Baaaaaaa'd Behavior (March 2023 Scapegoat Blame Thread)
10I’m not sure how it was for the rest of you, but I think February really lived up to that short-month title. @heartny may or may not be happy to see time fly and bring an end to their great guilt, but there’s still a lot of blame to go around and someone must be a fault. Why not @unksol? Certainly, anyone who keeps that many cats is to blame for something. Maybe everything. Probably everything.
(Mediocrebot drew you a cat-goat I guess. )
Now get that weight off your chest. It’s not your fault. Unless you’re @unksol…
- 18 comments, 71 replies
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First blame of the month and it is a big one. A client of mine e-mailed today about filing an extension for her as her 59 year old son had disappeared. He didn’t show up for a plane trip they were going to take together to FL and she hadn’t heard from him for several days before that. His car was discovered parked in a parking lot of a nearby park with his wallet and cell phone in the glove compartment with his keys (and him obviously) nowhere to be found. She asked me to pray for his safe return.
@Felton10


Wow, that’s awful! The power of prayer is amazing, hopefully he’ll be found safe.
@Felton10 well. That’s not good. I think might be a little over my pay grade though.
@unksol Mine also. Not the kind of news you want to hear from anyone. Difficult to know how to respond, but did anyway telling her that she was in our thoughts and prayers. It will be two weeks tomorrow since he was last spotted. Haven’t ever seen a good outcome where a car is left abandoned like that. No further updates.
@Felton10 yea. Nothing like that really ever ends well. Odd to have his cell and wallet in the glove box to me. But maybe just how he rolls.
If I were to check the timeline this is absolutely @heartny fault though. Just saying.
E-mailed the mother (my client) over the weekend and she never responded. E-mailed the other brother today and he said no updates-they check with the detective every couple of days. Also said his mother has come to stay with them while all this is going on. Sad.
I think I want a cat-goat.
@gogrrl See below.
/showme a cat-goat
@narfcake It’s pretty!
@mediocrebot Looks like a lot of rabbit mixed in there.
And a distinct resemblance to a racing snail…
/image neverending story racing snail

/showme a furry cat goat
@mediocrebot Looks like a Siamese cat goat, maybe?
@heartny @mediocrebot
My niece has a horse with eyes something like that, it’s the most beautiful horse I’ve ever seen! Some sort of Asian breed.
@heartny @mediocrebot That is wearing ballet toe shoes minus the strings because, well, cats.
Congratulations @unksol ! I’ll take the blame for this. Hopefully you will be a more exciting goat than I was.
@heartny y’all were warned
/showme a cat goat cat cat goat
@capnjb Yay! Shark fin ears! Forehead whiskers are a bonus.
@capnjb Forehead whiskers are a standard feature on cats!
@capnjb the better to hear you with my dear
@capnjb @Kyeh

Did someone say whiskers?
@capnjb @Lynnerizer Wow!
/showme a goat cat goat goat cat
@capnjb I just had to know. Not enough cat.
@capnjb so… Exactly what percentage of your goat do you want to taste like cat? Not getting blamed for that one
@unksol I’m going to have to process that question for a minute. I’ve had goat, gator, rattle snake, elk, etc… not sure I’ve ever wanted to try cat. My sister is with the State Department and on a foreign post was presented with horse meat at a formal dinner. She had to accept the meal but, yeah… not great. Back to your question…Zero percent.
edit - I do like rabbit though. I make a mean rabbit ragu with ravioli
@capnjb goats are cute but as far as I’m aware they are for milking or eating… I guess… How much do you want your cheese to taste of cat?
This is a blame.
https://www.woot.com/offers/mystery-asian-instant-ramen-noodle-15-count
(Reason: There’s a lack of cat pics in the discussion thread there.)
@narfcake SO $12 of old ramen for $19? My wife will be happy that I passed on this one
@narfcake I honestly didn’t think anyone even commented on woot anymore. Everytime I’ve looked at a deal there there’s like 3 comments. That’s the longest thread I’ve seen… Well since before meh.
Granted I only pop over when someone links or a “Slickdeal”
@narfcake @capnjb Not old, sell by date in 2024 - just … not worth buying because it’s boring.
@narfcake @unksol Okay, you piqued my interest and I read that thread; my observations are: the @Narfcake bowl IS cute, but yeah, why $95 for 3 spoons?!?
And dang, narfcake posts way more over there than here, evidently.
@Kyeh @narfcake I keep forgetting what year it is. #I’mOld
@unksol Most of the time, whether it’s the product or the pricing, there’s nothing worthy enough to discuss. This one was different for its lack of value.
@Kyeh I iz not a cat. And I’ll post whore more here too if it’s something I’m familiar enough with and/or requires driving off-topic.
@capnjb 2000 was just a few years ago, right?
@narfcake @capnjb You also lived some alternate years in your dream state at the ICU, didn’t you? No wonder time is screwed up for you.
@capnjb @unksol @narfcake

I was referring to what Pepper recommended: https://a.co/d/ej6Oimx
And yes, right, not a cat.
@capnjb @Kyeh @narfcake last I heard he doesn’t even HAVE a cat. He’s some sort of imposter.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@capnjb @Kyeh @unksol Yes, no cat(s), unless you count all the plushies.
catshirts, however.
@Kyeh @narfcake
Correct. Two month nap, felt like a year or more. So metaphysically, I’m in the future. That’s the best I’ve got to avoid just saying I read that wrong
JOIN ME IN THE FUTURE TIMES!!! 
@capnjb @Kyeh
I’m here. (I gave you a 4 hour head start…)
@capnjb @Kyeh @narfcake I know where/how you can rectify that issue
@capnjb @Kyeh @unksol
My reply is no
Should I get a cat?
/8ball
/showme Narfcakes cat
@mediocrebot Awwww
@heartny @mediocrebot
I’d love to have that cat!
@heartny

Mega-blame! After wearing it nearly continuously for almost 32 years, I lost my wedding ring.
With the cold weather I have been wearing gloves outside a lot. My guess is that at some point I pulled off a glove and the ring slid off with it, unnoticed. I’ll keep looking, but am losing hope of finding it.
@macromeh Can you get/borrow a metal detector?
@Kyeh I may yet resort to that, but there is a huge area to potentially search.
@macromeh That is really sad. I hope you find it.
@macromeh that’s unfortunate. I really hope you find it.
I “lose” things all the time. In that there is a cat-tel of 20 just relocating things at random. But sometimes I just find things that were “lost” too. Nothing anywhere near that important.
You do see those random news stories about “ring lost in xyz found by person and returned x years later”. People are… Not my favorite thing all the time but they recognize what a ring means. They would turn it in or post hey I found this/respond to a I lost this.
If you never find it. It is just a symbol. A very important one. A very special one. But don’t drive yourself crazy over it.
@macromeh I mean… Unless… How tight did it fit and where were you? Was it loose cause you were losing weight? Who for? Why was it off your finger? When it went awol. What’s his/her name?
But but I’m assuming after 32 years your actual adults and nobody is that insecure lol.
@unksol Well, I am down a few pounds since retirement (eating better + fewer hours sitting in front of a computer), plus reduced circulation in cold weather meant somewhat less plump fingers. As mentioned earlier, my theory is that the ring came off unnoticed when removing gloves.
).
My wife is very pragmatic (love that about her), but I know I would be pretty bummed if she lost her ring (and not just because it cost 10x what mine did
@macromeh
Definitely not worth giving up on! Try that metal detector and pray to Saint Anthony, the patron saint of lost things.
I’m so sorry you lost your ring like that, I know that feeling and it isn’t pleasant!
My very religious grandmother lost the diamond out of her wedding ring set after 40 something years of marriage. She would say her prayers every single day, at least twice, always asking Saint Anthony to help and guide her to the lost stone. She worked at our family business as well as in her home, cooking and cleaning like the devoted Lebanese wife she was. So she could have lost this precious stone anywhere! After 10 years of cooking and cleaning every single day, along with the endless prayers, she opened the refrigerator door and there was her diamond glistening just like she remembered it! She must’ve cleaned that fridge and mopped that floor a million times! And being the owners of a refrigeration and appliance store you know that under the fridge was vacuumed and cleaned on the regular! It was pretty much a miracle, and IMO, also a touching story!
Good luck finding your ring!


@Lynnerizer @macromeh Also, if you haven’t cleaned the lint out of the bottom of your clothes dryer’s cabinet lately, do so, and there’s a quantum chance that the ring will be in that mass. Do not ask how I know this.
Blame-irks are $50! You should be able to control this lol
@Star2236 I control nothing. I thought about it for a bit but nothing on the rebateable side deals was really up my ally.
And hey there deadline to make roth ira contributions for 2022 is in a month.
Unblame! My toilet wasn’t flushing right late last night, even after I plunged it. I just put off dealing with it until today (I have 2.)
I found a hint on a plumbing business’s website that said to try a cup of baking soda followed up with 2 cups of vinegar poured in slowly. It worked! Woo hoo! I didn’t have to drag out the snake or call anyone.
@Kyeh





Lucky YOU! Last time I left a clogged toilet to sit I was really, REALLY SORRY! I’ll NEVER do THAT again, what a horrible mess!
@Lynnerizer
Oh no. Sorry to hear that! This wasn’t a major clog, just not flushing properly. It’s a low flow toilet so that happens occasionally. Luckily it wasn’t that bad to begin with.
@Kyeh @Lynnerizer how long did you leave the baking soda? Technically it should turn the water a little alkaline. Which if left to soak could maybe do a tiny bit. But it would not create a strong base like a drain cleaner.
Then it would have needed to penetrate the clog for an acid addition to cause any reaction in the clog…
I suppose it could have loosened/broke it up a little.
I honestly haven’t had a toilet issue in… 15 plus years? Except for one ostensibly adult who thought the way to wipe was to make a glove out of half a roll of toilet paper… Some of the older low toilets were pretty meh though
@Lynnerizer @unksol I left the baking soda about 10 minutes, maybe, but it was the action of the vinegar making it fizz and bubble that got things going, I’m pretty sure. As I said, it wasn’t a major blockage.
@Kyeh @Lynnerizer I would generally think flushing with a bucket of watermight handle that since you can get the water level higher than a normal flush. But a plunger should apply similar pressure
Something is just now spooling up, beeping, spooling down beeping, spooling up. Not a good thing. Must investigate.
@Lynnerizer @unksol No - the bowl was filling slowly to the top and threatening to overflow. So that wouldn’t have done it. I’m telling you - vinegar &baking soda! It worked!
@Kyeh @Lynnerizer interesting. Unfortunately mythbusters is off the air cause now I want to see a “it really does work and here’s why” with like a toilet cutaway.
Emergency measure for about to overflow is lift the lid/raise the float. If it will take to long to crank the Watergate vavle. But I have def had those moments of terror. Please stop please stop. Lol
@Lynnerizer @unksol Yeah, I was ready to turn that valve but luckily it stopped short of the top. I might still need to have someone come rotor the line outside through the cleanout to get any roots that have gotten in.
@Kyeh @Lynnerizer @unksol My landlord put in an after market water saver. Every time there is low water pressure or it is off (which happens often here in this infamous city… the big question at the moment is will we have trash pick up starting April 1) the air needs bled from the valve or it overflows the top tank (no way to stop it by raising the float as there is no longer a float). As a result I have to turn my water on and off at the base of the toilet to prevent that from happening if either I will be gone for a while so not know, or we have no or low water pressure to prevent this. Can’t get the landlord to fix. I MISS the tie the float up solution!!!
@Kidsandliz @Kyeh @Lynnerizer well… That sucks. I mean I turn off the main valve/breaker if I won’t be home for a day cause adult. But no longer an option. To be gone a day.
Not sure how a low pressure valve could do that/why/how there can be no float but sorry sounds like it sucks.
I will still say the rural Midwest is generally nice. And cheap. Moving is always a huge mess never mind finding a job. Your landlord just sounds pretty bad.
OYNZR!
Wordle for March 13.
[in rot13]
I have tickets to see Bruce Springsteen in Philadelphia on Thursday. It’s been planned for months. My friend is now so bogged down at work (since mid-February it’s been 10-14 hour days, seven days a week—government contracting, don’t let your kids try it). So she can’t go, and I’m trying to sell the tickets and buy a pair to a show we can both get to, but it’s not looking good. My only consolation is I bought the tickets in a charity auction so at least the money isn’t totally wasted.
@kostia I mean ticket master is absolutely awful but doesn’t their resale thing get decent prices?
IDK I’m not a concert person. I am a workaholic and have gone through a go-live. The hours are a bitch but it would be nice to have a friend to jerk you out of it when its possible.
@unksol Been trying to sell it various places, just not happening. I’m hoping someone’s last minute desperation works in my favor.
@kostia good luck. Go-live/government contract is partially to blame for the cats. At least I tell myself that. Even though it’s my fault So. It could be worse!
Don’t give up trying to pry them away they probably need it. It’s easy to get burried and forget how to be normal/relax
BLAME!!! A pretty little tabby cat was hit and killed in the street by me. I saw it in the street, stopped and picked it up. It was still very warm so must have just died. Taking it to get it scanned for a chip in the morning. Hopefully it has one so its owner can be notified. very sad.
I just re-read this. I didn’t hit the cat. I saw it after it had been hit.
@Kidsandliz
Oh, no - that’s awful, but I’m glad it wasn’t you who hit it. I once hit something with my car at night and stopped and went running back all terrified - I kind of expected it to be a raccoon, we have so many around, but I was SO afraid it would be a cat or dog. It turned out to be a fox - which broke my heart, but at least it wasn’t someone’s beloved pet. I moved it out of the center of the road and I still cried really hard when I got home.
@Kidsandliz @Kyeh a cat ran out in front of me on an overpass going 60 in the middle of the country. Literally no time to do anything… There was no point in trying to stop/go back. It was directly under the tire. You could feel it hit… So at least it was quick
Felt a little sick for the rest of that drive but. Shit happens. Outdoor cats die. A lot.
@Kyeh @unksol It is so hard when we accidentally kill animals. I’d never make it as a hunter. Yeah I know animals get killed for the meat we eat but I, personally, would struggle to personally kill an animal. And yes when I have to put my cats down it is a real struggle too and not just because they will be dying.
On the highwayI had a young hawk fly into my windshield and killed it. And as far as cats - if people kept their cats indoors there would be far fewer missing cat posts on social media and fewer killed by cars. I know they escape on occasion despite one’s best efforts but the numbers would be way down. I trained mine to be afraid of the key in the lock. I’d randomly kick my door before, during or right after unlocking it. As a result they jump back when I open the door. Of course if I were to leave it open curiosity would get the better of them.
@Kidsandliz @Kyeh I mean I don’t do this cause I don’t let the cats escape. But it was a nice idea
https://theoatmeal.com/comics/kitty_convict2
Indoor only cats have this problem and KitKat jumped off the balcony once in my old apartment cause he liked to go out and I thought he was not a moron. And he could get the screen open… He did walk across the roof to my neighbors balcony and wouldn’t come back. So I think once I got on the roof and grabbed him… Once I had to knock on their door … But IDK if he tripped or what. He just went poof. I put the cat tree down the side of the building and he came up but I couldn’t get him in. Finally trapped him after a few other things but indoor cats outside freak the fuck out. No more risking that.
But. In the country barn cats are a thing. So is TNR with feral cats.
Some cats are allowed out but know where home is and handle that really well. If they are fixed that is probably fine. I have a book my grandma gave me that was just stories about outside cats in… Scotland or Ireland I think. They were amazing.
I’d love to be able to let them roam the yard but no way to secure it lol.
Just because indoor cats live longer than outdoor ones doesn’t mean outdoor cats are a bad thing in some environments. In a city that’s just. Dumb. And because we have an overpopulation issue because of strays/outdoor cats etc… You know. Accidents happen. What would a cats natural predator be to control the population? Too big for a bird. Too fast for… Anything else.
Granted I caused my own little version. I love the kids but. Things might be better if that had not happened. But they are contained/I’ll live with it.
If id had a barn though. Or something. TNR might have worked better. At least for Hershey. She still hates me lol
BLAME. Dudekitten has learned a new trick. We couldn’t find him a little while ago, and after some searching, I noticed that a small mew was coming from one of the cabinets in the bathroom. Dude apparently found a way to push open the wastebasket flap and get into that concealed area, and then couldn’t find a way back out.
@werehatrack I will take credit for your smart cat figuring out how to get in. I refuse blame for your dumbass cat not knowing how to get out.
Sometimes one of these dumbasses sneaks in behind me when I’m using the bathroom in stand up mode and gets shut in. then later there’s a bunch of whining and 10 cats at the door.
Obviously when sitting down everyone’s in there anyway cause cats so I have to shoo a few out anyway/check the corners