Well I just did my interview for the position in the midwest. My answers to the questions felt very short. I can't say my heart was really in it since things are proceeding apace here and I'll be making several times what they could offer me.
1: Glad it went well, even if it also felt a bit superfluous.
On my end, not a lot new; I started a new roleplaying campaign yesterday that I'm looking forward to, and a separate board game group got together for the first time in a month. Both are on schedule to continue next week, so that feels good.
In late August, it looks like my wife's parents will make a trek out to join us, perhaps for a weekend or short week in Monterey.It should be 80% fine, with tablespoons of stress for my wife, as she keeps waiting for the turn -- the statement or assumption that'll be made to take the good-to-that-point visit and trash it.
lurid and kid are away visiting family for a few days, so I have the house to myself and thought I'd be just writing and puttering, but actually it's been crazy eventful because my best friend of several decades just decided to start her mtf transition and I've been talking her through it all. (Trans cooties, they're catching.) She lives a mile away - we took asynchronous Tucson-to-California paths that ended up in the same place - and, unfortunately, her spouse is much less accepting than mine was. So that's hard, and I don't know where it's going to end up. But the friend has such a light in her eyes right now.
Transition requires a glaucoma test.
It's great you are there for her and still making straight lines for me.
Pittsburgh is really a declining metro that suits me until I can retire to the Green Mountains.
With Jammies' family, and I had wishfully thunk myself into a state of quasi-denial that the most gross of some of their political inclinations might have waned over the past six months. But the 9 year old just announced "anyone who votes for JOE BIDEN is a stupid idiot!" and now I am retreating from common spaces. I hate the scale of the work that needs to be done to make things better.
3: ugh, I'm sorry this happy moment for her has to be marred like that. Glad you're there for her.
8: Maybe he meant in the early primary.
There's a funny thing about the psychology of having someone come out to you, in cases where they're really rocking the boat, which goes something like, "I'm finding out that you've been internally unhappy, and I kinda don't want to believe that, and now I can see external ways in which your life will have more visible friction, and I don't like that either." And if you just deny the former, then you can argue or reject the latter. I really think denial is one of the most dangerous coping mechanisms, (although we all do it some, and if we didn't, we'd lose our minds with despair).
At least Montana is much prettier than the gulf side of Houston. I honestly have never seen such vast industrial parks and chemical plants in my life. It looks weirdly futuristic, "this here's the acres of big white spheres, over there you got your giant corrugated snakes stretching for miles" so it's at least interesting to look at. I would have expected endless warehouses and less detail visible from the outside.
I don't have cancer, still/again!
I do have a lot of arthritis in my back that wasn't there before, but that seems more manageable.
I don't know what to say about arthritis. I'm pretty sure I have it in my hips now.
It could be something else because my hips might lie.
15: Yay!
I'm also headed to Montana (with nuclear family), and so excited even though Charley said we may be punched once we get there. Counting down the weeks (2).
Wait who's going to punch you?
Which part of Montana are you coming to?
The air is so gross here. Be warned.
My wrists and hands are so sore. Almost assuredly from biking a lot but the joint pain is bad today. Other than that, the air is gross with smoke and COVID cases are up.
22: Thank you for making that explicit.
23: Lolo is where our AirBNB is, so that's our base for exploring. We will get up to Glacier if we can. Charley sent a link to Missoula air quality and I am avoiding checking it but since we have red sunsets here in South Carolina from your smoke I figure it is not good. But we're going regardless.
23.1 I don't remember exactly, but it was in some thread here and tourists were going to get punched. We're going to keep a low profile.
it's not OUR smoke. Blame Oregon.
if you want to have a wading-in-a-river meetup or something let me know!
We floated Maclay (Bitterroot) to Kona (Clark Fork) on Saturday. Air was almost decent, rivers were low and slow. Several eagles, and that kingfisher sticking out his tongue that U posted on FB.
We floated Maclay (Bitterroot) to Kona (Clark Fork) on Saturday. Air was almost decent, rivers were low and slow. Several eagles, and that kingfisher sticking out his tongue that U posted on FB.
https://twitter.com/Bob_Wachter/status/1419515389893959683
Have you heard the battle cry of the unvaxxed? We will not be cowed by Covid!
I started my new job today! The first day was mostly virtual orientation over Teams (even though I was physically in the office), so that was annoying, but overall I'm liking the people and the setting a lot.
My wife went rafting with friends in Alberton Gorge today. River is low, but still exciting.
https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/996/main
That looks fun. We don't have so scenic of rivers, but we should go out kayaking.
13: Didjya ever see that book "The World Without Us"? There's a chapter on Houston, it's pretty crazy. That whole town could just blow up, it's so riddled with pipelines and stuff.
In Minnesota, all the cows will blow up because they won't be milked and a calf can only drink so much.
I mean, Texas cows will do the same. But it will be less noticeable because of the oil refineries blowing up.
In New York things just blow up because that's the city's way of saying fuck all you people.
Just resigned from my current job.
The Wire season > 1: watch/no watch? I liked season 1 but my mind was less than blown.
A little while ago I thought to myself I'd like a really good series about a RICO case, and it occurs to me that The Wire S1 may be the closest I get, which if true would be saddening.
44: Next step, steal office supplies.
46: "Little Caesar" was the end of Rico.
I just realized that the statute is named for a pun.
The consensus 15 years ago was that seasons 2 and 4 were the best, iirc. If you're still meh after season 2, you can probably stop. Another friend told me Treme was fantastic but for whatever reason no one watched it. That no one includes me.
I'd say 1 and 4 were best and if they did a journalist-free cut of 5 then that would probably be better than 1.
All well with me and now double vaccinated!
Treme is probably good if you're from there. I watched one episode and it completely failed to grab me.
51.2: That's good. I was wondering what the guidance was when you got Covid in between your vaccine doses.
51: Ajay makes a good point about 5. which had great stuff in it if you leave aside the major focus. I liked 3 and 4 best, but I thought 1 was great also. If memory serves, a lot of people didn't like the change of focus in 2, but I disagree. I am one of those boring people who will tell you that The Wire is the best television show ever.
I can understand 45 wanted to only anonymously admit they've only seen one season of the Wire and they didn't like it, but it is convention to go presidential.
It doesn't get radically better than season 1, so if you didn't like it I don't think you would like more of it. I would say 1, 3, and 4 are all equally good, and 2 and 5 are a step down.
I didn't buy McNulty's shift in 5 either, but, yeah, the journalism stuff was definitely the worst. I love 2.
55: I said I liked it, motherfucker. I just don't think it was no Great Fucking American Telenovela.
"Young Sheldon" is the Great Fucking American Telenovela. We don't deserve better.
I liked Treme a lot, and I'm not from there.
I still haven't watched season five, because looking at television on my own seems wrong and self-indulgent to me and Ume doesn't like the violence and the darkness, but up till then it had some really unforgettable moments. I think season two was just about perfect.
Call My Agent, on Netflix, is wonderful. American standards of physical beauty don't apply; all the actors are spoiled children, and all the agents fucked up machiavellians. It's a real ensemble show, with no single hero(ine) or villain and the whole cast is obviously having so much fun taking the piss out of their own business. It's also really tightly scripted, with delicious clockwork. Good for your French, too.
60: I love Call My Agent, though I think the French name "Dix Pour Cent" is better. I thought it was cancelled, but I just googled, and it's coming back!
Yay for no cancer! Yay for new job!
I've been in a bad procrastination-paralysis trap for a few weeks, and I really really really need to break out of it, because we're going on vacation in 1.5 weeks and I really don't want to ruin that. Ugh.
Also, it looks like we're going to have this situation where we will have owned the new apartment from early June, renovation work will start mid-August and be done except for the kitchen in September, but we won't have a kitchen until November. And some of that was me being stupid about coordinating stuff. Arrrghh.
Oh, God. Unfortunate and harshly punished X. We had only two months of renovation horror, and a kitchen through almost all of them. But almost everything that comes afterwards will seem fine.
Oh, God. Unfortunate and harshly punished X. We had only two months of renovation horror, and a kitchen through almost all of them. But almost everything that comes afterwards will seem fine.
We need to redo the kitchen and the bathroom. But I'm afraid to deal with it, so we have not.
This is a good place to ask for advice, right? I'm looking for a new hobby. I must be able to do it at home at all hours, ideally for $15/month or less. It must be able to keep me busy both for 15-minute breaks between work or chores, and for 3-hour intense challenging sessions. I'll do PvP now and then but prefer solo or co-op stuff. If groups are required, pick-up groups must be easy to find - scheduled stable commitments would be a problem.
Also, the creators/developers/owners shouldn't revere Bill Cosby.
This meets none of your guidelines, but I'm going to suggest building a boat from a kit.
70: Not sure if you're joking or not, but from what little I know of it, it's worth considering. Thanks.
I'm looking for a new hobby. I must be able to do it at home at all hours, ideally for $15/month or less. It must be able to keep me busy both for 15-minute breaks between work or chores, and for 3-hour intense challenging sessions.
It's unlikely to be the answer you're looking for, but what about cardistry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardistry
I have a "Legacy 40" badge, which is the functional equivalent of being a Long Marcher.
Today is the last day for me to go get a covid shot out of state, to booster the J&J, and I'm realizing that I'm super nervous about feeling like shit and how much I DON'T want to do this. argh.
I promised my mom that I'd do it for her birthday present. And I know intellectually as Delta surges this fall, I'll be glad I did.
What are all the mitigation strategies again? and how long until people start feeling awful? Last time it kicked in overnight for me.
74: Salute, comrade. I need 10M more XP to hit Level 50 and then maybe I'll have to start paying attention to my kids or something..
76: I just took a nap and skipped exercise for the day after.
Learn to read and write Chinese? Ideograms are super interesting. Pleco is the best ios/android app apparently, I like it.
I enjoyed Tom Jones a lot last year, that took a few months. Dead Souls is up next after I finish some other things I started in the interim. Other older people go in for reading history, which I also like doing a lot. Figure drawing? I make occasional halfhearted attempts to improve, but momentum never gathers.
Anyway, my side effects started almost 24 hours after my second shot and were minor. Like not minor enough that watching four kids would have been fun, but minor enough that I worked the full day.
67: To be fair, in 2013 I think Cosby was merely understood to be a serial rapist. It wasn't like he was charged with any crimes by the authorities.
Fortnite might be your game. A long game lasts 20-25 minutes.
76: Tylenol and 12 hours for me.
Fucking hell, Scouse Pete died suddenly in Cyprus, his wife Karen is still there trying to figure out how to repatriate his body to the UK without having to sending it first to Arrakis. Some of my friends are there with her but it's such a hell of a thing. He had bad legs and then a bad fall there and resisted going to the doctor's for about a week until it was too late.
I got J&J and am wondering how I can go get a Pfizer shot. You'll be glad you did.
done!
The actual shot hurt WAY less than the J&J shot.
Megan, any opportunity to go out of state?
(I will also say that the giddiness and excitement was missing, this time around.)
86: I had a bizarre experience with Moderna No. 2. My arm hurt so much that I couldn't sleep that night -- eventually got up and took some ibuprofen, which did the trick. But it hurt like hell. That never happens to me.
I had minor side effects from Moderna #2. Hydrated a ton, sore arm, some fatigue. I worked from home that day but probably would have been fine if I'd gone in. AJ was more fatigued, ended up resting for a couple of hours the following evening.
But yay!! I think it's a good call.
My son was pretty conked out after his second Pfizer shot. I guess because of his vibrant immune system.
I suppose I could drive to Reno. Through the wildfires.
I suppose I could drive to Reno. Through the wildfires.
I suppose I could drive to Reno. Through the wildfires.
What did the pharmacy say to the request for a booster? Wouldn't they see the insurance record of the original shot, and decline to do something for which there's no guidance ?
Or is claiming to be uninsured a necessary step so there's no attempt to look up a record ?
I learned today that the sore arm is a necessary part of the vaccines' efficacy. If cells just express the spike protein that's not terribly immunogenic. However if some number of cells die at the injection site and stimulate an immune response, that boosts the recognition and generation of immunity to the viral protein. This suggests that SARS protein-only vaccines don't work great.
My mother-in-law just let it drop that her best friend's son-in-law is Don Johnson.
95: I lied about having had it. Then when they asked for my insurance card, I was caught offguard and got really nervous about getting caught. They typed in my insurance info and didn't say anything one way or another. It's possible I'll just get billed for it.
I find lying and worrying about getting caught in a lie to be SO uncomfortable. I had my back up lie all ready to go: "yes, I signed up for an appointment back in April and gave my insurance info, and then chickened out when I got there. Idk why they charged my insurance."
98: You could go to a public clinic for the j and j with no insurance snd then just sign up for Moderna and Pfizer using your insurance.
I've had the J&J, months ago. I'm assuming that they check the state registry.
Anyone can sign up as "Clifford Chance" if they dress like a lawyer.
99: do you want me to get another J&J?
72: You've learned all of the lessons in love?
84 sounds strange and dreadful. Who was this guy, and why should waiting a week after a bad fall kill you?
102: no. But I mean, I'd take the j and j if I were at a public clinic unidientified and knew they didn't have my insurance and mayhem go to a drug store. 2 j and j is better than 1 but J and J plus Pfizer seems to be better.
104 He and his wife are part of a group of drinking buddies here. I hadn't seen him since before the pandemic but someone told me last time he saw him he had health problems with his legs.
"Scouse Paul" is how I'm going to refer to the guy from the Beatles.
Started to feel awful in the middle of the night. Woke up and took some ibuprofen and feel a little better at the moment. So far it's tracking like last time, but I'm more on top of taking ibuprofen for it.
I got J&J in Germany, and a Moderna top-up at a Walgreens in TX. My German insurance information only confused them, so they put me down as uninsured and stuck me up. I didn't mention the war the previous inoculation.
The J&J pretty much wiped me out for two days. With the Moderna, I felt kinda achy and fevery the next day, but a blanket and a nap set me right.
108: are you going to get a 2nd Pfizer or show up in some system as someone who didn't complete the series?
108: Glad the ibuprofen is doing the trick, and hope that your immune response is vigorous (without wiping you out).
I know tracking this stuff is messy, and the numbers are from different sources, but thanks to the current unpleasantness I found myself looking up the vaccination statistics for Provincetown, MA (a college friend of mine was one of the unlucky vaccinated-breakthrough-hospitalized cases from the recent outbreak there).
The state data reports that 3014 out of 2583 residents are fully vaccinated, or 117%.
110: I haven't decided! And I don't know if I'd be able to anyway, once I'm back in Texas.
109: did you get the 2nd shot?
For those keeping score at home, this indicates that NSO sells to non-US approved autocrats too.
Maybe that was Trump trying to sell beans.
Admitted to the hospital for an abscess and about to go under the knife in about two hours
Yikes indeed! Post something as soon as you're able, to tell us you're all right.
I successfully crossed a border with the EU coronavirus passport. It was very hard.
oh no barry! as soon as you are able, let us know how you are. sending warm healing vibes ...
I'm out of surgery. Feeling a bit groggy
Thanks for checking in. Hope you recover quickly.
Thanks for the update; I hope your recovery goes smoothly.
Jesus, Barry! Glad your commenting powers came out intact.
Barry, welcome back. I'm glad it went well.
Glad you made it, Barry!
Glad you made it, Walt!
I'm opening an Instant Pot for the first time. Very dramatic.
All that steam but it's still just chicken and rice.
To be fair, chicken and rice is what I put in the pot.
If I keep killing little moths in the house, does that mean I have moth-hive that I need to find? Should I be worried about my wool?
My suit from 1996 is at the dry cleaner, but my new suit is home.
If they're near the kitchen, I'd worry about your cereal/pasta/pancake mix. Whatever sits in your cupboard and doesn't get used fast.
The wine glasses that aren't dishwasher safe?
I've now mastered making pancakes from flour, not pancake mix.
It's kind of alarming how many partially used bags of flour are in this house.
Discharged from the hospital but when I got home the waterproof bandage they put on came off in the shower.
Barry, glad you're OK.
Saw this linked elsewhere and it's a nice summary on media failures regarding the new CDC guidance/breakthrough cases:
https://mobile.twitter.com/RottenInDenmark/status/1421476029416284163
It's so irresponsible not to provide appropriate context.
139: Hug a nearly empty bag of pastry flour that you think must be five years old.
141.2: Yeah, and Axios is there to ding the Biden administration.
The Biden administration's handling of the Delta surge has left Americans confused and frustrated, fueling media overreaction and political manipulation.
Of course, there are a lot of valid criticisms of the admin (and CDC in particular) but the deflection on "media overreaction" is classic. Also nothing in the article supports the assertion that the admin's handling has left people "confused and frustrated."
There certainly is a lot of confusion and frustration with multiple causes. All of this tough. And I would say almost impossible to navigate in our current bad faith environment. But media has proven utterly incapable of providing perspective on good faith efforts to address the changing realities of something like a pandemic.. Or even something like fucking Ebola (which panic did not help one little bit in the dreadful 2014 mid terms).