will nail it!
Also, turns out that I am celebrating 15 years on Metafilter.
posted by Rabarberofficer at 8:25 AM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Also, turns out that I am celebrating 15 years on Metafilter.
posted by Rabarberofficer at 8:25 AM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Saturday evening my wife rescued a young opossum that was in the street. Some quick online research by her suggested that it must have been abandoned by its mother. It was missing an eye. So she brought it home and set it up in a box with shredded newspaper, kibble, and water. It has mostly been sleeping, changing position every few hours. But this morning it's apparently dead. Now to figure out how to dispose of it. Burying it in our yard isn't an option (not enough soil over the bedrock).
I'm getting an iron infusion this afternoon so presumably my overwhelming fatigue will be improving. YAY! I'm going camping for 3 nights this weekend.
I finished Ed Yong's I Contain Multitudes about microbiomes and it is fantastic. I've started reading an old textbook called Fundamentals of Petroleum which I found at the thrift store.
posted by neuron at 8:35 AM on September 12, 2022 [9 favorites]
I'm getting an iron infusion this afternoon so presumably my overwhelming fatigue will be improving. YAY! I'm going camping for 3 nights this weekend.
I finished Ed Yong's I Contain Multitudes about microbiomes and it is fantastic. I've started reading an old textbook called Fundamentals of Petroleum which I found at the thrift store.
posted by neuron at 8:35 AM on September 12, 2022 [9 favorites]
Put dead opossum in plastic bag and store in freezer until trash day.
posted by Bee'sWing at 8:38 AM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Bee'sWing at 8:38 AM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
I considered that. Might work, trash day is Wednesday.
posted by neuron at 8:39 AM on September 12, 2022
posted by neuron at 8:39 AM on September 12, 2022
y'all made me check and I've been 16 years on metafilter in some way or another, which wow. I think every other site or forum I frequented back then is dead, which makes me a bit sad. I miss the phpbb/blog era.
posted by simmering octagon at 8:44 AM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by simmering octagon at 8:44 AM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
Five and a half years ago, I was an American tourist dazedly sitting on a train in southern England, heading to the first real rest I'd had in two weeks. Sat near us was a hen party, howling about the relationships in Harry Potter's world and cackling about their party trophies.
As the stops rolled by, the cacophony started dwindling, with hugs and promises to be in touch and "I hope I'll see you at the wedding."
Eventually, the last person remained where all the noise had been, staring quietly out the window. We arrived at their stop, and they picked up their giant inflatable penis and sauntered into the twilight.
***
Yesterday, I randomly looked up a couple that I was roommates with in grad school thirty years ago, only to find one of them, a kind man with a beautiful voice that I can still hear, had passed a decade ago from leukemia.
posted by SunSnork at 8:45 AM on September 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
As the stops rolled by, the cacophony started dwindling, with hugs and promises to be in touch and "I hope I'll see you at the wedding."
Eventually, the last person remained where all the noise had been, staring quietly out the window. We arrived at their stop, and they picked up their giant inflatable penis and sauntered into the twilight.
***
Yesterday, I randomly looked up a couple that I was roommates with in grad school thirty years ago, only to find one of them, a kind man with a beautiful voice that I can still hear, had passed a decade ago from leukemia.
posted by SunSnork at 8:45 AM on September 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
We found a baby opossum in the yard and were able to get it to someone that could care for it. In Illinois only certain licensed volunteer rehabilitators are allowed to hold onto them and care for them. The babies sometimes fall out of the pouch while mom is in motion and she won't come back for it.
We have gotten many joyful updates from the caregiver over the past year, including photos and videos. Posey now weighs 8 pounds, loves Cool Whip, and refuses to go back into the wild. So she is now a permanent housepet. It's pretty amusing. The other pets in the house, mostly cats, do not concur.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:46 AM on September 12, 2022 [7 favorites]
We have gotten many joyful updates from the caregiver over the past year, including photos and videos. Posey now weighs 8 pounds, loves Cool Whip, and refuses to go back into the wild. So she is now a permanent housepet. It's pretty amusing. The other pets in the house, mostly cats, do not concur.
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:46 AM on September 12, 2022 [7 favorites]
SunSnork; you've reminded me of the train ride I took from Heathrow to Central London, on my first-ever trip to London. I'd just come off a red-eye from New York and was jet-lagged, and running purely on coffee and the excitement of being about to see David Tennant in a play on the West End that night.
One stop after I got on, the table next to me was quickly taken up by a bunch of college age guys who immediately broke out cans of Pringles and a few six-packs. I groaned inwardly, imagining this meant I was going to be subjected to a 45-minute assault of the British version of dudebros.
But - no. The six-packs were for a drinking game they'd devised in which someone had to drink if, at any point during their conversation, they said something pessimistic.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:06 AM on September 12, 2022 [8 favorites]
One stop after I got on, the table next to me was quickly taken up by a bunch of college age guys who immediately broke out cans of Pringles and a few six-packs. I groaned inwardly, imagining this meant I was going to be subjected to a 45-minute assault of the British version of dudebros.
But - no. The six-packs were for a drinking game they'd devised in which someone had to drink if, at any point during their conversation, they said something pessimistic.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:06 AM on September 12, 2022 [8 favorites]
Oh my god, neuron, I just finished I Contain Multitudes this morning! What a small (micro) world!
posted by mittens at 9:11 AM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by mittens at 9:11 AM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
bxvr Some of those US citizen questions are easier than others:
Q. Have you ever used any other names?
A. bxvr
Q. Have you ever been a member of nobility in any other country?
A. Graf von Metafilter
posted by BobTheScientist at 9:20 AM on September 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
Q. Have you ever used any other names?
A. bxvr
Q. Have you ever been a member of nobility in any other country?
A. Graf von Metafilter
posted by BobTheScientist at 9:20 AM on September 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
watching my family enjoy their tarantulas
Staring at people while they eat could be considered rude...
Like neuron, I'm very much looking forward to camping this weekend. First time in I think 3 years - since I live alone and already worked from home, that has been one of Covid's biggest disruptions in my life. Unfortunately there's a total fire ban, so no flickering flames to ponder as I sit sipping a beverage and enjoying being in nature, but I'll still be happy to be there.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:29 AM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
Staring at people while they eat could be considered rude...
Like neuron, I'm very much looking forward to camping this weekend. First time in I think 3 years - since I live alone and already worked from home, that has been one of Covid's biggest disruptions in my life. Unfortunately there's a total fire ban, so no flickering flames to ponder as I sit sipping a beverage and enjoying being in nature, but I'll still be happy to be there.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:29 AM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
I have used Wacom tablets for… many years, decades. Yesterday I unboxed a Xencelabs Medium tablet. Installed the drivers, plugged it in and had to do zero setup for it to work flawlessly in Adobe CC. I won't be returning to Wacom unless it is a 4k Cintiq—unlikely, given the cost.
posted by bz at 9:39 AM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by bz at 9:39 AM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
I had a job interview today for the first time in years. I felt like I was babbling and only got to the point on one or two of their questions after metaphorically walking entirely around the barn...but they said "In all likelihood expect to hear from one of the recruitment team for next steps", so what the hell do I know?
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 9:41 AM on September 12, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 9:41 AM on September 12, 2022 [8 favorites]
On Saturday, I managed to catch a glimpse of the mouse that lives in the rocks by my front steps. They held still long enough for me to get a photo.
posted by Dr. Twist at 9:41 AM on September 12, 2022 [12 favorites]
posted by Dr. Twist at 9:41 AM on September 12, 2022 [12 favorites]
This term startup is the most haphazard, whoa nelly, tooth-pulling term startup I've ever experienced. Can it be called pandemic fallout when the pandemic isn't over?
posted by wellred at 9:46 AM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by wellred at 9:46 AM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
Two weeks out from my second hip replacement. Because of COVID and retirement I am carrying more weight for this one and definitely feeling that is slowing recovery slightly. But, I am not in pain anymore so off the opiates, just Tylenol for now. Doing my exercises and walking up and down my hall in the house (which is one level). I can lift my leg without assist to get into/out of bed, and that is a great milestone. Today I get my staples taken out which means I can shower tomorrow! Woo hoo! Hoping to get outside for some gentle walking soon. The SF Bay Area heatwave has broken and it is much nicer inside and out.
posted by agatha_magatha at 9:56 AM on September 12, 2022 [11 favorites]
posted by agatha_magatha at 9:56 AM on September 12, 2022 [11 favorites]
Gumi (red birb) is endlessly amazing
Also answers the question, "What if The Boredoms, but a bird?"
This little nut job sent us to the animal hospital for the zillionth time yesterday. You can read the full story on that post, but having a naturally sickly animal is a real rollercoaster. I've never loved a creature so much and been so broke (or at least since my old girl lived two years with cancer).
I know MeFi doesn't do Burning Man well, but this was my tenth burn and somehow it's kicked me back to a post-playa depression I haven't felt since my first few years. Interpersonal compllications and a truly oppressive heat wave left me feeling more unfulfilled than usual out there. Feeling like I need a do-over in 2023, but my partner (who had his best year ever) has decided he's good for a while. Maybe I'll go solo next time.
Anyway, I'm doing the Malibu Tri next weekend, so if anyone else will be on the beach that morning, look out for the KCRW relay team and say hi. I'll be the dude tearing it up on the bike in the Cal Bears jersey.
posted by mykescipark at 10:01 AM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
Also answers the question, "What if The Boredoms, but a bird?"
This little nut job sent us to the animal hospital for the zillionth time yesterday. You can read the full story on that post, but having a naturally sickly animal is a real rollercoaster. I've never loved a creature so much and been so broke (or at least since my old girl lived two years with cancer).
I know MeFi doesn't do Burning Man well, but this was my tenth burn and somehow it's kicked me back to a post-playa depression I haven't felt since my first few years. Interpersonal compllications and a truly oppressive heat wave left me feeling more unfulfilled than usual out there. Feeling like I need a do-over in 2023, but my partner (who had his best year ever) has decided he's good for a while. Maybe I'll go solo next time.
Anyway, I'm doing the Malibu Tri next weekend, so if anyone else will be on the beach that morning, look out for the KCRW relay team and say hi. I'll be the dude tearing it up on the bike in the Cal Bears jersey.
posted by mykescipark at 10:01 AM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
A few weeks ago I had another sobriety anniversary. Day to day I don't think so much about sobriety anymore but it's always with me. I really hope the anniversary date never gets normal for me though and it hasn't yet. It's still pretty amazing every time I note another year. I got a bunch of very lovely cards for the occasion from the MeFi card club and they were all wonderful. Thanks to all who sent one! I'm really not dead inside - it only looks that way on the outside - and I was really touched.
On Friday we're taking my oldest to start university. It's a hard, fun, exciting, nervous time for us all. We got bonus added fun because she's going to University of Exeter and we're flying into London on Saturday. The timing seemed pretty mundane when we booked the flights months ago. Now I hear there's some other Big Event this weekend in the UK and I'm just crossing my fingers that we don't run into unexpected issues but I guess we'll just take them as they come.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 10:04 AM on September 12, 2022 [14 favorites]
On Friday we're taking my oldest to start university. It's a hard, fun, exciting, nervous time for us all. We got bonus added fun because she's going to University of Exeter and we're flying into London on Saturday. The timing seemed pretty mundane when we booked the flights months ago. Now I hear there's some other Big Event this weekend in the UK and I'm just crossing my fingers that we don't run into unexpected issues but I guess we'll just take them as they come.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 10:04 AM on September 12, 2022 [14 favorites]
I just attended my first projection-arts festival (LUMA in Binghamton, NY) and am still processing what I saw. Buildings split apart, dissolved, flipped over and turned to solid gold. I literally could not believe my eyes. Audiences shouted and cheered. A particularly beautiful and moving projection was created by a Ukrainian artist working under wartime conditions. The evening climaxed with a Siberian Arctic Shamanic throat-singing performance. All free.
An astonishing experience. Highly recommended.
posted by kinnakeet at 10:12 AM on September 12, 2022 [8 favorites]
An astonishing experience. Highly recommended.
posted by kinnakeet at 10:12 AM on September 12, 2022 [8 favorites]
ClingingTTW, she is going to have an amazing time, and you are amazing for keeping that string of days going. What a crew you have!
(P.S. My avatar icon on some other web sites is a Red Owl grocery store logo. My dad never got tired of reminding us that the grocery store in that small town "was called THE SAVAGE RED OWL!")
posted by wenestvedt at 10:19 AM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
(P.S. My avatar icon on some other web sites is a Red Owl grocery store logo. My dad never got tired of reminding us that the grocery store in that small town "was called THE SAVAGE RED OWL!")
posted by wenestvedt at 10:19 AM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
it's apparently dead
possums have been known to play possum i.e. play dead.
they actually enter a catatonic state
posted by yyz at 10:38 AM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
possums have been known to play possum i.e. play dead.
they actually enter a catatonic state
posted by yyz at 10:38 AM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
I grew up going to SuperValu because my mom though that that darn Red Owl just looked too angry. It kind of does (you might even say it's Savage!) but I really like that logo.
Side note possibly not interesting to many people: Every few months someone says "you live in Savage?! Isn't that kind of a slur?" (there is a large Native community nearby) but NOPE. It's for Marion Savage who raised Dan Patch here when it was called Hamilton, MN. In case you forget this fact the city has kindly named way too many streets, parks, etc. "Dan Patch" and there are statues and pictures of the horse and Savage himself around town.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 10:38 AM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
Side note possibly not interesting to many people: Every few months someone says "you live in Savage?! Isn't that kind of a slur?" (there is a large Native community nearby) but NOPE. It's for Marion Savage who raised Dan Patch here when it was called Hamilton, MN. In case you forget this fact the city has kindly named way too many streets, parks, etc. "Dan Patch" and there are statues and pictures of the horse and Savage himself around town.
posted by Clinging to the Wreckage at 10:38 AM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
"Like to see some stuck-up jockey'boy
Sittin' on Dan Patch? Make your blood boil?
Well, I should say."
posted by Windopaene at 10:41 AM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
Sittin' on Dan Patch? Make your blood boil?
Well, I should say."
posted by Windopaene at 10:41 AM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
When I was sent to church with 25 cents for the collection basket...half the time I would hightail it to the drugstore and buy an ice cold bottle of pepsi, a bag of chips that came in waxed paper bag, and the newest Little Lulu comic book...circa 1958...
posted by Czjewel at 10:49 AM on September 12, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by Czjewel at 10:49 AM on September 12, 2022 [6 favorites]
The street down the middle of the Minnesota State Fairgrounds is Dan Patch Avenue -- my cousins used to have a building there for about 80 fairs in a row, but a few years back they finally gave up the spot.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:01 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by wenestvedt at 12:01 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Well, they need more information before they can approve my US naturalization application but hopefully in a few months I’ll be a citizen!
posted by bxvr at 12:16 PM on September 12, 2022 [13 favorites]
posted by bxvr at 12:16 PM on September 12, 2022 [13 favorites]
Missed my meds for two days. After an ideal morning with my baby nieces, the Bipolar floor dropped out yesterday afternoon and directly into screaming back at my autistic daughter. How does this happen? My self loathing is at an all time high. I'm ashamed at a molecular level.
We made peace later in the day. My wife and I have not. Work is not progressing today. Nothing is progressing. Seems like nothing ever will.
I've set up a psych meeting for Friday (earliest I could get).
Thanks for giving me an outlet to air my pain, Metafilter.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 12:33 PM on September 12, 2022 [8 favorites]
We made peace later in the day. My wife and I have not. Work is not progressing today. Nothing is progressing. Seems like nothing ever will.
I've set up a psych meeting for Friday (earliest I could get).
Thanks for giving me an outlet to air my pain, Metafilter.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 12:33 PM on September 12, 2022 [8 favorites]
I was in New Hampshire over the 3-day weekend for a cancer survivor/thrive retreat. To get there, I flew from Seattle to Boston, then drove from south Boston to Compton NH, reversing to get back. I feel as though I’ve earned additional street cred for driving in Boston with no new dings or scratches on the rental car. Also, the drive back was…interesting. It took almost double the time because of accidents (it was raining), and end-of-weekend traffic, and also probably some back-to-college traffic. I just chilled because my flight was the next day, and am SO glad I planned it that way.
posted by dbmcd at 12:43 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by dbmcd at 12:43 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
My first account here will be 18 in November - so legally able to consume alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis here in Canada.
The little Japanese import grocery store were selling cuttings of Mimosa pudica, "bashful grass," and simply had to get one.
I remember when I was very little my departed dad showed me that it was sensitive to touch. My nephew is about the same age as I was, so I'm going to show him the plant and tell the story about how (his) gung gung showed the plant to me when I was his age.
posted by porpoise at 12:46 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
The little Japanese import grocery store were selling cuttings of Mimosa pudica, "bashful grass," and simply had to get one.
I remember when I was very little my departed dad showed me that it was sensitive to touch. My nephew is about the same age as I was, so I'm going to show him the plant and tell the story about how (his) gung gung showed the plant to me when I was his age.
posted by porpoise at 12:46 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
When I was sent to church with 25 cents for the collection basket
I remember 25¢ was enough for a movie and a bag of popcorn at the base theater on Spangdahlem AFB of a Saturday morning in the middle 60s. I also approve of skiving off church (though I didn't develop that habit for a few more years).
posted by Bee'sWing at 12:51 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
I remember 25¢ was enough for a movie and a bag of popcorn at the base theater on Spangdahlem AFB of a Saturday morning in the middle 60s. I also approve of skiving off church (though I didn't develop that habit for a few more years).
posted by Bee'sWing at 12:51 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Several days ago we spilled a full gallon of apple cider vinegar in the garage. The glass shattered on impact. In the minute or so it took to gather the cleaning supplies to deal with this nearly the entire gallon had seeped into the concrete. Diluted vinegar is a fantastic way to clean your concrete, which is good. This was not diluted, which is bad. It was also, I point out, apple cider vinegar -- a fluid with a live culture in it. That's why vinegar smells okay and apple cider vinegar smells like death.
My floor smells like death. The floor was washed, which did not help. The next day it was horrific in there and the stench had seeped up into the house. We tried to "dry it out" by letting it bake in the over-100º temperatures, which did not help. Those next few days were horrific, with the stench seeping up into the house whenever it was unventilated.
The floor was covered in my beloved ExStink, which only helped a little. The next day was horrific, with the stench seeping up into the house.
The floor was powerwashed -- not much fun with my back being blown out already -- which only helped a little. My daughter arrived with the terrifically illegal ozone generator, which ran for many hours last night. It might have helped. It's hard to tell because after ventilating the garage all morning it's still pretty ozoney in there. The ozone seeped up into the house and into my office, though, which was a joy to mitigate.
If this doesn't do it, I'm going to have to try to figure out how to kill the bacterial mother that clearly is going berserk deep in the porous concrete.
posted by majick at 12:51 PM on September 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
My floor smells like death. The floor was washed, which did not help. The next day it was horrific in there and the stench had seeped up into the house. We tried to "dry it out" by letting it bake in the over-100º temperatures, which did not help. Those next few days were horrific, with the stench seeping up into the house whenever it was unventilated.
The floor was covered in my beloved ExStink, which only helped a little. The next day was horrific, with the stench seeping up into the house.
The floor was powerwashed -- not much fun with my back being blown out already -- which only helped a little. My daughter arrived with the terrifically illegal ozone generator, which ran for many hours last night. It might have helped. It's hard to tell because after ventilating the garage all morning it's still pretty ozoney in there. The ozone seeped up into the house and into my office, though, which was a joy to mitigate.
If this doesn't do it, I'm going to have to try to figure out how to kill the bacterial mother that clearly is going berserk deep in the porous concrete.
posted by majick at 12:51 PM on September 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
Today's free thread is full of surprises. I was nodding along to porpoise's mimosa, remembering how it used to be sold in nurseries around here under the name "sensitive plant," when it occurred to me that the plant superficially resembled mimosa trees but...were they the same thing? So I looked it up, and no! The mimosa trees we have growing outside aren't related at all! Wikipedia suggests it's instead Albizia julibrissin! I've been operating under a delusion my entire life!
posted by mittens at 12:54 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by mittens at 12:54 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
We have this wonderful old chihuahua/dachshund cross that my husband had when we met, who is 15.5 years old now, and is slowing down and seems miserable sometimes. We talked to the vet who agrees that it might be time to put him down, as he has no obvious source of pain or other problems, he's just old and giving up the things he used to love.
But I'm struggling! And he's on this really expensive blood pressure medication, and I don't know if I should refill the prescription again, and it's really stupid because it's like.. $250, which isn't the end of the world for us, but also isn't small potatoes if the dog is on his way out and I just haven't committed to a date yet, but I also don't want to do it earlier than I feel comfortable with to save $250, you know? But I also don't want to stop his medication while he's still with us. I'm all torn up about this very little question that represents a much sadder question that I can't quite look at yet.
My neighbours have a friend who is semi-unhoused living in their dilapidated RV in their parking lot, and he's mostly fine and I'm fine with him personally, but lately there's been a lot of creepy activity around the RV and our back alley, and some guy shined a light on us while we were in our hot tub the other night and looked like they were going to come into our yard (luckily our gate was locked) and it was scary, but I also don't want to do anything that forces this guy out of his home, but also our entire alley is filled with garbage now that I keep cleaning up and the city won't pick up the garbage more than our regular schedule of every second friday, so it keeps just being taken out at night and re-spread all over the alley out of the bins after I pick it up, and it's just really... unfortunate and feels untenable but also whats the solution that isn't just shitty?
hard questions with no answers for me this week I guess!
posted by euphoria066 at 1:04 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
But I'm struggling! And he's on this really expensive blood pressure medication, and I don't know if I should refill the prescription again, and it's really stupid because it's like.. $250, which isn't the end of the world for us, but also isn't small potatoes if the dog is on his way out and I just haven't committed to a date yet, but I also don't want to do it earlier than I feel comfortable with to save $250, you know? But I also don't want to stop his medication while he's still with us. I'm all torn up about this very little question that represents a much sadder question that I can't quite look at yet.
My neighbours have a friend who is semi-unhoused living in their dilapidated RV in their parking lot, and he's mostly fine and I'm fine with him personally, but lately there's been a lot of creepy activity around the RV and our back alley, and some guy shined a light on us while we were in our hot tub the other night and looked like they were going to come into our yard (luckily our gate was locked) and it was scary, but I also don't want to do anything that forces this guy out of his home, but also our entire alley is filled with garbage now that I keep cleaning up and the city won't pick up the garbage more than our regular schedule of every second friday, so it keeps just being taken out at night and re-spread all over the alley out of the bins after I pick it up, and it's just really... unfortunate and feels untenable but also whats the solution that isn't just shitty?
hard questions with no answers for me this week I guess!
posted by euphoria066 at 1:04 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
I have been deeply grouchy this week because the semester is starting once more, and that means I have to attend a weekly mandatory behavior genetics seminar in exchange for my salary. (There are some semi-complicated reasons to do it, even though it's very much irrelevant to pretty much everything I'm currently doing.)
anyway, today we were apparently learning how to calculate a polygenic trait score. I think I lasted about twenty minutes before I started asking questions about the sampling population used to generate GWAS analyses and how generalizable those numbers actually were, and then progressed into questions like "Okay, but how do these approaches actually teach us how genetic variation informs behavior?" and "but heritability is inherently a measure of both genotypic and environmental variation, so how can we actually understand how it is interacting with environment without trying to parse and examine environmental variation?" and "well, okay, but given how much phenotypic variation is driven by variation in gene expression rather than coding sequence, why do we expect large-scale coding sequence variation to tell us much about behavioral outcomes?"
I had intended to keep my head down and just take crabby notes. I really had. And then... I just kept getting cranky and blurting out questions. It's really hard for me to quietly disengage without being obvious about it, especially when I'm annoyed; fortunately, my mentor thinks this is all absolutely hilarious, but part of me is a little wound up about it and waiting for Consequences.
on the upside, I'm finally getting my ability to read analog books back without having to switch back and forth between text to speech and epub on books as my focus flits in and out. It's been some years since I've been able to do that, and I'm really happy about finally getting some of that back.
posted by sciatrix at 1:42 PM on September 12, 2022 [8 favorites]
anyway, today we were apparently learning how to calculate a polygenic trait score. I think I lasted about twenty minutes before I started asking questions about the sampling population used to generate GWAS analyses and how generalizable those numbers actually were, and then progressed into questions like "Okay, but how do these approaches actually teach us how genetic variation informs behavior?" and "but heritability is inherently a measure of both genotypic and environmental variation, so how can we actually understand how it is interacting with environment without trying to parse and examine environmental variation?" and "well, okay, but given how much phenotypic variation is driven by variation in gene expression rather than coding sequence, why do we expect large-scale coding sequence variation to tell us much about behavioral outcomes?"
I had intended to keep my head down and just take crabby notes. I really had. And then... I just kept getting cranky and blurting out questions. It's really hard for me to quietly disengage without being obvious about it, especially when I'm annoyed; fortunately, my mentor thinks this is all absolutely hilarious, but part of me is a little wound up about it and waiting for Consequences.
on the upside, I'm finally getting my ability to read analog books back without having to switch back and forth between text to speech and epub on books as my focus flits in and out. It's been some years since I've been able to do that, and I'm really happy about finally getting some of that back.
posted by sciatrix at 1:42 PM on September 12, 2022 [8 favorites]
My state’s primary is tomorrow. Through a series of accidents, I got promoted to warden, so I’ll be getting more money for doing my civic duty. That money will be deposited into my travel account because my mom and I have a travel account now. Last November, we went to Ireland. This November, exactly one year later, we’re going to Iceland. My mom just turned 71 and last year was the first time she had ever left North America. Now she’s already thinking about where to go next November. She has suggested the Azores, and, inexplicably, Bruges.
In the other direction, Kid Ruki is adjusting to college life in New York. Cons include everything being more expensive and people always hearing “Rhode Island” as “Long Island.” Pros include a half hour train ride to the City, superior bagels, Wegman’s, and the novelty of Jewish inclusion. She already found a local restaurant that is catering Rosh Hashanah dinner if she decides not to come home that weekend. I’ve got to drive half an hour into Massachusetts to get our brisket.
posted by Ruki at 1:51 PM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
In the other direction, Kid Ruki is adjusting to college life in New York. Cons include everything being more expensive and people always hearing “Rhode Island” as “Long Island.” Pros include a half hour train ride to the City, superior bagels, Wegman’s, and the novelty of Jewish inclusion. She already found a local restaurant that is catering Rosh Hashanah dinner if she decides not to come home that weekend. I’ve got to drive half an hour into Massachusetts to get our brisket.
posted by Ruki at 1:51 PM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
So this morning I read about "urticating hairs" for the first time. I swear my wildlife education spent a lot of time trying to convince us that scary looking things like tarantulas were not actually scary, and now I find they can shoot intensely painful barbed spikes at enemies.
So I was feeling a little betrayed.
Then an hour later I go out for a hike and first thing there is a sign saying Watch Out for Wildlife: Tarantula Migration in Progress. I spent the entire walk waiting for an Arachnophobia-style swarm of fist-sized tarantulas to start emerging from the undergrowth and paralyze me with a barrage of their urticating hairs.
It'll be arriving tomorrow, a Dolichothele diamantinensis, aka the Brazilian blue dwarf beauty.
That is gorgeous, and definitely adding it to my list of things to consider if I ever set up a terrarium. Do you need to feed it live food (like crickets or something?)
posted by mark k at 2:07 PM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
So I was feeling a little betrayed.
Then an hour later I go out for a hike and first thing there is a sign saying Watch Out for Wildlife: Tarantula Migration in Progress. I spent the entire walk waiting for an Arachnophobia-style swarm of fist-sized tarantulas to start emerging from the undergrowth and paralyze me with a barrage of their urticating hairs.
It'll be arriving tomorrow, a Dolichothele diamantinensis, aka the Brazilian blue dwarf beauty.
That is gorgeous, and definitely adding it to my list of things to consider if I ever set up a terrarium. Do you need to feed it live food (like crickets or something?)
posted by mark k at 2:07 PM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
The Mimosa pudica mentioned by porpoise is a legume, as are Mimosa trees, though the pudica has a creeping habit.
I used to try all the different honey varieties I could easily find, and I found a small jar of mimosa honey at a farmers' market. It was the palest honey I ever found, almost water white and not terribly thick, and the flavor was very mild though it did smell like mimosa flowers.
Now that we know beans actually contain the symbiotic rhizobacteria which will ultimately multiply and populate the nitrogen fixing root nodules, it would be very strange if the bacteria of the plants supplying pollen weren’t getting in on the act by infecting that pollen, and that would probably mean they are in the nectar too.
Maybe the bees don’t like that and don’t process the honey extensively. It would be interesting to know whether bees actively collect that pollen and feed it to their larvae.
posted by jamjam at 2:11 PM on September 12, 2022
I used to try all the different honey varieties I could easily find, and I found a small jar of mimosa honey at a farmers' market. It was the palest honey I ever found, almost water white and not terribly thick, and the flavor was very mild though it did smell like mimosa flowers.
Now that we know beans actually contain the symbiotic rhizobacteria which will ultimately multiply and populate the nitrogen fixing root nodules, it would be very strange if the bacteria of the plants supplying pollen weren’t getting in on the act by infecting that pollen, and that would probably mean they are in the nectar too.
Maybe the bees don’t like that and don’t process the honey extensively. It would be interesting to know whether bees actively collect that pollen and feed it to their larvae.
posted by jamjam at 2:11 PM on September 12, 2022
majick: Do you suppose distilled white vinegar might vanquish the apple cider vinegar? Or muriatic acid?
posted by bz at 2:45 PM on September 12, 2022
posted by bz at 2:45 PM on September 12, 2022
Take off and nuke the site from orbit. That's the only way to be sure.
posted by hippybear at 3:28 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by hippybear at 3:28 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm arranging to start the tap classes--one of my castmates is doing it too (coincidentally), so that should be fun. Figuring out paying for it with them, less fun...it sounds like I REALLY need to Make Arrangements In The Office with these people and I can only show up exactly on time and not early for the first class thanks to work, so ugh.
Beauty and the Beast started and is going swimmingly with no issues, which is a relief compared to the Evita drama. I did cave in and go free-faced onstage and so far feel well... and did karaoke with castmates Saturday night after the show. Again, so far so good on THAT topic.
I auditioned for Alan Menken's Christmas Carol last night, which sounds Evita-ish, more "everyone's in every scene and changing costumes constantly and we better get a large cast" AGAIN, sigh. I don't know why that sort of thing appeals to that director SO much. Also, um, she said there's going to be a Santa sexy Rockettes number in it?!?! I did not see this in the online video and that seems non-Dickensian. Even Dickens Fair, which has a um...nudie "postcard" show, doesn't do that. So...what the heck?!
I kinda smell that there might be some issues with this one since (a) 15 people were in auditions for the first night of two and around 20-ish showed "interest" on FB, and so far I don't see any potential Scrooges or "sexy dancers" like they want auditioning for this one. Mostly families with small kids and a few of my current castmates. They promise that there's a lot of minor parts in this one, but I would bet money at this point that I'm still not good enough for even the most minor of "so-and-so's wife" parts. My singing teacher (who I was at karaoke with...) tells me I shouldn't put myself down and I should believe in myself and not listen to others' judgments of me, but when literally she's the only one who's had anything good to say about me in the last few months*, how am I supposed to BELIEVE?
* except for when my mother is trying to butter me up after I called her out for being mean to me, but does that count?
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:44 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Beauty and the Beast started and is going swimmingly with no issues, which is a relief compared to the Evita drama. I did cave in and go free-faced onstage and so far feel well... and did karaoke with castmates Saturday night after the show. Again, so far so good on THAT topic.
I auditioned for Alan Menken's Christmas Carol last night, which sounds Evita-ish, more "everyone's in every scene and changing costumes constantly and we better get a large cast" AGAIN, sigh. I don't know why that sort of thing appeals to that director SO much. Also, um, she said there's going to be a Santa sexy Rockettes number in it?!?! I did not see this in the online video and that seems non-Dickensian. Even Dickens Fair, which has a um...nudie "postcard" show, doesn't do that. So...what the heck?!
I kinda smell that there might be some issues with this one since (a) 15 people were in auditions for the first night of two and around 20-ish showed "interest" on FB, and so far I don't see any potential Scrooges or "sexy dancers" like they want auditioning for this one. Mostly families with small kids and a few of my current castmates. They promise that there's a lot of minor parts in this one, but I would bet money at this point that I'm still not good enough for even the most minor of "so-and-so's wife" parts. My singing teacher (who I was at karaoke with...) tells me I shouldn't put myself down and I should believe in myself and not listen to others' judgments of me, but when literally she's the only one who's had anything good to say about me in the last few months*, how am I supposed to BELIEVE?
* except for when my mother is trying to butter me up after I called her out for being mean to me, but does that count?
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:44 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
I'm arranging to start the tap classes
I took tap as a child because a family member owned a dance studio, but as an adult, I own tap shoes primarily for cleaning my mostly-hardwoods house*. (I wear ballet slippers when cleaning my carpeted living room.) Cleaning and practicing dance steps is the best multitasking. That is the entirety of my TED talk.
*Sometimes I wear a tiara, too. No regrets.
posted by Ruki at 3:54 PM on September 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
I took tap as a child because a family member owned a dance studio, but as an adult, I own tap shoes primarily for cleaning my mostly-hardwoods house*. (I wear ballet slippers when cleaning my carpeted living room.) Cleaning and practicing dance steps is the best multitasking. That is the entirety of my TED talk.
*Sometimes I wear a tiara, too. No regrets.
posted by Ruki at 3:54 PM on September 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
I will say that for three productions of Nunsense and one production of Nunsense II (this was like 30 years ago), we were able to take a mostly non-tap-dancing group of women into a space where they could do a relatively impressive "nuns doing a tap dance" number within 6 weeks of rehearsal, four different times. If you have any sense of rhythm or ability to tap your toes at all, you'll find this pretty quick to pick up enough to be serviceable with your skills for community theater.
posted by hippybear at 3:58 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 3:58 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
Hello MetaFilter! February was my 15 year mark. I, too, would like to thank everyone for this community. I found the site right after 9/11. It was bad; my partner was in the military, a dear family friend was on one of the planes, I had family in the city, and another friend who worked right next to the towers. I'd never experienced anything like a website coming together to keep each other informed and show so much support.
I don't have any social media accounts, but I finally made an account here. It's the only place I visit near daily. It has been, and continues to be, my favorite website. Thanks to everyone who makes this place great. I posted an Ask recently; the outpouring of information and caring was so touching. It helped me tremendously. Thank you for the years of entertainment, education and community!
posted by racersix6 at 4:48 PM on September 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
I don't have any social media accounts, but I finally made an account here. It's the only place I visit near daily. It has been, and continues to be, my favorite website. Thanks to everyone who makes this place great. I posted an Ask recently; the outpouring of information and caring was so touching. It helped me tremendously. Thank you for the years of entertainment, education and community!
posted by racersix6 at 4:48 PM on September 12, 2022 [5 favorites]
A few years ago when recovering from all of the stuff I've been going through seemed theoretical at best, I told a friend that if I ever got better I was going to take up tap dancing.
I'm taking the tap discussions in these threads as a sign. First, physical therapy, and then, tap dancing!
posted by MrVisible at 4:48 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
I'm taking the tap discussions in these threads as a sign. First, physical therapy, and then, tap dancing!
posted by MrVisible at 4:48 PM on September 12, 2022 [3 favorites]
My tap class starts Wednesday. We've been off for about 6 weeks so I'm looking forward to seeing the ladies in the class again. I don't see the jazz class on the schedule, so I guess it'll just be one day a week of dance for me.
I was supposed to have my lady parts removed next Monday. And of course insurance is all like ha ha ha. Nope. You can get your lupron shot every three months just like you have been doing. And we don't give a shit about your family history of uterine cancer. Fuck the US health insurance industry. The doctor's office is appealing, but I have zero faith in the insurance company. Not that I want cancer again, but damn, wouldn't it be just desserts for me to get uterine cancer and them have to pay for the surgery and the treatment.
And I'm going to start a CDA (which is just an expensive certificate that luckily I'm getting a scholarship for) program soon. Which is as stupid as fuck. But Head Start seems to think a MA in dev psych and 10+ years of teaching experience isn't as good as an associates degree in early childhood education. God bless the burócratas.
posted by kathrynm at 4:52 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
I was supposed to have my lady parts removed next Monday. And of course insurance is all like ha ha ha. Nope. You can get your lupron shot every three months just like you have been doing. And we don't give a shit about your family history of uterine cancer. Fuck the US health insurance industry. The doctor's office is appealing, but I have zero faith in the insurance company. Not that I want cancer again, but damn, wouldn't it be just desserts for me to get uterine cancer and them have to pay for the surgery and the treatment.
And I'm going to start a CDA (which is just an expensive certificate that luckily I'm getting a scholarship for) program soon. Which is as stupid as fuck. But Head Start seems to think a MA in dev psych and 10+ years of teaching experience isn't as good as an associates degree in early childhood education. God bless the burócratas.
posted by kathrynm at 4:52 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
I hit 20 years this summer.
Think I never paid $5 for my account…
posted by Windopaene at 8:27 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Think I never paid $5 for my account…
posted by Windopaene at 8:27 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
IIRC it was somewhere in the 17k range that the fee was introduced. Userids below that got in for free.
posted by Mitheral at 8:48 PM on September 12, 2022
posted by Mitheral at 8:48 PM on September 12, 2022
euphoria066 when I had a similar dog medication / euthanasia quandary, I solved it by donating the left over medication to the SPCA. So even though I paid for it, it did some good for other doggos.
I hope your old boy has an easy time of it. It's always so hard to let them go.
posted by Zumbador at 8:57 PM on September 12, 2022
I hope your old boy has an easy time of it. It's always so hard to let them go.
posted by Zumbador at 8:57 PM on September 12, 2022
Been here 17.5 years. Have made exactly 1 post on the blue.
posted by neuron at 9:51 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by neuron at 9:51 PM on September 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
Think I never paid $5 for my account…
That's ok, I give mefi that every month.
Check out the "Donate!" li...n....
I must have missed the metatalk thread about that.
posted by porpoise at 10:33 PM on September 12, 2022
That's ok, I give mefi that every month.
Check out the "Donate!" li...n....
I must have missed the metatalk thread about that.
posted by porpoise at 10:33 PM on September 12, 2022
18.5 years, four first names, three genders, and...
MeFi: 13 posts , 658 comments
MetaTalk: 8 posts , 28 comments
Ask MeFi: 3 questions , 5 answers
...later, just want to say that Mefi is like a step back in time to an alternate universe of actual strangers on the internet, saying things, sometimes even arguing! a lot!, and still being good people.
Metafilter makes the world better.
posted by andreaazure at 11:20 PM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
MeFi: 13 posts , 658 comments
MetaTalk: 8 posts , 28 comments
Ask MeFi: 3 questions , 5 answers
...later, just want to say that Mefi is like a step back in time to an alternate universe of actual strangers on the internet, saying things, sometimes even arguing! a lot!, and still being good people.
Metafilter makes the world better.
posted by andreaazure at 11:20 PM on September 12, 2022 [4 favorites]
I have heard that from a reliable source that if you drop a tarantula they explode.
The story goes a bit like this. *One* of the things that happened in 1983 first few days of high school that might get some side-eye today.... was that the Pep Club came around to the new freshman homerooms and for $1 they would give you a survey which they would take and put into the computer and "match you up with people you should get to know". Almost but not quite computer dating, it wasn't purely opposite sex that way, but basically still mostly computer dating.
Tarantula girl was at the top of my list, and I was at the top of hers. LOL WUT! She's from a largish old clan that everybody and their parent's know that last name. They're like old large family construction business money. Nothing to extreem, there are just lots of them.
But I wouldn't think of her as hanging out with the gang of four odd weirdos and playing D&D or into Monty Python. I do remember that there was a field trip once to a tiny local college (Kings College IIRC) where her father was the chemistry professor. I tried to get him to tell me how to make Slow Motion Contact Explosive - Nitrogen Triiodide - YouTube but he refused.... :)
We did end up tying (or maybe she beat me) for like 3rd and 4th on the valedictorian rankings. First was this Asian girl who I assume had a Tiger Mom sort of thing going on, she was visibly distraught with not perfect and I'm pretty sure she studied a lot. Second was my friend who has the almost photographic memory, he just doesn't forget facts, never play Trivial Pursuit or Jeopardy with him. I forget Third and Fourth order but it was Tarantula girl and myself. I'm a year younger and never study, I'm just really good at the math/science logic like shit. Not sure what her story was.
She was in the gaggle of girls that roped me into being a prom date for one of their own that didn't have a boyfriend.
But anyway, according to her.... tarantulas can explode if you drop them.
We might have actually gotten along.
posted by zengargoyle at 11:27 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
The story goes a bit like this. *One* of the things that happened in 1983 first few days of high school that might get some side-eye today.... was that the Pep Club came around to the new freshman homerooms and for $1 they would give you a survey which they would take and put into the computer and "match you up with people you should get to know". Almost but not quite computer dating, it wasn't purely opposite sex that way, but basically still mostly computer dating.
Tarantula girl was at the top of my list, and I was at the top of hers. LOL WUT! She's from a largish old clan that everybody and their parent's know that last name. They're like old large family construction business money. Nothing to extreem, there are just lots of them.
But I wouldn't think of her as hanging out with the gang of four odd weirdos and playing D&D or into Monty Python. I do remember that there was a field trip once to a tiny local college (Kings College IIRC) where her father was the chemistry professor. I tried to get him to tell me how to make Slow Motion Contact Explosive - Nitrogen Triiodide - YouTube but he refused.... :)
We did end up tying (or maybe she beat me) for like 3rd and 4th on the valedictorian rankings. First was this Asian girl who I assume had a Tiger Mom sort of thing going on, she was visibly distraught with not perfect and I'm pretty sure she studied a lot. Second was my friend who has the almost photographic memory, he just doesn't forget facts, never play Trivial Pursuit or Jeopardy with him. I forget Third and Fourth order but it was Tarantula girl and myself. I'm a year younger and never study, I'm just really good at the math/science logic like shit. Not sure what her story was.
She was in the gaggle of girls that roped me into being a prom date for one of their own that didn't have a boyfriend.
But anyway, according to her.... tarantulas can explode if you drop them.
We might have actually gotten along.
posted by zengargoyle at 11:27 PM on September 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
In Germany there is a public servant known as the "Deichgraf." Their job is to keep track of and approve everything having anything to do with the dikes that keep the various waters, rivers, oceans, in their desired paths. They have almost absolute power over their 'domaines' - specifically if you wanna build something that impinges on any given dike or threatens one, they have last word. It's an apolitical and as I understand a-bureaucratic post: they are put into place to help avert disaster. I respect this concept immensely.
Not insignificantly, there is a cheese called 'Deichgraf' that has a nutty, lightly stinky flavor - the consistency of Gouda or Gruyere. It's an un-sung hero of the cheese world and if you should find yourself in its vicinity and are a fan of 'hard' cheeses, worth a taste.
When our younger kid was five or so for their birthday mom hired 'an insect guy' because said child was so into insects. Mom found the guy through his website. What was not clear from his website is that he was literally seven feet tall. People that are so much larger than everyone else have a kind of mind-bending effect. I remember we had strung up streamers, high enough so they would tangle in anyone's hair and when he came into the room his head was above them. He was a warder at a maximum security prison, for a day job, and very sweet and soft-spoken.
He showed up with boxes and boxes of insects, each more spectacular (shivering mantis' that looked like leaves, enormous cockroaches). The last one was his beloved tarantula. She was sixteen(!) years old, the size of a large saucer. He warned us all to be very gentle, that she could die if dropped onto the floor - and then he put it into our child's outstretched hands. The spider made its way casual up the arm until, "That's enough!" and she was taken back. No one else wanted to touch her - I especially not (no thank you.)
posted by From Bklyn at 4:08 AM on September 13, 2022 [4 favorites]
Not insignificantly, there is a cheese called 'Deichgraf' that has a nutty, lightly stinky flavor - the consistency of Gouda or Gruyere. It's an un-sung hero of the cheese world and if you should find yourself in its vicinity and are a fan of 'hard' cheeses, worth a taste.
When our younger kid was five or so for their birthday mom hired 'an insect guy' because said child was so into insects. Mom found the guy through his website. What was not clear from his website is that he was literally seven feet tall. People that are so much larger than everyone else have a kind of mind-bending effect. I remember we had strung up streamers, high enough so they would tangle in anyone's hair and when he came into the room his head was above them. He was a warder at a maximum security prison, for a day job, and very sweet and soft-spoken.
He showed up with boxes and boxes of insects, each more spectacular (shivering mantis' that looked like leaves, enormous cockroaches). The last one was his beloved tarantula. She was sixteen(!) years old, the size of a large saucer. He warned us all to be very gentle, that she could die if dropped onto the floor - and then he put it into our child's outstretched hands. The spider made its way casual up the arm until, "That's enough!" and she was taken back. No one else wanted to touch her - I especially not (no thank you.)
posted by From Bklyn at 4:08 AM on September 13, 2022 [4 favorites]
About 13 years ago, possibly more, possibly less, it matters not, I bought a tub of shaving soap and a brush. It was about the time my son said, "you do what?!!! you use an old bar of soap with your hands, lather it up a bit and shave?!!" I confessed. Doubtless, I did my beardy shopping in response. That's as far as it went. Brush and soap tub sat on the bathroom window shelf, untroubled by human hand let alone chin for more than a decade. 2 weeks ago on a whim, I had a go. Ran the brush under the tap, gave the soap tub a good old whisking, lathered up and ice creamed my visog.* It was fun. I chuckled at the ritualistic feel of it as if I was preparing a goat for an ancient rite. And miracle of miracles, I even went to the next step and shaved. Between you and me, Blue, it was amazing. I loved it. I left it 'til I was 72, but hey, you can't be rushing into things. In fact, I feel quite proud and even a little smug about it. Endlessly astonishing how ludicrous we humans are or at least this human is.
* I suppose it should be 'physog' but 'visog' is how it feels.
posted by dutchrick at 7:07 AM on September 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
* I suppose it should be 'physog' but 'visog' is how it feels.
posted by dutchrick at 7:07 AM on September 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
Gumi (red birb) is endlessly amazing and a highly sentient genius red birb, watch if you love levity and being surprised, wuewuewue
I really want to see Gumi's reaction to this.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:09 AM on September 13, 2022
I really want to see Gumi's reaction to this.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:09 AM on September 13, 2022
I have heard that from a reliable source that if you drop a tarantula they explode.
This sounds about as reliable as my cousin claiming that my giant swelled up bug bite was filled with baby spider eggs.
In other news, apparently pickins were so slim for the Christmas Carol auditions that I actually got a callback!...an hour after most people are getting called back. This is confusing, but means I can go to karaoke all night anyway.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:23 AM on September 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
This sounds about as reliable as my cousin claiming that my giant swelled up bug bite was filled with baby spider eggs.
In other news, apparently pickins were so slim for the Christmas Carol auditions that I actually got a callback!...an hour after most people are getting called back. This is confusing, but means I can go to karaoke all night anyway.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:23 AM on September 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
My favourite "so called fact" about rats is that you shouldn't let them drink a carbonated beverage, because they can't burp, so it will make them explode.
Stated as fact on more than on pet rat site.
Seems to be a bastardisation of the true fact that rats can't vomit.
I just started the process of adopting a new female rat from the local small animal rescue group.
Quite exciting.
posted by Zumbador at 8:46 AM on September 13, 2022 [4 favorites]
Stated as fact on more than on pet rat site.
Seems to be a bastardisation of the true fact that rats can't vomit.
I just started the process of adopting a new female rat from the local small animal rescue group.
Quite exciting.
posted by Zumbador at 8:46 AM on September 13, 2022 [4 favorites]
So about the exploding tarantulas--they are in fact very fragile, and can be very badly injured or killed, from what might seem like a very short fall. What I've learned is that it's necessary to have a lot of substrate in their enclosure--almost always more than you think you need--to help protect them if they have an accidental fall. (This new guy is so tiny, his enclosure is only an inch high, with half that filled with substrate! I mean, I figure the square-cube law must fit in here somewhere, so that tinier animals can fall further, but I don't want to risk it!)
posted by mittens at 9:48 AM on September 13, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by mittens at 9:48 AM on September 13, 2022 [4 favorites]
according to her.... tarantulas can explode if you drop them
If they've been out on the town sucking back nitrogen triiodides, sure.
posted by flabdablet at 10:57 AM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
If they've been out on the town sucking back nitrogen triiodides, sure.
posted by flabdablet at 10:57 AM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
Spiders use hydraulic pressure to do a lot of things, including moving their legs
The legs of spiders move using a combination of the hydraulic pressure of body fluid and muscle flex.posted by jamjam at 12:08 PM on September 13, 2022
Smaller spiders (usually those weighing under 3g) use a hydraulic catapult method to move around and catch prey, whereas larger spiders (those weighing over 3g) rely on a combination of a hydraulic catapult and muscle-based contraction.
That posted way before I was ready.
Here is a discussion of fluid pressure mechanisms in spiders, and here is a report of recording a pressure of 480 mm Hg in a tarantula, which is roughly 4X normal resting human blood pressure.
So it seems entirely conceivable they could explode under stress, and in particular when you drop them, they’d probably extend their legs, and then when they hit, there would be a big spike in the back pressure as the legs flex against the pressure exerted by the spider, and that would seem to be an ideal situation to generate an explosion.
posted by jamjam at 12:24 PM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
Here is a discussion of fluid pressure mechanisms in spiders, and here is a report of recording a pressure of 480 mm Hg in a tarantula, which is roughly 4X normal resting human blood pressure.
So it seems entirely conceivable they could explode under stress, and in particular when you drop them, they’d probably extend their legs, and then when they hit, there would be a big spike in the back pressure as the legs flex against the pressure exerted by the spider, and that would seem to be an ideal situation to generate an explosion.
posted by jamjam at 12:24 PM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
Spiders use hydraulic pressure to do a lot of things, including moving their legs
Replacing the seals on all 32 of those tiny little rams is the fiddliest job in the world.
posted by flabdablet at 12:25 PM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
Replacing the seals on all 32 of those tiny little rams is the fiddliest job in the world.
posted by flabdablet at 12:25 PM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
Necrobotic spiders - turns dead spiders into robotic grippers, taking advantage of spiders' biological hydraulic system.
posted by porpoise at 12:37 PM on September 13, 2022
posted by porpoise at 12:37 PM on September 13, 2022
I wonder whether they use a sudden spike in pressure to make their abdomens pop out (not pop open!) and launch the cloud of urticating hairs into the air — where they end up penetrating and sticking out of your corneas.
I was imagining an electrostatic mechanism.
posted by jamjam at 12:44 PM on September 13, 2022
I was imagining an electrostatic mechanism.
posted by jamjam at 12:44 PM on September 13, 2022
Bad Example, interviews are often just a chance to check if the person seems to a. Match their resume and b. Have decent vibes for working with your team. A good interviewer will also understand that you are nervous and not hold it against you so long as you do answer the question. Good luck!!
posted by emjaybee at 1:19 PM on September 13, 2022
posted by emjaybee at 1:19 PM on September 13, 2022
I've only been on Metafilter for... maybe a year? And I plain forgot about it for quite some time. But it's been interesting! I still haven't quite figured out how it's shaped. Work in progress.
Last week I learned that some rat owners & breeders sincerely believe that dwarf rats can't get tumors. At all. (Some of them claim that they can't get malignant tumors, which is a peculiar sort of distinction.) Animal people can get very strange. The fact that domestic rats are one of the most studied animals on the planet cuts this back a little bit, but not nearly enough.
posted by kkar at 1:51 PM on September 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
Last week I learned that some rat owners & breeders sincerely believe that dwarf rats can't get tumors. At all. (Some of them claim that they can't get malignant tumors, which is a peculiar sort of distinction.) Animal people can get very strange. The fact that domestic rats are one of the most studied animals on the planet cuts this back a little bit, but not nearly enough.
posted by kkar at 1:51 PM on September 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
I dropped a tarantula once - I picked him up with a stick and frightened my sister and she pushed the stick with her hand and it fell off. It ran away frightened. I was probably 5'6" or so at the time, so it fell that far. It was probably 5" or 6" inches in circumference so not tiny either.
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:01 PM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:01 PM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
I promised to stop commenting in free threads using song lyrics. But, the song One Man's Prayer has been a frustratingly persistent ear worm all week for me. It's a surprisingly sympathetic first person narrative from a creepy incel, sung by a feminist woman. It also includes many very specific references to older songs from a different perspective. It's not my favorite song; not this year, and not even on this album (which is great). But, it sure does resonate.
I doubt it hits nearly so hard for people who can't easily imagine their 13 year old selves going that way. (The "be afraid of me" part is foreign and strange. The rest of is entirely composed of things I probably said in junior high.) As a non-biological "uncle" to five boys approaching puberty. . . I'm wondering how to steer them in the right direction. I think my escape from that future was due to very kind and incredibly patient friends who were girls. That's a hard thing to teach.
posted by eotvos at 2:20 PM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
I doubt it hits nearly so hard for people who can't easily imagine their 13 year old selves going that way. (The "be afraid of me" part is foreign and strange. The rest of is entirely composed of things I probably said in junior high.) As a non-biological "uncle" to five boys approaching puberty. . . I'm wondering how to steer them in the right direction. I think my escape from that future was due to very kind and incredibly patient friends who were girls. That's a hard thing to teach.
posted by eotvos at 2:20 PM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
Yesterday, I started writing an AskMe about how to make friends. I got tangled up in how to word it and gave up.
Today, somebody I really can't stand* asked me if I wanted to go for drinks sometime.
I thought about doing an AskMe on how to get out of it. Then it struck me that if I'd posted the first one I would basically be saying, Help me make friends! No, not like that! and everyone would say, make friends with her! And, um, no. So I do not think I will post either question.
she's not just very gossipy, overstrung and annoying, I could handle that - she's also very work political and I do not want to get roped into more work politics than I already am, thank you very much. And her husband, who also works here, is a climate change denying serious piece of work and, just, no, I can't go there.
posted by mygothlaundry at 4:15 PM on September 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
Today, somebody I really can't stand* asked me if I wanted to go for drinks sometime.
I thought about doing an AskMe on how to get out of it. Then it struck me that if I'd posted the first one I would basically be saying, Help me make friends! No, not like that! and everyone would say, make friends with her! And, um, no. So I do not think I will post either question.
she's not just very gossipy, overstrung and annoying, I could handle that - she's also very work political and I do not want to get roped into more work politics than I already am, thank you very much. And her husband, who also works here, is a climate change denying serious piece of work and, just, no, I can't go there.
posted by mygothlaundry at 4:15 PM on September 13, 2022 [3 favorites]
@mygothlaundry no, you have to have standards; getting tangled up in work politics + a coworker/spouse you ALSO hate is a toxic stink bomb of nope.
I would maybe suggest a local hobby group or meetup or something. Or perhaps an exciting afternoon of licking public toilets. Anything but a Corrosive Work Pest.
posted by kkar at 4:48 PM on September 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
I would maybe suggest a local hobby group or meetup or something. Or perhaps an exciting afternoon of licking public toilets. Anything but a Corrosive Work Pest.
posted by kkar at 4:48 PM on September 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
In a work career of (gulp!) over 30 years, although some of my coworkers became casual acquaintances, I have never regretted limiting myself to making friends with people outside of work. Too many reasons to avoid work friendships, and not enough reasons to pursue them.
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:50 PM on September 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:50 PM on September 13, 2022 [2 favorites]
Unfortunately I have no such seasoned wisdom to offer regarding tarantulas.
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:51 PM on September 13, 2022
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:51 PM on September 13, 2022
Mygothlaundry, your scenario is how dating goes for me: only the guys I am the most Not Into want me.
I note that if you do a search on how to make friends on Ask, there is a treasure trove.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:28 PM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
I note that if you do a search on how to make friends on Ask, there is a treasure trove.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:28 PM on September 13, 2022 [1 favorite]
Shyly stepping late into the thread to spruik the Decluttering Cure in IRL meetups (although it is entirely online). Starts Monday!
posted by happyfrog at 4:40 AM on September 14, 2022
posted by happyfrog at 4:40 AM on September 14, 2022
I have no such seasoned wisdom to offer regarding tarantulas.
Bosses can explode if you drop them.
posted by flabdablet at 6:11 AM on September 14, 2022 [2 favorites]
Bosses can explode if you drop them.
posted by flabdablet at 6:11 AM on September 14, 2022 [2 favorites]
After 52 years on earth going without ever getting an ear infection at all, I am dealing with one now.
It's dealable and I am on antibiotics and it should be fine, but because it is my first ever time with an ear infection I am permitting myself to be an enormous baby about it. That is all.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:55 AM on September 14, 2022 [3 favorites]
It's dealable and I am on antibiotics and it should be fine, but because it is my first ever time with an ear infection I am permitting myself to be an enormous baby about it. That is all.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:55 AM on September 14, 2022 [3 favorites]
I"m extremely irritated at the valorization of the Queen of England (I know, no surprises here at Mefi), but I'm particularly irked that the US is flying the flag at half-mast out of "respect" for her. As an American citizen, I am disgusted.
EmpressCallipygos, ear infections are PAINFUL. It's just that usually children get them, so we shame them into not complaining about them, but whenever an adult gets one, that's when we (doctors, healthcare workers, parents) actually realize they are incredibly painful. I'm very sorry.
I am home sick today because I received my bivalent covid vax yesterday, but so glad I received it. Where shall I order takeout from for lunch?!
posted by honey badger at 8:08 AM on September 14, 2022
EmpressCallipygos, ear infections are PAINFUL. It's just that usually children get them, so we shame them into not complaining about them, but whenever an adult gets one, that's when we (doctors, healthcare workers, parents) actually realize they are incredibly painful. I'm very sorry.
I am home sick today because I received my bivalent covid vax yesterday, but so glad I received it. Where shall I order takeout from for lunch?!
posted by honey badger at 8:08 AM on September 14, 2022
Thanks, honey badger - the irony is that it's not actually painful. I just started feeling like my ear was clogged up over Labor Day weekend, and went to urgent care and they scraped...this stuff out of it, flushed it out with water, and sent me home with some eardrops. They said they wanted to hold off on the antibiotics just in case the eardrops alone did the trick. But then it clogged up again, I went back, and they said "gotcha, here's the antibiotics."
The only discomfort came when my allergies kicked in and my sinuses got into the party and my already-sensitive ear now had that to deal with. And actually my bigger issue is that everyone is telling me to go see an ENT sometime within the next 7 days to make sure it's healing okay, but everyone is booked up through to mid-October. Hmpf.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:30 AM on September 14, 2022
The only discomfort came when my allergies kicked in and my sinuses got into the party and my already-sensitive ear now had that to deal with. And actually my bigger issue is that everyone is telling me to go see an ENT sometime within the next 7 days to make sure it's healing okay, but everyone is booked up through to mid-October. Hmpf.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:30 AM on September 14, 2022
stepping late into the thread to spruik the Decluttering Cure
I learned a new word today!
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:12 AM on September 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
I learned a new word today!
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:12 AM on September 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
Wait, is that why the flags are at half-mast? Oh, fuck that noise.
The tarantula was the one animal I wouldn't handle at the children's museum where I worked, as I was worried about breaking her.
posted by DebetEsse at 12:20 PM on September 14, 2022
The tarantula was the one animal I wouldn't handle at the children's museum where I worked, as I was worried about breaking her.
posted by DebetEsse at 12:20 PM on September 14, 2022
We had a tarantula as our class pet in school. And necessarily also mice, because baby mice were her favorite food. I don't remember her being particularly vulnerable, but on the other hand we naturally handled her with care. You shouldn't throw or drop your pets, and if the pet is a tarantula, people really pay attention.
I don't know who took her home when we graduated, but I feel someone did, rather than our biology teacher taking over the responsibility.
Today has been a bit of a struggle because of long COVID, but late in the day, I found a craving for spag bol, and I went down and bought minced meat. I made the original certified bolognese recipe, which takes at least three hours, because I wasn't really hungry. Then I cooked linguine, because it is my favorite pasta shape, and had a delicious portion. Yummy. I wouldn't have wanted the more authentic egg pastas. Now I have enough sauce for a whole family sized lasagna. But it freezes well.
While cooking, I realized that it was really a nostalgia for Monday nights at my paternal grans'. After my parents gave up on immigration and we moved back, I spent every single Monday night with my gran, and she would always make spaghetti with a minced meat sauce. The spaghetti was put into a pot of cold water and then cooked at least thirty minutes. Meanwhile, minced meat was combined with onions and tomato paste to form a sauce. Obviously, it was served with grated cheese that tasted like vomit. I can't say I was ever impressed. Part of our immigration voyage had taken us to Italy, and I had a clear sense of Italian food. But there were so many other lovely things about Mondays with gran. I learnt to knit and embroider. We talked about everything in the universe. Her apartment was so nice and had a lovely smell. She tried to teach me to smoke, but since she started me up with Gauloises, she failed in that. She succeeded with dark, bitter chocolate.
Thursday nights were at my maternal grans' and that was a whole different story. She was an amazing cook and could make everything restaurant grade. Except bread. I learnt to bake because she couldn't and she sometimes needed home made breads.
I think the reason this came up in my mind is that a lot of my students have grown up in multigenerational family situations, and I get it, though I don't look like I would get it. Even today, my adult daughter and her boyfriend are living here and it is lovely.
posted by mumimor at 1:08 PM on September 14, 2022 [4 favorites]
I don't know who took her home when we graduated, but I feel someone did, rather than our biology teacher taking over the responsibility.
Today has been a bit of a struggle because of long COVID, but late in the day, I found a craving for spag bol, and I went down and bought minced meat. I made the original certified bolognese recipe, which takes at least three hours, because I wasn't really hungry. Then I cooked linguine, because it is my favorite pasta shape, and had a delicious portion. Yummy. I wouldn't have wanted the more authentic egg pastas. Now I have enough sauce for a whole family sized lasagna. But it freezes well.
While cooking, I realized that it was really a nostalgia for Monday nights at my paternal grans'. After my parents gave up on immigration and we moved back, I spent every single Monday night with my gran, and she would always make spaghetti with a minced meat sauce. The spaghetti was put into a pot of cold water and then cooked at least thirty minutes. Meanwhile, minced meat was combined with onions and tomato paste to form a sauce. Obviously, it was served with grated cheese that tasted like vomit. I can't say I was ever impressed. Part of our immigration voyage had taken us to Italy, and I had a clear sense of Italian food. But there were so many other lovely things about Mondays with gran. I learnt to knit and embroider. We talked about everything in the universe. Her apartment was so nice and had a lovely smell. She tried to teach me to smoke, but since she started me up with Gauloises, she failed in that. She succeeded with dark, bitter chocolate.
Thursday nights were at my maternal grans' and that was a whole different story. She was an amazing cook and could make everything restaurant grade. Except bread. I learnt to bake because she couldn't and she sometimes needed home made breads.
I think the reason this came up in my mind is that a lot of my students have grown up in multigenerational family situations, and I get it, though I don't look like I would get it. Even today, my adult daughter and her boyfriend are living here and it is lovely.
posted by mumimor at 1:08 PM on September 14, 2022 [4 favorites]
I just quit my volunteer job of 17 years and cleaned out all my cubbies. I feel extremely sad, not to mention worn out by hauling 5 bags of crap across half of campus to the nearest parking lot. I wish I wasn't quitting. They were very nice about it, but I can't really do theater and teach/work there at the same time any more and I'm obviously more on fire for theater since I'm finally being allowed to perform, so.... dammit, dammit, dammit.
I really should quit my gym membership too since I haven't been since July 2021 and I'm not sure if I'll ever return there in covid, either. And while I'm at it, return those Netflix DVD's (not kidding). I don't want to 100% quit those things even though I have 99% quit them, though. I only finally quit the job because they asked if I'm ever coming back and well... no :(
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:09 PM on September 14, 2022 [3 favorites]
I really should quit my gym membership too since I haven't been since July 2021 and I'm not sure if I'll ever return there in covid, either. And while I'm at it, return those Netflix DVD's (not kidding). I don't want to 100% quit those things even though I have 99% quit them, though. I only finally quit the job because they asked if I'm ever coming back and well... no :(
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:09 PM on September 14, 2022 [3 favorites]
And I just quit my gym membership. Can't deal with Netflix while at the office though :P
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:14 PM on September 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:14 PM on September 14, 2022 [1 favorite]
Hi! I'm a grown adult who is terrified of the dentist, like an asshole. Every time I go, I'm so desperate to leave, I will agree to essentially anything. Apparently, last time I agreed to adding the extraction of two of my wisdom teeth to today's visit. The pain feels like someone punched me in the head and everything is ringing.
Anyone want to share a picture of their dog? That fixes everything.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:39 PM on September 14, 2022 [4 favorites]
Anyone want to share a picture of their dog? That fixes everything.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:39 PM on September 14, 2022 [4 favorites]
Here's my dog Benton walking the picket line this week with my spouse, and then exhaustedly snoozing afterwards.
Bonus: Benton and my old lady Tribble think I should spend less time on the computer.
posted by sciatrix at 7:34 PM on September 14, 2022 [5 favorites]
Bonus: Benton and my old lady Tribble think I should spend less time on the computer.
posted by sciatrix at 7:34 PM on September 14, 2022 [5 favorites]
MORE PETS, LESS DISCORD!!!
posted by Windopaene at 7:39 PM on September 14, 2022
posted by Windopaene at 7:39 PM on September 14, 2022
Here''s a picture of my own pride and joy.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:44 PM on September 14, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:44 PM on September 14, 2022 [2 favorites]
That's a very clean joke.
posted by hippybear at 8:09 PM on September 14, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 8:09 PM on September 14, 2022 [4 favorites]
Ha, Greg_Ace, it's so much a part of my vocabulary I didn't even realise it was Australian slang! There ya go.
posted by happyfrog at 3:16 AM on September 15, 2022
posted by happyfrog at 3:16 AM on September 15, 2022
last time I agreed to adding the extraction of two of my wisdom teeth to today's visit. The pain feels like someone punched me in the head and everything is ringing.
Once the pain slacks off a bit, your tongue is going to want to poke around and suck at the places where that and the increasingly disgusting tastes are coming from.
Don't let it. You do not want a dry socket.
posted by flabdablet at 7:59 AM on September 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
Once the pain slacks off a bit, your tongue is going to want to poke around and suck at the places where that and the increasingly disgusting tastes are coming from.
Don't let it. You do not want a dry socket.
posted by flabdablet at 7:59 AM on September 15, 2022 [2 favorites]
Here is a picture of Alfie and a short clip of Alfie and Juno.
posted by flabdablet at 10:47 AM on September 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by flabdablet at 10:47 AM on September 15, 2022 [1 favorite]
I just met the new guy from IT and he is super cool. It occurs that while all these years at Metafilter has not really fully turned me into a computer nerd it has made me very nerd compatible and that has been such a huge gain in my life, thank you Metafilter!
posted by mygothlaundry at 11:07 AM on September 15, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by mygothlaundry at 11:07 AM on September 15, 2022 [4 favorites]
MetaFilter: it has made me very nerd compatible
posted by hippybear at 11:09 AM on September 15, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 11:09 AM on September 15, 2022 [4 favorites]
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posted by taz at 3:15 AM on September 12, 2022 [10 favorites]