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CynthiaW's avatar

Precocious.

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CynthiaW's avatar

The youths' presentations were an outstanding success. The hair was a modest success. Adrielle says, "No, it's supposed to be a high bun!" "I can't!" says Mary Frances. "She has an undercut!"

The one boy on their team smirked.

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Jay Janney's avatar

Katie cut my hair Sunday, really short, so the top is almost standing up. I have to brush it down. OTOH, it's low maintenance on my part! When the dogs were puppies, they used to fight to catch little locks floating to the floor, assuming I had dropped more food. Now, they just roll out of the way, then snooze.

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CynthiaW's avatar

We used have our hairdresser - one of the moms from Cub Scouts - come over and cut all our hair in the kitchen. She moved away, so now we have to go out.

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Jay Janney's avatar

I've been spoiled--only been to a barber 4 or 5 times in my life. Mom was a beautician, so she did mine until her stroke. My MIL Janet then began doing it until I married Katie, when her Mom began cutting my hair (she was a beautician as well). After she died Katie took over cutting my hair.

Once a month I pull up a chair in the kitchen, and Katie trims it.

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C C Writer's avatar

Over on a mothership KDW thread, I ventured to note a misspelled word ("harpsicords"). The exchange that followed was short--so I offer a simplified version here--but somewhat interesting in that he took a correction as a favor:

* * * * *

C C Writer

Harpsichords, with a second h. Not a type of corduroy pants for people who play the harp.

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Jo Jijive

Not a type of corduroy pants for people who play the harp.

Do they have those???

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C C Writer Jo Jijive

I wouldn't rule out the possibility that someone will start making those now.

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JohnM.

You're nearing Jay Janney territory, there, CC.

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C C Writer

I'm packaging my correction with a smile, so KDW won't be mad at me.

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kevin Staff

I'm never mad about an actual correction,. Always view it as someone doing me a favor. And that's one of those words I always misspell. I should just assume it is wrong every time I write it.

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LucyTrice's avatar

Good morning!

In case you haven't heard, Fort Bragg is back.

It is now named after Roland Bragg, a WWII recipient of the Silver Star and Purple Heart stationed there during the war.

The mayor of Fayetteville had this to say:

" Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin told WRAL News he was surprised by the about face on the name change, adding the order from Hegseth seemed to contradict the administration's commitment to efficiency and cost savings."

https://www.wral.com/news/local/sec-defense-renames-fort-liberty-bragg-feb-2025/

I really don't know what I think about it.

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Jay Janney's avatar

We have a similar issue on campus. There are two student neighborhoods: the Dark Side (north) and the Ghetto (South). Our latest president renamed them "student neighborhood North" and "Student neighborhood South". Everyone still calls them by their original nicknames. every other year some entrepreneurs will sell t-shirts with those names on them. Students buy them, the admin grits its teeth.

But government is polarized right now: everyone is looking for a means to oppose their opponents, on whatever reason. If Trump walked on water the Dems would argue he can't swim. I'm just surprised Dems haven't done the obvious and remind everyone Trump went to Wharton, so he's never won an SEC championship...

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IncognitoG's avatar

It’s a good point, if you think about it: After suffering through an administration with two non-Ivy grads at the top, we’re back to an all-Ivy Prez/Veep team. Fwiw… hooray?

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LucyTrice's avatar

"Never won an SEC championship " - good one!

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Jay Janney's avatar

I got that from a twitter troll named "3 year letterman". His favorite insult is to tell someone they've won zero SEC championships. The other is "they never lettered in" (followed by an expletive). I shouldn't, but I find him amusing. My favorite was when AOC tweeted "Expand the Court!" and he responded "Basketball games are already too low scoring"....

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IncognitoG's avatar

Crazy to think those changes cost in the single-digit millions. If they intend to keep switching back and forth between parties, maybe this is the way to go for naming mil/gov facilities:

https://www.amazon.com/SmartSign-Quick-Load-Message-Sidewalk-Roadside/dp/B07HHJBLYB/ref=sr_1_6

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C C Writer's avatar

I'm thinking that a part of my coping/civil disobedience strategy may be to take the position "I don't really know what to think about it, and as a matter of fact I'm not going to give them the satisfaction of seeing me take a position one way or the other, because it's just their way of occupying space in my head and distracting from the real problems with what they're doing."

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LucyTrice's avatar

My husband thought it was hysterical and I can see his point (the reversion; we didn't discuss the cost). But this is lives, fortunes and sacred honor territory. I wonder what Roland Bragg's family thinks about it.

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C C Writer's avatar

Perhaps it's what the family thinks that counts.

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Stephanie Walker's avatar

I think the honorable thing for them to do would be to decline it with thanks.

They could even add that it always embarrassed them to have the same last name as the Confederate it was originally named after.

And that there were countless other soldiers like their loved one who were not named Bragg, who would’ve been equally deserving of the honor, which their loved one got not for his role in history but because of his last name.

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C C Writer's avatar

I'm not going to project any of my own attitudes onto them. They have a right to think whatever they think.

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Stephanie Walker's avatar

Yep, but the view of members of the public, like me, matters, too!

And there’s the whole concept of “stolen valor.” That’s not something I invented.

The whole thing smacks of fraudulence.

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DougAz's avatar

On the whole Energy discussion, where most are focused on source generation type, I wonder what you know about large electrical transformers?

Having worked at BigCorp where the largest were once made, I had a wee bit of exposure. Big problem back there were the Endocrine disruptive PCB, or Polychlorinated Biphenyls.

https://open.substack.com/pub/chinatalk/p/gridlocked-transformer-shortage-choking

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polychlorinated_biphenyl

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Phil H's avatar

The transformer assessment is sobering, But I don't see what PCBs have to do with transformers. PCBs are a wholly different issue.

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DougAz's avatar

PCB oils were the dielectric used in large and medium transformers. Polluted the Housatonic and other rivers. This caused in part, GE to exit the business. Which had run for about a century

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IncognitoG's avatar

Robert Bryce has been reporting on that for several years, based on what he hears from industry insiders. He used to report on a constant shortage in linemen, and not enough in training to meet demand.

It’s a big issue that flies in the face of the electrify-everything idealism. There’s insufficient copper production, too.

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DougAz's avatar

This is the consequence of separation of long term ultra big capex facility generation (ROI in decades) from ultra short term service (ROI by quarter)

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Mark  Bowman's avatar

Spectral tarsier. Also known as Gollums? For confirmation I point you to: "The babies are precious". (I may have read that quote a little fast. Not sure).

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BikerChick's avatar

I’d put them in the “not cute” category. Has anyone seen the video of the deep sea anglerfish that was swimming near the surface? Oh my that is the ugliest, weirdest looking fish ever.

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IncognitoG's avatar

Corrected the authorship on the main article… Sorry, Cynthia!

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CynthiaW's avatar

No prob, didn't even notice.

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The original Optimum.net's avatar

Pretty cold up here in the Rockies: 19 degrees. Some fresh snow headed our way later today---maybe 1", maybe 8". I hope its not 8". We Eastern skiers don't do all that well with that much powder. You are probably thinking, "thoughts and prayers"...

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John M.'s avatar

We hope to get some of that in SW Colorado. The wetter, the better.

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The original Optimum.net's avatar

Where are you in CO? We are at Copper, where we come every year.

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BikerChick's avatar

Jealous! Copper is the best!

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The original Optimum.net's avatar

I like it a lot. Easy to get to, any kind of terrain you want to ski. On my ikon pass so I don’t pay extra. I could go to other mountains, and I have, but I really like it here so we come back. 6 years in a row.

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John M.'s avatar

Down by Durango. Almost a world away, meteorologically speaking.

Have fun and enjoy your trip!

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IncognitoG's avatar

At 8 inches and above, I suppose it’s less like skiing, and more like avalanche surfing.

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Kurt's avatar

I've boarded in thigh to waist deep powder. It's more like super soft turns off the tail. The feeling is unreal, like floating. It's actually hard to build up speed unless you're on extremely steep slopes. Double black diamond is not my terrain. The "danger" for me is getting slowed down to where you stop, and then you sink up to your waist. Getting going again is extremely hard. First, you have to pack down a big area around you just so you can stand up and move. By then, you're exhausted and just want to get to the bottom.

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IncognitoG's avatar

Have you tried cross-country snowboarding? Axing for a friend.

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Kurt's avatar

I didn’t know there was such a thing. I’ve run trails in Jackson Hole where you boarded downhill for several miles on a very shallow grade, but cross country…(?)…there’s no way to propel yourself on flat ground on a snowboard without taking one foot out of the binding and pushing like on a skateboard.

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IncognitoG's avatar

I might have been joking. 🙃

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Kurt's avatar

I wondered about that….color me dense.

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The original Optimum.net's avatar

Don't know and hopefully never will...

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The original Optimum.net's avatar

They look like extras in the movie Gremlins.

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Kurt's avatar

Exactly. I knew I recognized them from somewhere.

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DougAz's avatar

Hello all ! 55F, winds expected today. Winds = Fire risks :(

My wife loved the "bush baby" - which we saw during our 4 week 86-87 Safari (Dec 7 to like Jan 7th). It was at the Mt. Kenya Safari Club (think Richard Holden et al), on the equator at Mt. Kenya. They had a small conservation zoo. Eland, Bongo, century old Galapagos turtle -- It was included the tour by the "old, not branded" Abercrombie and Fitch out of London.

Bush Baby !

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Phil H's avatar

Good morning. 31 degrees here, maybe getting to the mid 30s. The professional guessers have pushed back the rain forecast to tomorrow.

The mothership is reporting on the logistics bottlenecks of the deportation effort, resulting in Trump (despite showy reports) not deporting many more illegal than did Biden or Obama. The FP is headlining Trump’s threat to Hamas of “Free the hostages or all Hell will break out.” What Trump fails to realize is that Hamas are masters of dealing out Hell.

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Kurt's avatar

母船...mǔ chuán Mother Ship.

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IncognitoG's avatar

Rumor has it that Trump’s bluster has had a “chilling effect” on would-be illegal border crossers, and supposedly their numbers have been on the decline since the election. There have also been semi-Trump-friendly reports that “self-deporting” increased over the same period.

Not sure how true it is, although it would certainly make sense. You would expect the contrast to the Obama/Biden public communications about illegal entry to make a real difference.

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Kurt's avatar

That is one weird looking little monkey.

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Phil H's avatar

Technically (according to taxonomy) not a monkey.

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Kurt's avatar

Yeah, I know, but it's still one weird looking little monkey.

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CynthiaW's avatar

Yes. Some of them have terrifying ghoul teeth, too.

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Ann Robinson's avatar

I vote for not cute at all.

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CynthiaW's avatar

Good morning, everyone. Happy Trash Day and Envirothon Day!

Teams involving Son F and Daughter D will be doing presentations about our service projects to, among others, representatives of Monroe Parks and Rec and the County Soil and Water District. D's team captain is going to style D's hair to look Official, and I have loaned her some of my mother's clothes (black pants, blue knit blouse), which is a little weird, but it's what we have.

The weathers are 30s and rainy all day. Unnngh.

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Jay Janney's avatar

I sure hope the District doesn't soil itself listening to all those presentations!

I hope it went well for F and D.

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Ann Robinson's avatar

I'd love to see a pic of “Official Hair!"

I have a pic of my little red-headed granddaughter presenting as Rosa Parks.

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Kurt's avatar

I wish we could put up photos in here. I'd like to see that.

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Ann Robinson's avatar

It's pretty funny!

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CynthiaW's avatar

D's typical look is, "You can't prove I didn't brush it."

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BikerChick's avatar

Are your kids curlies? My son and oldest daughter have my curls but the middle daughter has her dad’s straight hair.

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CynthiaW's avatar

Some have curly hair, especially Sheldon. Others not.

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Ann Robinson's avatar

Haha - i love your kids!

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CynthiaW's avatar

So do I, in a *facepalm* sorta way.

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Ann Robinson's avatar

From my distance they are hilarious!

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IncognitoG's avatar

Morning! We’re going to suspend Trash Day so as to enjoy the next 18 hours of snow the weather planners have gifted us.

Best of luck with Envirothon and the presentations.

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C C Writer's avatar

I took my trash and recyclables and compostable food waste down to the various dumpsters in the alley yesterday. It's up to somebody else to decide when to pick that stuff up, but I wanted to get it out of my dwelling unit while the exterior stairs were clear.

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IncognitoG's avatar

I’m sure the trash truck drivers won’t be venturing down side roads tomorrow. City life is more civilized.

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C C Writer's avatar

In some ways it's more civilized, in other ways not. Don't get me started on how the city's poorly-thought-out snow removal practices turn the crosswalks and bus stops into heaps of icy and uneven frozen slush that threaten serious injury to anyone trying to use them, but especially seniors. Oops, I got myself started, but that's it in a nutshell.

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Kurt's avatar

The weather map says you're right in the middle of it. Good luck.

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IncognitoG's avatar

My worry, as usual: that some weirdo clips a power pole.

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CynthiaW's avatar

Thanks. Good luck with the snow.

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