Maybe there’s some kind of program we could work out with developing countries, where we could subsidize production of nuclear plants. There’d probably have to be some kind of supervision, but I think it could work.
To a post I made on last week's Jonah column "Why Aren't the Republican Candidates" (his LA Times column) I've been treated to a belated reply from one KB:
"This is one of the lamest, dumbest takes I've ever seen on here. And that's saying something. Get over yourself."
It was the abbreviated version of my standard rant about robocalls and how if what you want is my vote, invading my privacy is not likely to get it.
I replied asking if KB is a bot, because the comment sounded like boilerplate to me.
And KB answers me back: "If you get that worked up and inconvenienced by a single phone call by someone taking time out of their day to volunteer and phone bank for a candidate they believe in, then the tone of my last comment should truly be the least of your worries. "
"And what can we say about someone who is that offended and enraged by my (very common) position on privacy and the telephone? I can only guess that you gain financially from the robocall industry."
A position my wife and I share. We've screened our incoming calls to our landline through Caller ID for years now. (Cell & smart phones work for text but not voice where we live. Thank God for small mercies.)
About 1 out of maybe every 3 or 4 dozen (or more) calls actually gets answered at the time of the call. There are a few messages along the way from unrecognized numbers that end up resulting in one of us making a call back. No small amount of time is often required to delete unwanted messages, and this escalates dramatically during 'campaign season', although it's always that season to one extent or another.
A few election cycles ago I reached the 'enough is enough' point with one particular robocall, which had reached the frequency of at least 6 or more times a day for more than a week straight. It was from the state GOP seeking not only votes but $$ as well. I found the number for their office in the state capitol, called it and was answered by...wait for it...a recording directing me to leave a message. Which I did.
Paraphrasing slightly here, I gave my name, the phone number concerned, and said very straight forwardly in a tone meant to reflect my seriousness that I did not in any way appreciate the near hourly intrusion on what should be the privacy of my own home, regardless of its legality, and that it would be in the party's interest to remove this number from its calling list PDQ, lest it hear in person at its headquarters form a genuinely pissed off nonpartisan Independent voter demanding to know why this has not been done.
Surprisingly - or perhaps not, considering what I suspect that message sounded like on the receiving end - I never received that call again, or anything similar from state GOP or state R candidates for a couple of years.
Never received anything nearly as egregious in the way of frequency from state Ds or anyone else, for that matter. If I had, I'd have employed the same tactic without fail, since along with being a nonpartisan voter I'm a nonpartisan and steadfastly equal opportunity robocall hater.
I think the political operatives may finally be starting to wise up to the fact that prospective voters HATE receiving these calls. "But ya hafta like it" is not working. Or maybe they already knew that but are finally, y'know, doing the math! "So, getting these calls will make people want to vote for our candidate because . . . oh."
I've had a couple of opportunities over the years to answer a call from a 'live' individual and tell them that they have not only guaranteed that I will not vote for their guy by disturbing me numerous times in the privacy of my home, but that I will in fact vote for the other guy based on nothing else other than that.
Guess that's not the best conversation starter, since I ended up talking to a dial tone.
They're mad at you for demonstrating that you, the voter, have options. You're not supposed to know that. You're supposed to follow their script and do as told.
I mean, I'm pretty much done responding to certain people whose game I'm onto, because they usually don't change. But the very uncreative and botlike response and the unknown background of this commenter left me room for some, shall we say, innocent questions to parry the attacks. And I do think it's important to model, for mothership commenters, how to recognize and handle this kind of trollery. Which is why I bring it up here.
My bet is in the developing world they don't wake up Tuesday morning believing it is Monday.
We broke down and bought a new washing machine a couple of years ago out of fear that ones with simple, mechanical controls would not be available by the time it actually died. I despise (as my grandmother would say) appliance design that assumes I am too stupid to be trusted to actually know what's best for my situation or how to choose environmentally preferable modes of operation. I could say more about the operation of the settings but will refrain.
One thing the new washers don't assume is that you will hang your laundry on the line. They spin so hard to get more water out (less work for the dryer) that they set deep wrinkles. These go away in the dryer but not on the clothesline. In the old days this would necessitate more ironing than it does now.
I think it’s the EPA and its brethren in the federal bureaucracy that design appliances nowadays. We’re just a few years away from finding greater efficiency and convenience in using a bucket like Jusper, or taking your clothes to the creek and beating them on the rocks.
We have recently been experimenting with diluted rinse aid or no rinse aid because of the smell and because it doesn't rinse thoroughly.
The other thing that bugs me is the fact there is no consideration of the fact that water hardness/softness varies significantly but the pre measured quatities don't take that into account.
And I do not believe cold water rinses as well as warm - recently, I had to re-wash clothes that got left in the machine and was shocked at the amount of suds that developed before I added the detergent.
There's a tendency these days to push for "solutions" that are in fact unsanitary. The restaurant and grocery industries are finding themselves having to explain, to the ostensibly well-meaning, the ways in which discontinuing certain current practices and materials may compromise food safety and sanitation.
When it comes to the 'no agitator' thing, I suspect the motive was cost savings on the part of the manufacturer, not actually making a 'better' product, and agitating customers was not *actually* a part of the design criteria. But I suspect 'back to the drawing board' on account of that is quite unlikely.
I guess mine is called an impeller wash machine: "Washing machines with agitators use a central post that twists back and forth, rubbing against clothes to help break apart stains. In contrast, washing machines with impellers use a low-profile cone or disc that spins/rotates to rub clothes against each other to get them clean." I challenge the "get them clean" claim.
Okaaay....that sounds like salespeak to me. Maybe the agitator was originally understood (or marketed) as the evolution of the washboard. I always thought the agitator did the same thing as the impeller.
I always assumed the short agitator was the engineering solution to EPA water efficiency standards, whereby they’re expected to wash clothes without getting them more than a little damp. Since the tub no longer fills with water, the agitator probably got unstable with 9/10ths of it flopping pointlessly above the water level. But Trosino makes a good point, too: it saved a buttload on material costs over the tens of thousands of units.
Today’s special animal friend is the Amazon River dolphin, Inia geoffrensis. There are three subspecies, of which two have very limited ranges. The third, I. g. geoffrensis, is found throughout the Amazon basin in several countries including Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela. Males can be over 8 ft. long and weigh over 400 lbs. (For comparison, a large, male Atlantic bottlenose dolphin can be 12 ft. long and weigh 800 lbs.) Female Amazon dolphins are much smaller than males.
Amazon River dolphins are known for being pink. Juveniles are gray, but as they grow older, pigment rubs off their skin, resulting in pink. Or pinkish gray, or gray with pink mottling. Males tend to be pinker because they experience more friction. Seeing them can be very exciting for tourists.
In addition to being smaller, Amazon River dolphins have some other differences from oceanic dolphins. Because their neck vertebrae are not fused, they can turn their heads 90 degrees for better vision. Their dorsal fins are long, from front to back, but rise only a bit above the spine. They have long pectoral fins and broad, triangular flukes. These features give them great maneuverability in the water.
Amazon River dolphins eat a very diverse diet, especially during flood season, when aquatic prey is more widely dispersed. They eat at least 53 different species of fish as well as turtles and crabs. It is common for them to eat piranhas. People find this impressive. They rarely gather in groups of more than 7 or so. Typically, only a mother and calf are seen together. Males demonstrate mating interest by bringing branches, floating vegetation, or balls of dirt to females, but they are also sexually aggressive.
Most calves are born in May and June, the peak flood season. A calf remains with its mother for two to three years. Their lifespan is thirty years or more. They are not very successful in captivity. They are rated Endangered by IUCN, although this applies more to the two isolated subspecies than to the main Amazon population.
Threats include fishing, water pollution, and declining food sources due to fishing and water pollution. They are protected by several national governments in their range.
Good morning. This is an interesting topic, but life calls. My husband and I are going to the zoo today and then staying over night at a B&B (non-animal-themed). It will be, like, different.
There isn't one near me. There is a Whole Foods sorta near me. I shopped there a time or two and didn't like it. There's an Aldi near me and I don't like it either. These stores tend to carry stuff they want me to want, rather than the stuff I do want. Fortunately there are stores that suit me better.
I’ve been a big Aldi fan for a long time, but the real savings there comes when you buy the non-brand-name processed foods like chips, cookies, and candy. My current streamlined diet has cut my grocery bill by a lot more since I avoid the processed stuff almost entirely.
I have been washing my clothes in the sink. I soak them, scrub for five minutes, then hang 'em up to dry. It works.
My wife rolled her eyes. I can't read the instructions on the washing machine, and I don't have a dryer. So really, washing 1-2 things each day is easier.
That's my story and I am sticking to it.
Off to the Accademia gallery at 2pm Italy time today! We get to see the original David! A fun fact. Do you know the statue was toppled over in a protest, and he broke his arm. They later put it back together. Take the word sincere. It is sin (no , or not) and cere (wax). The way the artists used to handle cracks was to get some marble dust, mix it with wax, then fill in the cracks with it. So sincere meant there were no cracks filled with wax!
It was very hot today. So after class I changed shirts, I put the original, folding neatly (okay, neatly for me) into the freezer for an hour. Putting it on was, well, chill. But walking 15 minutes to Accademia, I felt cooler! 🤦
Thank you for sharing this❤️
Good morning (it’s still morning for me).
I read a good article at The Dispatch about South Africa: https://thedispatch.com/article/south-africa-looks-east/
Maybe there’s some kind of program we could work out with developing countries, where we could subsidize production of nuclear plants. There’d probably have to be some kind of supervision, but I think it could work.
To a post I made on last week's Jonah column "Why Aren't the Republican Candidates" (his LA Times column) I've been treated to a belated reply from one KB:
"This is one of the lamest, dumbest takes I've ever seen on here. And that's saying something. Get over yourself."
It was the abbreviated version of my standard rant about robocalls and how if what you want is my vote, invading my privacy is not likely to get it.
I replied asking if KB is a bot, because the comment sounded like boilerplate to me.
And KB answers me back: "If you get that worked up and inconvenienced by a single phone call by someone taking time out of their day to volunteer and phone bank for a candidate they believe in, then the tone of my last comment should truly be the least of your worries. "
And so I replied:
"And what can we say about someone who is that offended and enraged by my (very common) position on privacy and the telephone? I can only guess that you gain financially from the robocall industry."
And so far, the KB bot has not had an answer for that one.
A position my wife and I share. We've screened our incoming calls to our landline through Caller ID for years now. (Cell & smart phones work for text but not voice where we live. Thank God for small mercies.)
About 1 out of maybe every 3 or 4 dozen (or more) calls actually gets answered at the time of the call. There are a few messages along the way from unrecognized numbers that end up resulting in one of us making a call back. No small amount of time is often required to delete unwanted messages, and this escalates dramatically during 'campaign season', although it's always that season to one extent or another.
A few election cycles ago I reached the 'enough is enough' point with one particular robocall, which had reached the frequency of at least 6 or more times a day for more than a week straight. It was from the state GOP seeking not only votes but $$ as well. I found the number for their office in the state capitol, called it and was answered by...wait for it...a recording directing me to leave a message. Which I did.
Paraphrasing slightly here, I gave my name, the phone number concerned, and said very straight forwardly in a tone meant to reflect my seriousness that I did not in any way appreciate the near hourly intrusion on what should be the privacy of my own home, regardless of its legality, and that it would be in the party's interest to remove this number from its calling list PDQ, lest it hear in person at its headquarters form a genuinely pissed off nonpartisan Independent voter demanding to know why this has not been done.
Surprisingly - or perhaps not, considering what I suspect that message sounded like on the receiving end - I never received that call again, or anything similar from state GOP or state R candidates for a couple of years.
Never received anything nearly as egregious in the way of frequency from state Ds or anyone else, for that matter. If I had, I'd have employed the same tactic without fail, since along with being a nonpartisan voter I'm a nonpartisan and steadfastly equal opportunity robocall hater.
I take the time to block numbers for each unwanted call and I don't get as many as I did
Do you use any specific blocking techniques, like maybe the 'Pancake' block?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b21B95a1IZE
No, I don't even pretend to be a good sport about it.
I think the political operatives may finally be starting to wise up to the fact that prospective voters HATE receiving these calls. "But ya hafta like it" is not working. Or maybe they already knew that but are finally, y'know, doing the math! "So, getting these calls will make people want to vote for our candidate because . . . oh."
I've had a couple of opportunities over the years to answer a call from a 'live' individual and tell them that they have not only guaranteed that I will not vote for their guy by disturbing me numerous times in the privacy of my home, but that I will in fact vote for the other guy based on nothing else other than that.
Guess that's not the best conversation starter, since I ended up talking to a dial tone.
They're mad at you for demonstrating that you, the voter, have options. You're not supposed to know that. You're supposed to follow their script and do as told.
Bully for you, M. Trosino!
Yay CC!!
I mean, I'm pretty much done responding to certain people whose game I'm onto, because they usually don't change. But the very uncreative and botlike response and the unknown background of this commenter left me room for some, shall we say, innocent questions to parry the attacks. And I do think it's important to model, for mothership commenters, how to recognize and handle this kind of trollery. Which is why I bring it up here.
To repeat myself, Yay, CC!
Good morning!
My bet is in the developing world they don't wake up Tuesday morning believing it is Monday.
We broke down and bought a new washing machine a couple of years ago out of fear that ones with simple, mechanical controls would not be available by the time it actually died. I despise (as my grandmother would say) appliance design that assumes I am too stupid to be trusted to actually know what's best for my situation or how to choose environmentally preferable modes of operation. I could say more about the operation of the settings but will refrain.
One thing the new washers don't assume is that you will hang your laundry on the line. They spin so hard to get more water out (less work for the dryer) that they set deep wrinkles. These go away in the dryer but not on the clothesline. In the old days this would necessitate more ironing than it does now.
I think it’s the EPA and its brethren in the federal bureaucracy that design appliances nowadays. We’re just a few years away from finding greater efficiency and convenience in using a bucket like Jusper, or taking your clothes to the creek and beating them on the rocks.
Yes. I think so too.
We have recently been experimenting with diluted rinse aid or no rinse aid because of the smell and because it doesn't rinse thoroughly.
The other thing that bugs me is the fact there is no consideration of the fact that water hardness/softness varies significantly but the pre measured quatities don't take that into account.
And I do not believe cold water rinses as well as warm - recently, I had to re-wash clothes that got left in the machine and was shocked at the amount of suds that developed before I added the detergent.
/grump
There's a tendency these days to push for "solutions" that are in fact unsanitary. The restaurant and grocery industries are finding themselves having to explain, to the ostensibly well-meaning, the ways in which discontinuing certain current practices and materials may compromise food safety and sanitation.
Amen. It’s always about tradeoffs.
I got a new washer during Covid, a top loader without an agitator. I don't like it at all, should've went with another front loader.
My SIL had the same experience. Her machine goes out of balance and she has to call a repair guy to reset it! Newer technology is not always better.
I do not understand the "no agitator" thing.
There are definite advantages to a front loader but also more expensive electrical components to fail.
My grumpiness manufests as "Walk on my lawn all you want to but stay away from my preferred technologies!"
When it comes to the 'no agitator' thing, I suspect the motive was cost savings on the part of the manufacturer, not actually making a 'better' product, and agitating customers was not *actually* a part of the design criteria. But I suspect 'back to the drawing board' on account of that is quite unlikely.
I guess mine is called an impeller wash machine: "Washing machines with agitators use a central post that twists back and forth, rubbing against clothes to help break apart stains. In contrast, washing machines with impellers use a low-profile cone or disc that spins/rotates to rub clothes against each other to get them clean." I challenge the "get them clean" claim.
Okaaay....that sounds like salespeak to me. Maybe the agitator was originally understood (or marketed) as the evolution of the washboard. I always thought the agitator did the same thing as the impeller.
I always assumed the short agitator was the engineering solution to EPA water efficiency standards, whereby they’re expected to wash clothes without getting them more than a little damp. Since the tub no longer fills with water, the agitator probably got unstable with 9/10ths of it flopping pointlessly above the water level. But Trosino makes a good point, too: it saved a buttload on material costs over the tens of thousands of units.
Good morning, all
Today’s special animal friend is the Amazon River dolphin, Inia geoffrensis. There are three subspecies, of which two have very limited ranges. The third, I. g. geoffrensis, is found throughout the Amazon basin in several countries including Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela. Males can be over 8 ft. long and weigh over 400 lbs. (For comparison, a large, male Atlantic bottlenose dolphin can be 12 ft. long and weigh 800 lbs.) Female Amazon dolphins are much smaller than males.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCJgvabihQ8
Amazon River dolphins are known for being pink. Juveniles are gray, but as they grow older, pigment rubs off their skin, resulting in pink. Or pinkish gray, or gray with pink mottling. Males tend to be pinker because they experience more friction. Seeing them can be very exciting for tourists.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M85MkvBDiAg
In addition to being smaller, Amazon River dolphins have some other differences from oceanic dolphins. Because their neck vertebrae are not fused, they can turn their heads 90 degrees for better vision. Their dorsal fins are long, from front to back, but rise only a bit above the spine. They have long pectoral fins and broad, triangular flukes. These features give them great maneuverability in the water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-1gixF966c
Amazon River dolphins eat a very diverse diet, especially during flood season, when aquatic prey is more widely dispersed. They eat at least 53 different species of fish as well as turtles and crabs. It is common for them to eat piranhas. People find this impressive. They rarely gather in groups of more than 7 or so. Typically, only a mother and calf are seen together. Males demonstrate mating interest by bringing branches, floating vegetation, or balls of dirt to females, but they are also sexually aggressive.
Most calves are born in May and June, the peak flood season. A calf remains with its mother for two to three years. Their lifespan is thirty years or more. They are not very successful in captivity. They are rated Endangered by IUCN, although this applies more to the two isolated subspecies than to the main Amazon population.
Threats include fishing, water pollution, and declining food sources due to fishing and water pollution. They are protected by several national governments in their range.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yty9Zf8ie2g
Not a cat. Not a fish.
Good morning. This is an interesting topic, but life calls. My husband and I are going to the zoo today and then staying over night at a B&B (non-animal-themed). It will be, like, different.
You could play TSAF bingo!
Or not.
Have fun!
Thanks. No kids, briefly. We're going to the zoo in Asheboro and then staying in Mount Pleasant, which is quaint.
So is it vegetable or mineral themed?
Interesting question. I'll let you know on Thursday.
Sounds like real vacay. Enjoy!
Thank you. I had to nag.
Have fun. Don't feed the animals Trader Joe's cookies. Why do I say that?
https://www.traderjoes.com/home/announcements?category=recalls&id=664277606&utm_campaign=Passport+Problems+Pile+Up&utm_content=Passport+Problems+Pile+Up&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ActiveCampaign
Trader Joe's is where rich people shop, not pathologically Thrifty persons such as myself.
There isn't one near me. There is a Whole Foods sorta near me. I shopped there a time or two and didn't like it. There's an Aldi near me and I don't like it either. These stores tend to carry stuff they want me to want, rather than the stuff I do want. Fortunately there are stores that suit me better.
I’ve been a big Aldi fan for a long time, but the real savings there comes when you buy the non-brand-name processed foods like chips, cookies, and candy. My current streamlined diet has cut my grocery bill by a lot more since I avoid the processed stuff almost entirely.
Weird how TJ’s has the cachet. It’s actually the other Albrecht brother’s Aldi branch in the U.S.: cheap, cheap, cheap.
My husband went through a phase of thinking it was cool to go to Trader Joe's. They never had the products I wanted at a price I was willing to pay.
You definitely benefit from the wholesale/buyer’s club quantities in your household.
We also benefit when I buy staple goods, rather than others' buying random stuff that caught the eye.
g'morning all:
I have been washing my clothes in the sink. I soak them, scrub for five minutes, then hang 'em up to dry. It works.
My wife rolled her eyes. I can't read the instructions on the washing machine, and I don't have a dryer. So really, washing 1-2 things each day is easier.
That's my story and I am sticking to it.
Off to the Accademia gallery at 2pm Italy time today! We get to see the original David! A fun fact. Do you know the statue was toppled over in a protest, and he broke his arm. They later put it back together. Take the word sincere. It is sin (no , or not) and cere (wax). The way the artists used to handle cracks was to get some marble dust, mix it with wax, then fill in the cracks with it. So sincere meant there were no cracks filled with wax!
I've seen so many fake Davids I didn't think the real one still existed. That will be cool to see.
There’s a fake (life sized) out by the duomo.
David has his own gallery at the academia, and the way the natural light lights up the room, makes it all the better to see.
But the one at the duomo is very well done.
Ditto for the Giambologna.
Laundry in sink literally a page from Rick Steves' book: https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/health/laundry
Hah! Love the impromptu etymology.
Now, for the full effect, do your laundry in the nearest crick.
Glad you will have clean clothes for the event...
Good morning, Jay. I hope you have a really good time today!
It was very hot today. So after class I changed shirts, I put the original, folding neatly (okay, neatly for me) into the freezer for an hour. Putting it on was, well, chill. But walking 15 minutes to Accademia, I felt cooler! 🤦