G+ Migration Blog

These people haven't read any science fiction, have they? Or, actually, any science with regard to the terribleness of the human behavior that gets programmed into these algorithms. You already know you've got people in terrible personal, social, and economic situations. You already know there's bigotry, racism, misogyny, abuse. Why do you need an AI to tell you what you already know? Is it suddenly going to make all the social programs and supports and societal changes that need to happen to 'deter crime' magically appear? https://www.newscientist.com/article/2186512-exclusive-uk-police-wants-ai-to-stop-violent-crime-before-it-happens/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2186512-exclusive-uk-police-wants-ai-to-stop-violent-crime-before-it-happens/

ROFL I mean OLF. “Your traps mean nothing to us,” said a masked otter in a video released to social media on Monday. https://walkingeaglenews.com/2018/11/26/otter-liberation-front-claims-responsibility-for-latest-strike-that-leaves-one-koi-eaten/ https://walkingeaglenews.com/2018/11/26/otter-liberation-front-claims-responsibility-for-latest-strike-that-leaves-one-koi-eaten/

I don't use it much, but it's actually the only way I've chatted with some friends long distance. What do people do instead? Facetime? What if they aren't on Apple devices? https://9to5google.com/2018/11/30/google-hangouts-shutting-down/ https://9to5google.com/2018/11/30/google-hangouts-shutting-down/

I found this article interesting because it includes some discussion of acoustic design. Which is complicated in ways that may not be obvious. I'm also going to throw a completely unsupportable analogy out there. There's been a rise over time in obnoxiously strong and persistent "scents". Think Axe. You cannot buy a home cleaning product anymore that doesn't have some horrible perfume added to it. Perfume that is stronger, more persistent, and more likely to trigger breathing problems than that actual cleaning solutions themselves. Lysol is a case in point. Overlapping in time we've got the visual things of constant movement and lights and 10 seconds is too long a visual nevermind a sound clip. I think we've found ourselves in an era of constant oversaturation of the senses. Louder, brighter, faster, smellier - just increases in volume and quantity of input. Quality is not necessarily an issue. In fact, it's often not desired. I wouldn't mind it qu...

There's reasons why this particular article from March pops back up for me, to be explained in future. It's problematic in so many ways but I'll just focus on one. In Youngstown, hope takes many forms: it may be that GM will reopen the third shift at its Lordstown plant , or that tariffs on China will return some comparative advantage on manufacturing, or even that blue-collar work will regain the respect in society that it once had. I am genuinely unaware of blue-collar work ever having been all that respected, other than as it was of use to the political elites. Trump and the GOP (and the Dems) blowing sunshine up your skirt doesn't count as respect, either. Passing and enforcing legislation to protect workers, you know, like OSHA stuff, at least suggests something resembling respect. Supporting organized labor so there's some sort of balance of power between workers and owners suggests something resembling respect. Trump and his organization regularly abuse and ...

You have been punned. http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/11/30/wit-book-james-geary http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2018/11/30/wit-book-james-geary

- locked - Ok. Survived hospice meeting. Omg, my mother cannot keep her mouth shut. She cannot not be the center of attention. She even tried to mess with me and I just said nope, hospice is here to talk with dad, we're here to listen. (See: things which should not be a burn but are a burn) Besides, what the hell am I going to say? My mother is a controlling bitch? My father is ill and sometimes his recollections are not precise, especially as he becomes untethered from time? She STILL had to say something that could have sabotaged my dad's care, just so she could look important and in charge. She was actually unhappy that I did not butt in and talk a lot. P.S. It turns out my crazy SIL gave my dad some "natural" spray oil thing with CBD in it. Which isn't even for what she gave it to him for (she apparently said it was for pain, and it's specifically for muscle aches, which is seriously stretching a point, here). My dad took it out and asked the doctor if i...

It's never over. Actual lol that one of the oldest, most valuable koi, presumed deceased dinner, was named Madonna. #otterwatch Edit: Almost forgot - Marauding Mustelid MIA, Missing Madonna Mourned. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/otterwatch2018-river-otter-terrorizing-vancouver-chinese-classical-garden-ponds-awol-1.4926073 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/otterwatch2018-river-otter-terrorizing-vancouver-chinese-classical-garden-ponds-awol-1.4926073

In the category of things that did not suck that happened over the last week and a half, my sister got a grant. She works in the non profit sector and had been trying for a while to grow the program/institution she is in charge of. She kept getting turned down for reasons those of you in the arena of grants would find familiar. To wit, since you haven’t had one that big you can’t get one. The usual catch 22. She built coalitions, she networked, she rewrote per feedback, she dealt with the insane politics. She reapplied and resubmitted. Two years of this. BUT in the end she got a grant! Now she just has to worry about building the program the grant was for. A much better problem to have.

- locked - So, the holiday was pretty stressful, although I did successfully orchestrate the actual Day. Not sure how many years that took off my life, though. Fallout, of course, continues. Things that occurred during the week long period of family togetherness, in no particular order: - My brother had a little rage attack at me. Of course, at me and not the person actually causing the anger. During dinner. At least nobody tried to say it was ok for once. - My SIL sent my mother a book on cognitive behavioral therapy as part of her xmas present. #helping This is not the first time my SIL has done this sort of thing. So much passive aggressive crap in this family. - My brother and SIL brought all the holiday presents now because just sending them in the mail wouldn't be as fun as getting to give them to us. And arranged for the theater of giving play with my mother, who loves this garbage of performing family. Let's pretend! - Upon which my mother promptly decided that even ...

I don't understand. Pence broke the tie. Doesn't that move the nomination forward? Edit: Oh, right, actual headline: Republican senator effectively sinks nomination of controversial judicial pick Thomas Farr https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/29/politics/tim-scott-thomas-farr-nomination/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/29/politics/tim-scott-thomas-farr-nomination/index.html

The party’s over. Last fish saved, otter a no show. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/koi-removed-from-vancouver-chinatown-pond-to-protect-them-from-otter-1.4878141

I am surprised they have not had more trouble but I hope people remember that it’s not supposed to be like this. We don’t have to make everything terrible just because of 9/11 and a terrible administration. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-immigration-ban-insight-idUSKCN1NX1P2

Cleaning up thxgvg photos. When I make thick whipped cream, I make thick whipped cream. It laughs in the face of gravity.

Timely radio discussion of the history and use of "tear gas". tl;dr - it's a chemical weapon and it's not called that due primarily to lobbying by the US starting in 1919. Note: this overlaps with our discussion elsewhere of how labor and strikes are treated/protected or not. Slightly longer: 1) chemical weapon developed and used in WWI 2) US Army General and assoc industry really promoted the heck out of not disarming and finding civilian market 3) since 1919 used against labor strikes, civil rights actions, the WWI veterans who wanted their bonuses paid during the depression and camped out in Washington and were attacked by the US Army (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonus_Army ), and pretty much anything the police or government or anybody with money or power considered a threat or a problem. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/use-of-tear-gas-a-good-public-relations-move-for-police-forces-says-expert-1.4922261 https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/use-of-tear-ga...

Finally caught up with this week's Doctor Who. Amanda Heyen was right (I think it was you?). This episode finally was a full-blown, legit episode. And it was GOOD. Due in no small part to a cameo from whom I shall not say but how could it have been other than a-maz-ing with this person. Who was amazing. Also? The show runners were obs totally aware of something I complained about if you read the spoilery parts of some of my comments on prior episodes this season. And they made great use and effect of dealing with it with humor. In fact, humor was all over this episode in the best possible ways. If you've been avoiding this season, this would be the episode to start with because it is the best so far. I'm not sure the official reviewers agree entirely, but I'm not sure they would tolerate most of the old (pre-Eccleston) episodes, so there's that. I'm also wondering if any of them have watched much of the old Who, where there were frequently several companions at...

Otter Chaos - Koi Carnage as Murdering Mustelid Eludes Capture!! #otterwatch https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/otter-madness-continues-as-sun-yat-sen-staff-try-to-rescue-surviving-koi-1.4903372

Offs. Meritocracy my aunt fanny. https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/27/politics/jared-kushner-mexico-honor/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/27/politics/jared-kushner-mexico-honor/index.html

There aren't any subsidies, you buffoon. All you did, predictably, is cause a stupid stock drop on Wall Street, which is stupid to react to anything you say at this point. Surely their analysts know there are no subsidies. Not to mention if he somehow manages to really damage the company by manipulating their stock with his mouth (doubtful), that is the opposite of doing something that will help the workers losing their jobs. https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/27/business/gm-trump-subsidies/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/27/business/gm-trump-subsidies/index.html

Ok, seriously. Does no one else think Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith looks like Swoosie Kurtz? Just a little? https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/27/mississippi-senate-runoff-espy-hyde-smith-1021285 https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/27/mississippi-senate-runoff-espy-hyde-smith-1021285

I haven't caught up with the Doctor Who from this past weekend, but the one before that, "Kerblam!", continues the trend toward overall improvement with a completed plot. Also continues to Make a Point about something current, although the messages get a little confusing as to if they are taking a side or not and if so, which one. s p a c e it is very cold in s p a c e A few nods to other Who moments? Check. Violate rules about the TARDIS that have been explained before but who cares why be consistent with imaginary science? Check. Pointed and obvious lessons and opinions on current issues and events? So much check. Actual plot?! Check and double check! Mind you, I cannot tell whether this episode was supposed to be pro-tech, anti-tech, or just a general warning about tech is a friend, not food just a tool and human input has a significant impact. I am pretty sure it was supposed to be sending a message about the inherent importance and value of living beings. Part of t...

Some streams crossed in my brain on g+ and gave me Spongebob Asshole.

Everybody left. Some on Sunday, some today. Some are returning Friday.

What are we talking, here. TASS, Pravda, Sputnik? Or just Fox, the official propaganda arm and [fake] news agency of The Trump Organization and American Nationalist Agenda? https://www.wivb.com/news/national/trump-proposes-worldwide-network-to-counter-cnn-overseas/1620727684 https://www.wivb.com/news/national/trump-proposes-worldwide-network-to-counter-cnn-overseas/1620727684

Yep, it's hunting season. At least no one has been killed this year. Yet. https://www.wivb.com/news/state/hunter-s-bullets-strike-home-south-of-rochester/1606695331 https://www.wivb.com/news/state/hunter-s-bullets-strike-home-south-of-rochester/1606695331

This is super cool. The park and road alongside are named Garrison because there was at least one troop encampment (i.e., garrison) in that area during the War of 1812. Finding a hospital would be awesome! #history https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/artifacts-found-beneath-surface-in-a-williamsville-park/1620098095 https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/artifacts-found-beneath-surface-in-a-williamsville-park/1620098095

Even if true, this is definitely in the territory of just because you can absolutely does not mean you should. The morals and ethics here are very sticky even aside from the specific thing he says he played with. I also call bullshit on gene editing is similar to a vaccine. So many ways in which that is just wrong scientifically. That's deceptive and, frankly, insulting to laypersons to claim that is how a layperson would describe or understand it. Not if you actually explained it to them they wouldn't. Further, the list of ethical questions not just for this researcher but for the others involved and the ones quoted commenting is practically endless. It's also research ethics 101, including financial conflicts of interest. These are poster children for arrogant scientists who think they are smarter than and know better than everybody. Privilege, entitlement, and total lack of insight. Do these people even read science fiction? https://www.apnews.com/4997bb7aa36c45449b488e...

Why on earth would people waste time and money trying to recover his body? He died doing what he wanted to do, knowing he was putting himself and others at risk (the impoverished fishermen he paid to take him there, who are in legal trouble). This is a waste of government and taxpayer time, money, and resources. https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/25/asia/missionary-john-chau-north-sentinel-island-sentinelese/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/25/asia/missionary-john-chau-north-sentinel-island-sentinelese/index.html

tl;dr There's a lot of NIMBYism and nobody wants to pay for anything. Personally, I'd argue that a lot of this also has to do with a real inability for Americans as a whole to see or act in any kind of long term fashion. What do I get now and how much do I get? This bodes ill for schools, infrastructure, and other things that require multi-decades long visions and plans. Not to mention the accompanying price tags. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/26/upshot/suburbs-changing-midterms-democrats-hopes.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/26/upshot/suburbs-changing-midterms-democrats-hopes.html

So. Much. Winning. https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/26/business/gm-oshawa-plant/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/26/business/gm-oshawa-plant/index.html

What could possibly go wrong? https://www.sciencealert.com/microbes-on-the-iss-show-we-can-t-take-astronaut-health-for-granted https://www.sciencealert.com/microbes-on-the-iss-show-we-can-t-take-astronaut-health-for-granted

I was wondering why this popped back up now, but the Tolkien racism business is apparently not new so much as back again as a compare and contrast to our current events. Meanwhile, hadn't heard of this author but the Tor article makes me think it might be an interesting collection to read. Especially as it may contain a chicken Jesus. Are any of you familiar with Andy Duncan's writing? https://www.tor.com/2018/11/09/book-reviews-andy-duncan-an-agent-of-utopia/ https://www.wired.com/2018/11/geeks-guide-lotr-orcs/ https://www.wired.com/2018/11/geeks-guide-lotr-orcs/

Entertaining moments from when somebody tries to bring up politics over Thanksgiving: SIL: (completely out of the blue at breakfast at hotel) SO, what do you think of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?! My mom: Who? (Because this came completely out of nowhere.) SIL: ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, OMG!!! (insert her eyeroll #1) My mom: Oh, well, the couple of times I've heard her she seems very well spoken. SIL: HOW CAN YOU NOT KNOW WHO SHE IS?!?! Isn't she your Representative?!?!?!!!!! (insert her ever bigger eyeroll #2, complete with her making faces) Me: Uh, no. Her district is in NYC, like, the Bronx and Queens. Our district is parts of Erie and Niagara counties, so, like, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, parts of Amherst. It's a totally different part of the state. SIL: Oh. ...... no carrier ......

Uh, oops? Major screw up time. This was what an American effort to save the planet looked like. It was startlingly efficient, extremely profitable and utterly disastrous. P.S. Palm oil has yet to be shown to be so healthy in your food, either. Science thus far finds it generally bad. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/20/magazine/palm-oil-borneo-climate-catastrophe.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/20/magazine/palm-oil-borneo-climate-catastrophe.html

This morning, we have all been required to perform family at 11 am because some people feel completely entitled to co-opt any gathering and other people are so busy trying to pretend that every gathering is some pastiche of Victoriana and a 1950's sitcom of the perfect family. Also co-dependency, also triangulation, also secondary gain. Anybody need a psych thesis? Sociology? Anthropology? Anyone? Bueller?

Vancouver otter watch is on. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/grand-theft-otter-river-otter-in-vancouver-park-steals-fish-and-hearts-1.4917516 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/grand-theft-otter-river-otter-in-vancouver-park-steals-fish-and-hearts-1.4917516

I do so enjoy listening to my brother rationalize that it’s better if his son is a bully than the bullied (he said this) while he tells my sister proudly about having to sign a note for his kid’s preschool because the 4 year old tried an MMA move on one of his classmates. He’s also very proud of being told off by my SIL for having let the child watch MMA and for showing him the move. smh

Me: Hey, heel/ankle. You need to decide whether it's my achilles or my peroneal tendon that's irritated and painful. My heel/ankle: Why not both?! Me: ~>:(

This close to paying money to go sit at the new local cat cafe. Because actual shelter cats that need socialization are better than dealing with my family. #catherding

Oh, dear. I mean, otter. This is awkward. They have definitely had beaver problems along False Creek off and on, and the sea otters are pests to the fishing boats there and elsewhere, but this is a first. For a city, Vancouver is not so separated from nature. It's a beautiful classical Chinese garden, btw, in the old Chinatown area. https://globalnews.ca/news/4678118/otter-eating-koi-ponds-vancouver-classical-chinese-garden/ https://globalnews.ca/news/4678118/otter-eating-koi-ponds-vancouver-classical-chinese-garden/

For various and sundry reasons there is only a prep picture of the chicken being carved. The chicken was made for my dad, who does not like turkey. All the other people who moaned about but turkey! ended up eating the chicken. It’s a good thing we only had one turkey breast and not a whole turkey. Mostly this was holiday by Trader Joe’s because I wasn’t going to spend weeks cooking and cleaning, but that was better than it might have been. I also had squash from the farmers market that I baked and I used the pre roasted Brussels sprouts but added lemon zest and lemon juice. My mother did, indeed make her jello mold. The pies were pumpkin and I made extra thick whipped cream. My nephew (age 4) was very happy with the pie until my mother offered him ice cream. His father spent the rest of the evening telling him he could not eat the entire half gallon. Not pictured spicy ginger ale, CA Sauvignon blanc,local Vidal ice wine.

One small step. Headline: ‘Pure gaslighting’: Federal judge strikes down Mississippi ban on abortions after 15 weeks https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/pure-gaslighting-federal-judge-strikes-down-mississippi-ban-on-abortions-after-15-weeks/2018/11/21/02dd0670-ed9f-11e8-96d4-0d23f2aaad09_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.75c499fbac75 https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/pure-gaslighting-federal-judge-strikes-down-mississippi-ban-on-abortions-after-15-weeks/2018/11/21/02dd0670-ed9f-11e8-96d4-0d23f2aaad09_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.75c499fbac75

“This is not racial profiling, though,” Cruz said. “I mean I’m Asian, I experience the same thing. It was a misunderstanding, which sometimes do happen.” BULL ---- T https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/unwanted-subject-what-led-a-kirkland-yogurt-shop-to-call-police-on-a-black-man/ https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/unwanted-subject-what-led-a-kirkland-yogurt-shop-to-call-police-on-a-black-man/

Really? Are all companies' leadership this clueless about what they do? I am boggled that anything ever works. Also, neither believe nor respect FBs leadership. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/21/facebook-george-soros-zuckerberg-1012545 https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/21/facebook-george-soros-zuckerberg-1012545

Oh, dear. Bus-ted. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/remysmidt/hit-run-witness-6th-grader-note-bus-accident https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/remysmidt/hit-run-witness-6th-grader-note-bus-accident

stab stab stabbity stab

TIL https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/11/21/viola-desmond-black-woman-who-spurred-end-segregation-nova-scotia-now-appears-canadas-bill/?utm_term=.b6f5ba5bc0ff https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/11/21/viola-desmond-black-woman-who-spurred-end-segregation-nova-scotia-now-appears-canadas-bill/?utm_term=.b6f5ba5bc0ff

It still weirds me out that “lake effect” snow now means Lake Huron as much as Lake Erie. #coolweatherfacts

Do any of you all have a VPN? I have been thinking about getting one and there seem to be some consumer weekend discounts. Any thoughts on pros/cons, pricing, features? Is it worth bothering?

Dear accuweather app, You tell me no precip for 2 hours while it is actively precipitating and has been for hours. Even your radar shows this, yet you insist there’s nothing. You fail. No love, Me

No. Women kept getting told that meritocracy was the antidote. It was a way to shut people up and reinforce the idea that if you couldn't make it it wasn't because you were a woman, it was because you weren't good enough. Same thing for people of color, I'm sure. Just work hard(er)/enough. For many women scientists, the emphasis on the term “gender harassment” in a major report on sexual harassment in science published this summer came as something of a revelation. Defined as “verbal and nonverbal behaviors that convey hostility, objectification, exclusion or second-class status,” it is far more common in science settings, the report said, than forms of harassment like sexual coercion or unwanted touching: less often a come-on than a put-down. I mean, I guess I feel vindicated that a national report supports things I fought, like, always? Not to mention even other women telling me that nothing was going on, that nothing had happened to them - while it was happening to ...

"Listings in Disputed Regions" Ok. So are they going to de-list everything in Tibet? Or Yemen? Or Crimea (there's only one, but still)? How about the eastern Ukraine? I'm sure there are many other places in the world with disputed territories and occupations. Are they going to de-list them all? This is where policies like this get the side-eye from me. Is Airbnb really going to police the entire world? What about indigenous peoples with ongoing land/occupation disputes? Do they count? Come on, guys. This was a business decision because Human Rights Watch is going to make headlines with a negative report about Airbnb doing business in the occupied territories of the West Bank. Specifically, the Jewish settlements that everyone has been trying to stop for years, or that's what it's supposed to selectively be. Which is convenient, because then they don't have to de-list East Jerusalem, even though it is technically part of the occupied territories. Anyway, th...

So by draining the swamp you mean filling it up with not so stealthy religious zealots. Who have their own interesting version of how you treat the stranger in your midst, for example. This guy would have denied Jesus, Mary, and Joseph refugee status as well as separating Jesus from his parents. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/19/trump-refugee-director-lloyd-new-post-1005420 https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/19/trump-refugee-director-lloyd-new-post-1005420

Also? These kids are now at risk of shingles as adults, which, depending on whose stats you read, will be anywhere from one to two thirds of them. Ask someone who has had shingles if they think that's a good idea. Also also, I hate the arguments about whose life is worth more but you think you are somehow protecting your child's life by not vaccinating, which is 100% fake news. What are you going to do when, not if, they can prove someone is left permanently impaired or dead because they caught chickenpox from your unvaccinated kid? Are you still going to seriously sit there and claim your child is somehow objectively a more valuable human life? Because that's gonna be an interesting argument. P.S. Yes, I have seen a hospitalized case of chicken pox pneumonia in an otherwise healthy adult who never had chicken pox. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46267038 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46267038

Remember the rhizome? It was slivered and sliced and steeped and strained and mixed with honey. Thus, ginger honey concentrate good for tea or other beveraging. A couple of quarts, in fact.

Potato pic of awesome hawk in back yard. Maybe it will eat the rat.

Ha ha ha ha gasp ha ha ha - if proven true, Republicans will say she isn't an official part of the government and they've never met her and retcon retcon retcon - karma's a bitch. https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/19/politics/ivanka-trump-personal-email-account/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/19/politics/ivanka-trump-personal-email-account/index.html

I don't know why I bother. I spent the hours to make evaporated milk from lactose free milk to avoid potential issues for my dad with the pumpkin pie. His mom's recipe uses evaporated milk (as do many). My mom made the actual pie filling because she wanted to. She somehow always manages to make more than the amount of filling you need for two pies, which boggles me, because recipe? Anyway, she tells me, all proud of herself that she used regular evaporated milk anyway because there wasn't enough of what I made. Now, I had said I would be happy to go to the store yesterday and get extra lactose free milk just to make sure if we needed some we had it but no, no, it's fine. Her thing today when I pointed this out was well, it was too late by the time I made the pie no one was going to the store. I was like when did you make the pie?! After 9pm. Oh. But what was the point of my taking all that time to make evaporated milk so the pie would be lactose free? Your dad can just ...

- mild lock - Ah, yes, the cat herding. My sister and niece are apparently arriving today (not tomorrow or Wed) but are staying at a hotel and then at a friend's house. My brother and SIL are apparently arriving tomorrow, not Wednesday, because why not last minute change, but they were always staying at a hotel. On the upside, I now know for sure that I do not have to make any special arrangements or do any special cleaning in my room or its vicinity. Meanwhile, I am hoping to drive about an hour and a half today to get something for my niece's christmas present. There's so much tension around here I feel like I'm doing something wrong, but whatever.

The building blocks of science! Full headline: We Finally Know How Wombats Produce Their Distinctly Cube-Shaped Poop https://gizmodo.com/we-finally-know-how-wombats-produce-their-distinctly-cu-1830414749 https://gizmodo.com/we-finally-know-how-wombats-produce-their-distinctly-cu-1830414749

Best Xmas tree, evar. https://twitter.com/EverythingGoats/status/1062725413238120449 https://twitter.com/EverythingGoats/status/1062725413238120449

- mild lock - Oh, Thanksgiving is going to be so much fun .

- locked - Oh, ok. My mom is now brow beating my father about signing a HIPAA form for the insurance company. First, she verbally attacked him and he told her to leave him alone, which, being sensitive to these things she kept bothering him until he said leave him alone more definitively. So she got mad and stormed out of the house. After triggering him, of course. And after telling him what if you got HIV from one of the transfusions? I'd have to take care of you! And it would cost me money! But - no surprise - she came back and is now verbally badgering him about how he was wrong because he didn't wait for her to explain and she just wanted to show him what everything was and how to fill it out and explain each section to him, etc. Not neglecting to point out that she didn't even have to show him the HIPAA form. She could have just gone to the insurance with a copy of the power of attorney and the health care proxy, etc. I'm just gonna throw a little rhetorical poll o...

Things we didn't know we needed. https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2018/11/entertainment/dogs-catching-treats-cnnphotos/index.html https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2018/11/entertainment/dogs-catching-treats-cnnphotos/index.html

Hm, choices. https://boingboing.net/2018/11/17/amazons-nyc-digs-being-built.html https://boingboing.net/2018/11/17/amazons-nyc-digs-being-built.html

I have a problem with what is reported to have happened at a recent AMA meeting regarding euthanasia. I will post about that eventually. But it led me to some other things that are worth considering in that context. The WBUR piece about trying to teach empathy around death and dying to medical students, and the Verge/Paul Bloom piece about actually understanding empathy and what it can and can't do, its risks and benefits. There are pros and cons to all. One caveat about the WBUR piece - they cherry pick an example from Paul Bloom that is not incorrect, but it is terribly biased without its larger context. In the WBUR piece it sounds terrible and it made me ready to dismiss him. Then I read his piece in The Verge. He's making an extremely important point about empathy and emotion and it's supposed to be an inflammatory example. For a reason, though, not just to annoy people. P.S. I feel a lot like a weird Dumbledore, here, but I think it would help a lot if people would jus...

I'm really sorry guys. #winning https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/11/16/18098461/aqi-san-francisco-worst-air-quality-world-epa https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/11/16/18098461/aqi-san-francisco-worst-air-quality-world-epa

Edit - sorry, forgot the meta stuff was borked. Have a headline and a sub-headline: Maid of the Mist’s crew feel the pain of tighter U.S. visa policy Canadian members of crew said they were let go after being told the company could not obtain seasonal visas for them. What the hell? These are skilled jobs where experience matters. You can't just hire some random Amurrican to do this job. Fewer captains means fewer trips means less money means ripples through the company and the surrounding tourism. I know this stuff is complicated, but jiminy christmas, could we maybe have people who can handle something more complex than velcro setting and running our policies instead of ignorant ideologues? https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2018/11/16/maid-mists-crew-feel-pain-tighter-us-visa-policies/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.fec996b0c181 https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2018/11/16/maid-mists-crew-feel-pain-tighter-us-visa-policies/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.fec996b0...

Not that I've been getting out and seeing movies much anyway, but good grief. Word of mouth is making me less than motivated to go see most of them. The latest Harry Potter is apparently poor at best and "Green Book" is apparently another movie about racism that was written, directed, and focused on and by white people for white people. Which would be great if it ever broke tropes and actually educated white people, never mind stopped making any of it ok. Even one of the stars of the movie clearly still doesn't get it since he used the n-word during a presser about the movie. Maybe "Ralph Breaks the Internet" will be good.

Offs, Florida. I know election law is a morass of arcana and it's state by state but whatever you people are doing is perpetuating a system that just randomly disenfranchises people and you clearly do not care . This isn't a partisan issue. It's impossible that all those votes you threw out were only for non-Republicans. It's more than one county with these problems, too. Your state is an embarrassment that denies citizens their rights on a rather broad scale. You're just not as obvious about it as Georgia. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-ne-broward-palm-first-recount-20181115-story.html https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/fl-ne-broward-palm-first-recount-20181115-story.html

Which is the worst form of winter precipitation? Choose the form of the destructor.

Great. Possibly at two evacuation centers. Headline: They evacuated to escape the deadly Camp Fire. Then norovirus invaded their shelter. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2018/11/15/they-evacuated-escape-deadly-camp-fire-then-norovirus-invaded-their-shelter/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.295f0e3321a1 https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2018/11/15/they-evacuated-escape-deadly-camp-fire-then-norovirus-invaded-their-shelter/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.295f0e3321a1

To salt or not to salt. I can't get good enough info from the local weather thingy to decide if I should just wait until after it snows and then salt or not. What with the possibility of it raining on top of the snow just in time for tomorrow morning.

OFFS. You are just suing Williamsville and Amherst because they are the wealthy suburbs next to Buffalo. It is bloody obvious that the paths are steep (although not especially in the area where this person is supposed to have fallen) and there have been signs in the past about it gets slippery because wet because water, although I don't know what's there now. Also? Fall season in place with trees therefore fallen leaves also wet and slippery. Know what there are definitely signs about? No dogs and there's a picture right in the story of someone with a dog. Lawsuit! Look, he really got hurt and that is terrible, but people, especially the kids his lawyer so inventively imagines, like the pocket park partly because they can climb all over everything. Even the stuff that says don't climb this it's a freaking waterfall you could die . Ok, it doesn't say exactly that. Anyway, the place is often closed in the winter because of ice or snow, but they don't close i...

The latest Doctor Who episode ... 1) I feel completely unqualified to comment in some ways because of the context used to convey the message. 2) A whole, complete, self-contained episode. This was it. They finally did it. Actual closure. Kudos. A++ 3) I don't know about anybody else, and maybe it just hit me at the right/wrong moment, but that was pretty gut wrenching, actually. 4) The whole season's been pretty heavy and heavy handed on the messaging. I mean, that's not new to Who, but there's times it's been done better or worse and I think they finally managed to balance a message with a story. 5) To steampunk or not to steampunk, that is the question ... that keeps coming up, here and there, this season. Who knows? 6) I really don't agree with some of the persistent criticism threads that are being continued with criticism for this episode. That would get super spoilery to get into, though. Suffice to say I really do feel that this episode has a whole lot mo...

I didn't see this before the election but I can totally see high school and college choruses, glee clubs, show choirs, and some kind of Up with People groups performing this. They should totally choreograph it and turn it into a PSA. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jDGQHaWiNQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jDGQHaWiNQ

So I think I may have given myself peroneal tendonitis. This sucks. This is the wrong time of year to probably need one of those boots and it's my right foot so HELLO driving, much? I have a compression sleeve, which helps, but it's weirdly itchy when I wear it all day, so I guess maybe I should get new ones? Argh. Also playing with KT tape, which helps but haven't found exactly the right wrap, yet. Like, if I do both it helps a lot, but whine whine moan moan. Pain, burning, etc. Super uncomfy in most of my shoes so also not helpful in this weather. Sigh. Thanks for listening. #csbp

I thought of this a while back but never followed through. Then it popped back into my head with the unending midterms. So, here. Have a rough cut of my version of a famous patter song from "The Mikado". I'm guessing Gilbert and Sullivan isn't a big thing among my readers so a quick explanation. This particular song is kind of always updated to continue the sharply pointed puns and prods that are written into the original. It keeps it on point for contemporary audiences. Ko-ko is the Lord High Executioner, thus his need for a list of potential scapegoats. I've got some links so you can get the tune. The first link is a very contemporary ENO (English National Opera) version that's very funny but not done as a patter song so people can follow it better. It loses a little of the rhythm. The second link is to a much older but classic version where you get the rhythm and drive of the patter with the original words. #satiresowhite https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWo...

This is absolutely fucked. In so. many. ways. This accident shows the inherent risk of taking control of critical systems away from humans without their knowledge, and the unforseen consequences of increasingly complex systems. How about you not take control away from the humans and maybe only have that stuff as a back-up if the humans fail?? #HAL9000 #RUsureUwanttodothatdave https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/11/indonesia-737-crash-caused-by-safety-feature-change-pilots-werent-told-of/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/11/indonesia-737-crash-caused-by-safety-feature-change-pilots-werent-told-of/

At first I was all like OFFS, but then I was like, actually, no surprises here. Lots of ways to cut off access to opportunities and just plain living in cultures and systems that don't pay attention and change. https://www.wired.com/story/nyc-public-transportation-pink-tax-gender-gap/ https://www.wired.com/story/nyc-public-transportation-pink-tax-gender-gap/

I'm sorry, I don't understand. Since when did Mrs. All American Stay at Home Socialite, Mom, and Apple Potica Baker have anything to say about national security? https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/13/politics/melania-trump-mira-ricardel/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/13/politics/melania-trump-mira-ricardel/index.html

Well, this probably explains a lot about why the 7-Eleven in the nearby black/transitional neighborhood closed. It wasn't owned by "immigrants" and it was entirely staffed by African Americans who probably lived nearby. How do you run a franchise if you take home only $37K gross out of $1 million? Not to mention the other insane policies this talks about under the current company ownership. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-11-09/7-eleven-is-at-war-with-its-own-franchisees-over-ice-raids https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-11-09/7-eleven-is-at-war-with-its-own-franchisees-over-ice-raids

Well, crap. I am not making it this year but I have lost my recipe for wild rice stuffing. I have wracked my brains for a while and I am pretty sure I used wild mushrooms and leeks and chestnuts and sausage, but for the life of me I cannot remember if I did anything else and I cannot find where I put that info. Bugger.

Excelsior! https://twitter.com/TheRealStanLee/status/1061663682835361792/photo/1 https://twitter.com/TheRealStanLee/status/1061663682835361792/photo/1

* see if can reserve ahead of time and pick up that Monday or Tuesday - 19/20 - but ASK 12/13 about RESERVING TJ pre-cooked turkey * small roasting chicken - organic or kosher * PICK UP Day Before Use - so 11/16 half gallon lactose free whole milk + pick up any time (12/13?) sweet potatoes + baking potatoes + 1 can crushed pineapple + buy unused foil pie pans? + buy unused foil pie pans? + ** try to pick up weekend before - 17/18 - if pre-packaged, can pick up 12/13 TJ pre-cooked herbed brussels sprouts ** ?TJ pre-cooked chestnuts ** TJ cran orange sauce ** whipping cream (two?) ** eggs as needed **

- mild lock - It is possible I may be depressed. It is possible that may be from contemplating dealing with my family over the holiday. Or maybe that's just deep seated panic/anxiety. This is a fun game!

Ew, cooties! https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/08/opinions/lighter-world-war-i-language-x/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/08/opinions/lighter-world-war-i-language-x/index.html

Maybe some of these people should spend some time in an emergency room or a trauma icu. https://www.npr.org/2018/11/11/666762890/after-nra-mocks-doctors-physicians-reply-this-is-our-lane https://www.npr.org/2018/11/11/666762890/after-nra-mocks-doctors-physicians-reply-this-is-our-lane

Not gonna stop any time soon. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2018/11/11/how-doctors-responded-after-the-nra-said-stay-in-their-lane/#4697be8a581c https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2018/11/11/how-doctors-responded-after-the-nra-said-stay-in-their-lane/#4697be8a581c

Goodnight, sweet prince. (Sings "Daisy Bell" as fades into distance, fade to black.) https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/douglas-rain-dead-voice-hal-9000-2001-a-space-odyssey-was-90-1083429 https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/douglas-rain-dead-voice-hal-9000-2001-a-space-odyssey-was-90-1083429

Well, I've herded the cats as close to an actual plan for Thanksgiving as we are going to get. Unique in the annals of this family my brother and SIL committed to dates a month ahead and have stuck to them. My sister, otoh, is all this date, no that date, no this date, here's all the reasons why not, why are you so meeeean? So she'll be here, but not sure when, not sure where she's staying. My mother and sister agreed to minimal cooking. Yay! I have now forced my mother to commit to an actual plan of buying and cooking on specific 2-3 day ranges. Most food will be bought prepared and just heated or prepped. I have agreed to make lactose free evaporated milk so my dad can eat pumpkin pie made with his mom's recipe, which uses evaporated milk. I have also agreed to make her crust which uses shortening. My mom will make the actual pies. I have allowed that if there is time my mother may make a jello mold, as this seems to be important to her. This assumes there's r...

So there's this Slate news quiz thing. The opening frame of which for this week's quiz starts: As the migrant caravan approaches the U.S. border, I am reminded of the Great Caravan of 1836. Who can forget Jim Bowie's valiant battle with MS-13 gang members, or Davy Crockett's brave struggle against undercover Middle Easterners? Remember the Alamo! Remember President Houston! ... Wow.

I don't know if this really was the last full episode they shot, or if the people putting together the last episodes for air realized there was nothing more apropos than this, but ouch. https://www.thedailybeast.com/anthony-bourdains-final-episode-a-touching-tribute-to-fellow-new-york-misfits https://www.thedailybeast.com/anthony-bourdains-final-episode-a-touching-tribute-to-fellow-new-york-misfits

Stress eating is very bad. And yet, the cravings ...

I'd be curious to read the whole speech but it definitely sounds like everyone thinks he was including Trump in his intended audience. “Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism: Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism. In saying ‘our interests first, whatever happens to the others,’ you erase the most precious thing a nation can have, that which makes it lives, that which causes it to be great and that which is most important: Its moral values.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/excerpts-of-macron-speech-to-world-leaders-at-wwi-memorial/2018/11/11/3acea27e-e5b5-11e8-8449-1ff263609a31_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.125fc1fe648b https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/excerpts-of-macron-speech-to-world-leaders-at-wwi-memorial/2018/11/11/3acea27e-e5b5-11e8-8449-1ff263609a31_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.125fc1fe648b

Dead people everywhere. Forgotten. It's not the largest part of the article, but there were women who served, even if they were not honored or recognized. Flora Sandes was 38 when war broke out, and she wanted to serve. She was highly educated, fluent in French and German, and independently wealthy. She loved the outdoors, hiking and camping in all weathers. She could ride and shoot. She volunteered as a nurse but was rejected by the British because she was insufficiently qualified. The War Office was dismissive of women who wanted to contribute to the war effort, though many did. Elsie Inglis, the Edinburgh-educated doctor who founded the Scottish Women’s Hospitals was told by the War Office to “go home and sit still”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/A_forgotten_soldier https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/A_forgotten_soldier

Cash Crop Crisis is Nuts. Actual headline: Tanzania threatens to deploy army in cashew nut crisis https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-46166985 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-46166985

Looking forward to the holiday! Thus far, it seems like we should just make sure we follow the usual safe raw meat practices about storage, handling, and cooking, but it is worth paying attention in case there's some specific recall that gets issued at the last minute. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-news-salmonella-turkey-death-cdc-20181110-story.html http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-news-salmonella-turkey-death-cdc-20181110-story.html

It's such a shame the modern world provides so few transportation options. This isn't just an embarrassment. This is just more chipping away at our status, authority, and respect in leading the world. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/11/trump-paris-cemetery-rain-982947 https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/11/trump-paris-cemetery-rain-982947

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. It is also the 100th anniversary of the end of the war. I gather if there is participation in the US it will be at 11 am today. In Canada, it will be at local sunset. So if you hear bells, that's why. http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/research-collections/state-history/news/bells-peace-world-war-i-remembrance https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/bells-of-peace-armistice-remembrance-day-legion-churches-1.4897434 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/bells-of-peace-armistice-remembrance-day-legion-churches-1.4897434

This is a winter storm system. That is a wall of snow and clouds. Fortunately, it appears to have decided to remain south of us. This is facing southeast this morning. It’s a fairly large wall of snow and cloud that stretched all across the southern horizon. I raked all the leaves this morning anyway. Which was informative as one could observe leaves on our lawn from at least one street over. They get around, those leaves.

The 70s called. They want their tube top back.

No publicity is bad publicity? Uh, maybe not. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/davidmack/mahershala-ali-viggo-mortensens-n-word-green-book https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/davidmack/mahershala-ali-viggo-mortensens-n-word-green-book

oh hello freezing temps perhaps I will go salt the driveway

We really needed this guy to go, but Trump gets no credit for that since he's the one who brought him in in the first place. https://www.salon.com/2018/11/09/jeff-sessions-final-act-as-attorney-general-is-a-doozy/ https://www.salon.com/2018/11/09/jeff-sessions-final-act-as-attorney-general-is-a-doozy/

Lastly, for those of you to whom this may be of interest. https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8484137/the-beatles-white-album-anniversary-differences https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8484137/the-beatles-white-album-anniversary-differences

It's fascinating to see dueling headlines: CNN: No allegations of criminal activity in Florida election, law enforcement says Fox: Judge sides with Florida’s Rick Scott, cites ‘violation’ of state constitution by election officials

Oh, look. High blood pressure can be a good adaptation. Not to mention there's an adaptive gene for starch digestion. Take that, carb haters. (Yeah, yeah, none of us are descended from 7,000 year old Peruvians.) Seriously, though. Instead of treating people like they are morally or mentally defective, how about we science that it is actually good for the human population as a whole over thousands of years to have the genetic diversity to adapt to virtually any environment successfully. Unfortunately, those adaptations aren't necessarily helpful in a given person's situation or our present situation as a society. So let's approach things from the perspective of helping people and their bodies adapt to their brief candle of a life, not treating them like a social criminal. https://www.livescience.com/64052-ancient-dna-andes-survival.html https://www.livescience.com/64052-ancient-dna-andes-survival.html