May The Goat Be With You (May 2022 Scapegoat Blame Thread)
20Welcome to the 5th month of 2022, or as I like to call it, May! With a new month comes a new goat, which is unfortunate because @phendrick really didn’t get enough blame in our opinion, but took what was there like a pro. There’s always next time. (Note: There will be no next time, it just sounded like a nice thing to say.)
Handling the scapegoat duties for May will be @yakkoTDI. Always the first person to say the first thing that comes to mind. I don’t know the first thing about 'em, other than being a truly reliable resource for first posts.
I’ve included this excellent photo of a friend’s goat without permission to post it. It’s ok though, if it gets swapped out later you can blame @yakkoTDI for that too.
- 41 comments, 144 replies
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Unblame, because today is my boys second birthday! Happy Birthday Charlie
@tinamarie1974
/image happy birthday puppy
Edit - hmm not quite what I intended. Maybe that puppy will come to Charlie’s birthday party.
@Kidsandliz I think Charlie would enjoy having another doggo to play with. He and my moms dog, buddy (rescue birthday is today), will have cake on Sunday. I found a “Petcake” kit on Chewy.com. super cute bone shaped kit that is microwaveable and even included yogurt icing. Will be a nice treat for both of them!
@Kidsandliz @tinamarie1974
Awww! I hope everyone has a fine time. He looks very cute with his puppy cut. He didn’t turn out to be quite as huge as you feared, did he.
@Kidsandliz @Kyeh aw, thanks! I found a new groomer a few months ago and she is great!
Looks like he is gonna settle around 50 lbs. So he is 10-20 lbs less than anticipated. I think he is a good size, but it was a big change from having a 15 lb lap dog. Took Charlie a while to train ME!
@Kidsandliz @tinamarie1974 That does seem like a nice size. My sister’s Japanese Chin just got a puppy cut and I think she looks cuter that way than with long hair.
@Kidsandliz @Kyeh it is so much easier as well. At least for Charlie he has SO MUCH HAIR and doesnt like to be brushed. That leads to loads of shedding and, well, matts in his fur. All around no bueno.
I am sure it is easier for your sister as well
@Kidsandliz @tinamarie1974 True, same for her. I showed her Charlie’s picture - she thought he was adorable. She has a Penzey’s bandanna too, but her pup wasn’t wearing it today, too bad. Here’s a picture for you though of my super-spoiled little princess of a canine niece:
She has them leave the tail long so you can see how much hair that is!
@Kidsandliz @Kyeh she is adorable, she looks so sassy!!! Love her hair short
@Kidsandliz @tinamarie1974 Sassy is exactly right - sweet but stubborn and doesn’t understand the word “no”!
Well, I’ve been quiet for a while. Been crazy busy over here for a few months - good and bad. Hitting @yakkoTDI for at least the most recent issues
Blame, I caught a stomach virus this week that had me down and out for three days with nausea, cold chills, migraines and aches. Great googlie mooglie, that was three days I do not want to relive anytime soon!!
Blame, said goodbye to one of my favorite uncles recently. Lost him to kidney failure and bone cancer. Fuck cancer! He lived out of town on the west coast so I was only able to see him for a few days.
Unblame, I was able to put together his memorial presentation, and it was beautiful. Thanks to a very sweet and appreciated friend for her help in the process.
Unblame, the botox injections seem to be working and last month I had a total of THREE episodes. I literally hugged my dr last time I saw him I was so happy!!
Blame, all of the above plus a bit more has kept me away from the forum and all you awesome people. Hope everyine is doing ok and I’m back!!
POPSOCKETS! SPA KITS! POLLY POCKETS! AWESOME!
@tinamarie1974 Blame and unblame?
Time for some celebratory Snickles!
@tinamarie1974 Ready for the 90° temps we’re gonna have in STL by Monday? LOL
@mike808 holy shit Mike! You try it first and let me know what you think
@mike808 so not ready for the 90’s. I sense another blame for out absentee goat lol.
@tinamarie1974 I’m glad you’re back, I missed you! Congrats on the win for Buddy, and for the memorial turning out well, and for the Botox working - that’s so great!
Sorry about the sad and bad stuff - since our delinquent goat probably won’t say anything about it. It’s still his fault.
@Kyeh thanks my friend! Missed you too
@Kyeh @tinamarie1974
Glad you are better. Missed your usual wit and those boots! I’m sure Charlie was a good nurse…
FWIW @yakkoTDI is not really ignoring us all… he remains active on the other threads. He is just ghosting this one.
Thanks @chienfou, I missed you and the rest of the group as well! FWIW, Charlie was so good while I was sick. I think he knew, because the momemt I felt better he was back to his energetic self!
@chienfou @tinamarie1974
Yes, @yakkoTDI is deliberately derelict in his goatly duties. He could at least show us his cactus collection again.
That pictured goat looks adorable!
But yes, kind of a sinister expression on its little face.
Unblame…
Simon’s getting neutered today! I called to set up the appointment for Wednesday and was told they could probably do it today. She asked if he’d eaten, yes he had, well, we can give him meds to make him vomit, then we can do the surgery (tummy has to be empty).
This is great. Get it done!
@lisaviolet
@mike808
Simon yesterday afternoon after the drugs wore off.
@lisaviolet @mike808 From Simon: Blame - first, my new family brought me to some guy who gave me something that made me puke. Why would someone even do that? I had a nice nap afterwards, but when I woke up, my nuts were gone! WTF?!
@lisaviolet @mike808 how is he doing?
@mike808 @tinamarie1974 He’s doing great. Starting to catch on to the routine.
Yeah, he still goes through the house in the dead of night, singing the song of his people, but hopefully that will be over in under a month.
Thanks for asking.
@mehcuda67 @mike808 That about sums it up.
Blame: The heat index in STL is 103 today. Last week it was like 70 and rainy. WTF Mother Nature
Blame: Charlie’s monthly food delivery was suppose to arrive yesterday by our friends at FedEx. They CLAIM they delivered to my driveway (why not the door, isn’t that customary?). That said, I am WFH and my desk looks out to the front yard, no FedEx truck stopped at my house yesterday, guaranteed. Called Chewy, they sent a replacement. Called FedEx, they are running a trace, not expecting much. I think we should rename them PB
In case it is not clear, @yakkoTDI, this is all your fault!
@tinamarie1974 UPS SmartPost seems to be in the lead for Best Pitney Bowes by an Established Parcel Delivery Organization. Item shipped Tuesday in Plano, still in Carrollton today. That’s about 5 miles in two days. Maybe less.
@werehatrack I actually seem to have luck with the USPS here. FedEx is just terrible, but that has a lot to do with the contractors in my area
@tinamarie1974 @werehatrack
I wish all the delivery services would send you a photo of the package the way Amazon does. One delivery got made to the back of my detached garage; I would never have found it without the photo!
@Kyeh @werehatrack agree, Inasked my FedEx Global rep whybthry dont. Systems/IT related.
@tinamarie1974 @werehatrack
Well, they should figure out a way, somehow.
@Kyeh @werehatrack agree completely. It would have instantly resolved my “delivered” package issue.
@Kyeh @tinamarie1974 @werehatrack
I came out of the backyard where I was working last week and found an envelope under the wiper blade of my RAV. At first I thought it was an ad (primaries are next week) but then I realized it was the 8x10 I had made of us all at the beach for Mom’s 90th that I was going to send to her sister in France. Really FedEx? WTaF? I wouldn’t have seen it for a couple of days or more (until the next time I had to drive somewhere) if I hadn’t happened on it that day by chance.
Blame.
Got new metal detector.
Went to test it out.
Then it goes off like crazy.
Thought I found something.
Was digging fifteen feet down.
Something ain’t right here.
Check signal again.
Fuck! It was my steel-toe boots.
Fuckitty, fuck! Fuck!
@mike808
/giphy hahahahaha
Welcome @yakkoTDI.
Good, I now get to blame @yakkoTDI for April being over before I got to enjoy much of my goathood, due to the general amplitude of apathy among the mehtizenry (guess the blooming flowers and taming of the CV had much to do with that).
(Or is today just April 31, as the b&m MS post implied?}
Now that I’ve come to the end of my reins (rains? reigns? all of the above?), I might have to incur some blame by doing something obnoxious as an ex-goat. [Stay tuned]
@phendrick Well, former goat, you got some blames towards the end of your tenure that you never responded to, so you can’t really complain…
@Kyeh Well, can I accept blame belatedly? If not, I blame the current goat for that. I also blame my internet provider. I had some internet issues for a day or two; just would get back on then lose it again. I hadn’t even realized I had missed anything, until I saw your post.
@phendrick Well, since our new goat seems to be awol, I guess last month’s blames and unblames still go to you?
That pictured goat does look like it is planning something significant for the month, just biding its time.
@phendrick The goat abides, man.
Unblame. (for @werehatrack)
@mike808 Meow the fourth be with you.
Blame.
If a duly elected Goat remains absentee for the entire month, does said Goat become a Goat Demeritus instead of Emeritus?
@werehatrack
He should!
@werehatrack @Kyeh A certain Volunteer Mod, whose first name begins with an I, was an absentee goat for a month. We called him Dirtbag.
@Barney @werehatrack
Wasn’t KouH awol the whole month too?
@Kyeh @werehatrack If not the whole month, I think it was pretty close to it.
@Barney @Kyeh @werehatrack and the fidget spinner guy
@Barney @Kyeh @tinamarie1974 @werehatrack Maybe there needs to be a “special” goat poop icon for goats who go MIA?
@Barney @Kidsandliz @tinamarie1974 @werehatrack Or a transparent goat icon, for the “ghost goat.” Just an outline, not filled in.
@Barney @Kyeh @tinamarie1974 @werehatrack That’s a better idea than mine.
Blame. Simon got out of the yard the day before his scheduled neuter surgery. Last Tuesday, he was nowhere to be found. He’d only been here two weeks. We had zero idea how he got out.
Watching the other cats who were all of a sudden very interested in one area of the barrier that keeps them in our yard, we realized that’s where he most likely got out.
We got one of those motion sensor sprinklers and installed it so that if any of the cats wanted to figure this thing out, they’d get hosed.
This barrier has been up for almost thirty years and this is the second cat who breached it. Thirty years!
So, now to the unblame.
When I was getting dinner ready for the cats yesterday evening, I saw movement on the top of the gate next to the side garage door. It was Simon. He couldn’t get in the yard because of the barrier.
Hubby went outside to talk to him, I left through the front door and was able to get him and bring him back in the house.
He was very hungry and last night, all cats were in for the night (it went smoothly, probably because he was tired and full). No outdoor access until daylight. It will be this way until he settles down, which will probably take a while after he’s neutered. I’m hoping they can take him in on Wednesday.
It’s good to have him back.
@lisaviolet so happy he came back!!
@lisaviolet
Whew! I’m glad he’s home safe.
@tinamarie1975 @kyeh
Here he is this morning on top of the old doghouse (sort of left of the center of the photo, on the bank, you can kind of see the wire fencing at the top of the wooden fence). He’s doing fairly well being kept indoors at night.
He was pretty tired the first night, though.
We may have to come up with a badge for people who Ghoatst when they’re on the chopping block and then just duck out for the month… But who do you blame for this behavior?
@ExtraMedium I can think of someone. What do you think @yakkoTDI?
@ExtraMedium My suggestion above was a goat outline rather than a solid one, to convey that they were a ghost. Maybe not obvious enough, though.
@Kyeh Something “cool” would result in similar behavior. Maybe a new
style badge that looks more like goat poo. I also like the title Goat Demeritus as suggested earlier.
It’s unfortunate that I have no such authority around here.
@ExtraMedium Goat poo just looks like little pellets… maybe an overturned goat with a small pile of pellets on top? 🫤
@ExtraMedium @Kyeh Maybe a literal ghost outline badge - Pac-Man style.
@ExtraMedium @Kyeh @mike808 Really, I think just noting in The Goat List that a given Goat is officially Demeritus by virtue of invisibility during tenure is more than enough. It’s not like most of us actually sought out the “honor”, after all.
@ExtraMedium @Kyeh @mike808 @werehatrack
I know. I tried to dodge it by uploading a death certificate “signed” by meh. Didn’t work. I think my mistake was that I uploaded it. But there weren’t whispers back then to get someone else to do it for me.
@ExtraMedium @Kidsandliz @Kyeh @mike808 @werehatrack I recall a few offhand goat threats over the years. and I just warned you all I’m too unreliable to live up to the legacy. Or awesome effort. Of some of you. There’s been ghosts before. Eh.
Is there a goat log still?
FOOLS! TOOLS! JEWELS! AWESOME!
@ExtraMedium I can think of one way to at least keep the errant goat from being able to ignore the whole thing, even if they don’t reply. You could set it up so that whoever the goat is, they’re automatically subscribed to the blame thread for that month. Helpful to responsive goats and annoying to the ghost goats.
Blame! Dismay! Dismay! The First of May! Mosquito Season begins today!
@werehatrack Get yourself some pet chameleons.
/youtube 9Z6D-j5alJc
@werehatrack @yakkoTDI Not to mention, black fly season! They’re the unofficial state bird around here in New Hampsha. Please allow me to pile on… Blame!
Want to hear the saga of the bike lane?
There is a street through a neighborhood near me that a lot of people use as a cut through. It’s also one of the few roads with a nice sidewalk separated by a grass strip. Anyway, someone decided it needed to be more pedestrian friendly. I’m thinking it’s someone that lives there with political clout but who knows.
So they placed combination bike/walking lanes on both sides and dropped the speed limit. Fine, whatever, hope the guys in spandex don’t run over any kids.
Apparently people drove too fast. So they added speed humps. I like speed humps, just like the bumper cars at the amusement park. Apparently some people don’t, because cars started swerving into the bike/pedestrian lanes to avoid them. Oopsie.
So to solve this problem they installed poles right in the middle of the bike lanes. Hope those guys in spandex didn’t want kids.
I can’t wait to see what happens next.
@sammydog01 We call them speed bumps.
@Barney These ones are flat on top. I think the sign said humps? Tables? Anyway they give you a nice fun bounce when you drive over.
@sammydog01 I bet your car really likes them.
@Barney I’m passive aggressive enough to drive through there every chance I get. The new suspension will be worth it.
@Barney @sammydog01
Fire departments hate them because they fuck up the emergency response vehicles trying to save someone’s life or stop a house from burning down.
Sounds like a “revenue extraction zone” speed trap designed to slap fines on drivers (usually not from that jurisdiction) as a bullshit way to pay for government while pretending that it is free because they’ve stripped it for parts and left the burned out husk up on cinder blocks.
@sammydog01 They’re doing asinine stuff like that all over our town too! I guess they need to find a way to spend tax money, even though they can’t seem to hire enough cops to bust all the thieves stealing bikes and catalytic converters.
@Kyeh @sammydog01 Hard to hire new cops when you’ve spent all your taxpayer money on defending shitty roided up cops (and management was so incompetent they had no clue there were any “bad apples” in the ranks, wink, wink) and settling all those civil lawsuits.
@mike808 @sammydog01 The cops around her were a reasonably civil bunch for the most part but they seem to have lost a lot of staff throughout the city over the pandemic.
@Barney @mike808 If they were trying to set up a speed trap they wouldn’t have made it physically impossible to speed.
@Kyeh We have new bike lanes in other places too- they claim it’s to cut down on pedestrian fatalities. Maybe it will. I suspect we’ll see an increase in accidents between fast bikes and slower bike and pedestrian traffic.
This short stretch of road seems to be about someone on a massive power trip who will do anything to bend the drivers to their will including making the lane unusable for bikes and pedestrians. There’s not enough room to comfortably bike or push a stroller around the new poles so they’ll have to veer into traffic. Which I find ironic.
@Kyeh @sammydog01 I wonder if they have reduced the effective lane width to below the ADA threshold for wheelchairs…
@Kyeh @werehatrack
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@sammydog01 Just an aside, the local bike advocacy group’s old spokescritter used to sometimes refer to the lycra-guy crowd as MAMIS; Middle-Aged Men In Spandex. The bike group has a different spokescritter now. And while you still see examples of that stereotype out on the bike paths, we also get a lot more people in just ordinary attire than we used to. And somewhere along the way, the city began to get the message that just making the traffic lanes too narrow for a city bus, and painting a stripe parallel to the gutter to partition off a “bike lane”, wasn’t going to convince anyone that this was a safe place to ride. But that’s mostly what we’ve still got for the moment. There are exceptions, but not enough of them … yet.
@Barney @sammydog01 in my experience speed bumps are literally bumps. They are narrow/rounded and you can take them fast like railroad tracks sort of. Usually no sign. Speeds humps are that wider one that you can’t and way worse/will bottom your car out.
Obligatory joke about speed hump signs on my old college campus.
@Barney @sammydog01 @unksol
@Barney @mike808 @sammydog01 while I’m aware that song existed via a line or two… I’d never actually listened to it.
I suppose there is a parallel along destroying something valuable for no gain?
@Barney @sammydog01 @unksol Speed humps have gone uptown and copped a 'tude; they even have Official Specifications now, and installing them is no longer a simple matter of dumping a pile of hot asphalt mix on the street and pounding it into shape and place with some shovels. Meanwhile, the local crotch-rocket jocks have discovered that the humps are FUN to use as launch ramps if you know how to do it, with the added bennie that when a n00b tries, he’s generally going to end up with some nasty road rash. (And this is despite the fact that the new-style humps have gaps in them which a bike can shoot right through.) The neighborhood self-righteous control freaks persuaded the city to get them installed on my street, and now they’re wringing their hands over the fact that they’ve merely made the traffic issues on this street worse for themselves. And the city will not even listen to a request to remove them for twenty years after they’re installed - which is also about as long as the time between resurfacings of the street.
@Barney @unksol @werehatrack When I looked up speed humps vs bumps (after someone implied my state is stupid) the article said speed humps were milder and designed to be driven over in the low 20s. These ones are definitely fine (and kind of fun) at 25 which is the speed limit there.
As for speed bumps the school my kids went to decided to install speed bumps to slow down traffic at a crossing. I would be shocked if an engineer of any kind was consulted because they put in a triple speed bump. Driving over at the posted speed limit of 5 mph is a kidney jarring experience. Rolling over is extremely unpleasant. My daughter discovered a sweet spot of 17 and gunned it across. Good planning guys.
@Barney @sammydog01 @unksol I find that us old farts with old fart vehicles that do not have super low profile slot car tires can often transit those old style bumps at full speed and barely notice them. It’s certainly no worse than driving across I-10 from the Texas state line to Lake Charles used to be, before they fixed all the places where the slabs of old concrete had shifted into stair steps.
Unblame. I spent Saturday with my homebrew club celebrating AHA Big Brew day (our first get-together in 3 years because of the plague). I brought home a 5 gallon share of red ale that is bubbling away in my fermenter this morning.
Unblame
What happens when you marry a cat lover? You have…
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STEP CATS!
(ok so not original but still funny)
@Kidsandliz Step-cat, what are you doing?
UNBLAME
Toaaadally an Uber snake
@Kidsandliz But it’s not Wednesday, my dudes.
They’re just on their commute to over there.
@Kidsandliz @mike808 Cane toads in Australia, riding a python - which is apparently uninterested in a toxic snack.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46720029
@mike808 @werehatrack So now we know where that photo originally came from
@Kidsandliz @mike808 @werehatrack
Pretty smart toads!
@Kidsandliz @Kyeh @werehatrack
@Kidsandliz @mike808 @werehatrack
Aren’t those its own babies? And I find that slightly horrifying - crocs and alligators are scary.
Blame. Storms rolled through. Tornado sirens went off. I get home and power is out and I can’t cook dinner. First world problems.
@mike808 I saw a funnel form, it was pretty creppy!
@mike808 @tinamarie1974 I’ve seen funnels form too. And I have seen them on the ground too close to me for comfort - as in look out the car window, there it is and branches start falling off of trees all around me and the car starts to shake. I think I’d prefer a hurricane than a tornado. At least in a hurricane you have time to run away although the damage is more wide spread and lasts longer.
@Kidsandliz @mike808 @tinamarie1974 Been through many hurricanes and close to one tornado. Hurricanes are much less terrifying. And I’ve been through a Category 5 storm.
Blame as I compose this, I am sitting in the driver’s seat of a 2003 Chevy 1 ton van. The left front wheel bearing has failed. This has taken place in Midland, Texas, a place where I do not live. This is not my van, but I am using it to haul a bunch of stuff with me to a convention in Phoenix. And I need to be there at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. Just about every repair shop in this town is backed up for a week. With a little luck, AAA will tow me to the only one I could find that can do anything for me today. And then I probably get to drive all night. I’m getting too old for this crap.
@werehatrack
@werehatrack Well that sucks.
@werehatrack Any luck finding a shop? Is the van fixed?
@Kidsandliz @werehatrack
Damn. That extra sucks because you’re in Texas.
@mike808 (@Kidsandliz @werehatrack) I guess wheel bearings never go out in your part of paradise. Must be because your politicians are so much more enlightened than ours.
@Kidsandliz @phendrick @werehatrack
You know it! Roy Blunt #3, and Josh Hawley #15 are on the “Top Recipients of NRA blood money funneled from the Russians”.
Well above that amateur grifter Ted Cruz.
Source.
@Kidsandliz @mike808 @phendrick The van got fixed in good time, and I made it to Phoenix before midnight local time.
Now don’t go calling Ted Cruz an amateur grifter, because he is crookeder than a hog’s hind leg that’s broke six places. The only thing I’ll say good about him is that he’s not as absolutely completely colossally stupid as Louis Gohmert. But that would require actual work to accomplish, and Cruz ain’t never done a lick of that in his entire life.
@Kidsandliz @phendrick @werehatrack
Glad you made it out of stupid-town without getting shot “fer lookin’ too libral”.
I have both blame AND Un-blame!
Today’s offering of the diamond earrings brings me back to my last IRK.
I ALMOST got the earrings that were offered today, or ones very similar, in my IRK from the last mehrathon on April 1st! (Remember what a mehrathon is…
) Yes, it was also the one that I never got around to posting on.
My reasoning, or excuse as my guy would say, is that I couldn’t get to the box to take a picture and I personally don’t like posts without pictures! (Apparently channeling my inner kindergarten years 
)
So I fell short! Now I’ve already beat myself up about it so please hold back on the hate, no need to throw shade or even think about it.
SAVE ALL THAT STUFF FOR THE GOAT!!
Yes, yes, YES, I’m getting to the meat and potatoes, excuse me for being long winded. Long winded Lynn should be my new username. Lol
This is a funny story…
My guy, not a meh-head, sometimes gets the joy & privilege of looking at the IRK first. His excitement was beyond belief when his eyes landed on the tiny jewelery box. Then, in true IRK reality, his disappointment was just as beyond belief when the box was empty! He was SO angry! You might’ve actually thought HE’D spent the world’s last $5 and he might not ever be able to play Keno again! In his world that’s everything!
He went on about it for days, even telling me to call and report it to customer service! 
He really just wasn’t wanting to understand how things worked here and only kept thinking he wanted me to have those diamond earrings. It was almost as if he felt HE’D been cheated. …poor guy! 
Lol
And now for the un-blame…
I’d posted here about intermittent starting problems with my 2009 Nissan Rogue and asked for help. Everyone was great jumping in with ideas! Thanks again for your help, you guys are great!! 
I was finally told that the dealership had given up. I really had no choice about what I should do, I need transportation! I’m not the gear head I used to be and these days I just need reliable transportation. My guy is waiting for a liver and we’re both on overload with Dr appointments. Getting old is kinda sucking for us right about now but on the other hand it can only get better!
Right…? RIGHT…!!!
I got a new car/SUV!!
After 3 weeks of searching EVERYWHERE for a vehicle that fit my needs and raising the budget another 10k, I finally found the perfect one! I ended up getting a 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport unlimited with 30k miles. Even got a 10 year bumper to bumper and warranty! This vehicle is beautiful! It’s got every safety feature available, unbelievable pick up being it’s turbo and a panoramic sunroof/moon roof that goes on forever! I’m thrilled with my car and EVERY SINGLE TIME I get behind the wheel I can’t help but announce how much I LOVE my car!
@Lynnerizer So glad you finally got a car and love it!!!
@Kyeh Thanks!
Blame - our goat @yakkoTDI is totally ignoring us. Off riding his bike, probably. But he should be concerned about this bike lane debacle @sammydog01 has alerted him to!
@Kyeh @yakkoTDI where are you?!?!?
/giphy where are you
Blame, oh, plenty of blame! Today’s SideDeal is the infamous BlendTec blender of many YouTube hours of hilarity. And for the first time, the morning convo had to start with “We need to make sure we don’t both order the Side Deal.”
And that said, now I must make room for it.
What the hell,
naturegoat (@yakkoTDI)? Thursday - temps in the 90s and high winds. Friday - this:Two large branches broken off my neighbors’ tree!
They forecast freezing temps overnight, so I cut a bunch of irises from my yard. Kind of sad because they’re blooming exceptionally well this year, but they do make a luxurious bouquet.
Also some lilacs:
@Kyeh those are beautiful!!
@Kyeh Your house must smell nice.
@tinamarie1974 Thanks! I don’t usually cut them but maybe I’ll cut at least some from now on.
@sammydog01 Yes, it’s pretty nice!
I draped towels over my peony plants that have big buds on them, so I’m hoping to have some peony bouquets soon.
Blame, shared. We had a pair of foster kittens who stayed with us until they were a year old, and we didn’t fully appreciate just how attached to them the entire household had become. The other cats are looking for them now, and I spent most of yesterday down in the dumps because they’d been handed off for adoption. I’m still bummed about the fact that they aren’t here anymore. Those two were really amazing. But they’re off to Minnesota, where reportedly there is far more demand for adoptable kitties than here. And we have eight cats…
@werehatrack Well that is a combination of sad and good. I had 4 I was fostering. It absolutely killed me to give up Big Boy and Felix. It’s been about 5 years and I’d still take those two back. The other two not so much so, although Oscar was incredibly loving and a major lap cat, he wanted to be king of the world and some of “my” cats didn’t agree with that and never completely made peace so that made it less ‘hard’ that he was gone.
Blame. I got an email that Cold Stone Creamery (of which there is none around here) has peeps ice cream. In my opinion that would be beyond gross. I know some people on here like peeps although I can’t remember whom to tag so I guess those people would call it an unblame.
Unblame - how to catch cockroaches. So I discovered, accidentally, how to catch and kill a bunch of cockroaches at once. Had chicken noodle soup. Had a ton of broth left when I was done. Put it on the floor for the cats to drink. Left it out overnight. About a dozen or so roaches in there drowned.
So last night used some beef bullion. And this morning almost 2 dozen dead ones and two I killed who were trying to make their exit when I turned the light one this morning to feed the cats. Way more than I catch on the sticky traps or see dead after combat roach motels are left out. Going to set the soup trap again tonight to see what I get. Way cheaper and more efficient than the other methods (landlord of this apt building does not think roach control is his problem).
@Kidsandliz
The third apartment that I moved into here in Houston was in a building that was known to have some roach problems. The landlord offered to have pest control come in once a month. I didn’t want pesticides. I bought a bunch of tubes of caulk. I caulked literally every seam in the kitchen cabinets, the bathroom vanity, the door frames, the light switch plates, the outlet plates, and where the pipes came through the wall in the bathroom and kitchen. Oddly enough, when I moved out, we’d never had a roach.
@werehatrack I have looked into doing that. Trouble is big holes behind the cabinets (saw that when mine started to fall off the wall, the tops of them are mostly missing any wood so I’d have to nail some boards there and hope not to get caught having done that) that I can’t get to - especially those in and around under the sink. I could get most of them but not all of them. And I’d have to be careful to match the color they used as we aren’t allowed to do stuff like that. I do have a strip of rubber on the main door but they can still come in under that in places (including the corners), especially now that they pulled the rug in the hall.
I think if I can kill them all when they finish the foundation work I can finally get back to where I was before then which was no roaches after I got rid of them. They only came back about 15 or so months ago when they tore up everything fixing the foundation.
@Kidsandliz Huh, well - it’s inexpensive and non-toxic, so that’s a pretty useful discovery!
@Kidsandliz @Kyeh Easy, cheap, natural way to kill the little buggers (and safe for pets) :
Diatomaceous Earth. You can find it at any garden department/store, e.g. Lowe’s or Home Depot or Menards. It is harder/sharper than their exoskeleton, so it basically cuts them just walking over the stuff and they dehydrate.
Borax. Your basic 20 Mule detergent booster stuff. It pulls moisture out of their bodies and acidifies to beak down the exoskeleton and they dehydrate.
Both are non-toxic to people and animals. You apply by spreading/pouring lines of powder where they are likely to cross - doorways, window sills, baseboards. Wherever they’re coming from, draw your Maginot line for them to go away.
Repeat as necessary.
@Kidsandliz do you think the left out food might be part of the reason why the roaches keep coming back? Not judging by the way. I’ve learned in apartment dwellings, critter invites takes only one tenant for them to manifest.
@njfan I didn’t have any after I managed to kill them all off with combat when I first moved it. Also management was having pest control come through one a month. Then ownership changed. Pest control came once very 10 weeks and then not at all. I still more or less had them under control. Then when they started to do the foundation work and cracks started opening up all over the place as they shifted the building the problems were huge (that more or less corresponded with no more pest control by corporate). So I bought more combat. Have sticky things all over (yeah when a cat gets one of those stuck on them you have the 3am cat freak out). I made a stink in the office.
Someone else, when they did a white glove inspection had signs she put up that said “your cockroaches” by all her roach covered stick pads - she had 6 or 7 of them out completely covered all over the counter tops and floor and about 20 or so of them taped to the wall absolutely full that she had had on the floor - I saw it and other than that many roaches how she had it done for corporate was hysterical - my place could have looked just the same but I had been throwing the full sticky pads out and corporate happened to be at that inspection and saw that. Pest control has been started back up but it will be once every 10 weeks - 5 more weeks before they hit my part of the building.
Meanwhile back at the roach farm… way the hell too many.
Blame? Unblame? So I was reading (or more like selecting spam to delete from my inbox) and it said, or so I thought on the first read, “Stylish kitten upgrades”. Opps. Kitchen.
/giphy stylish kitten upgrades
@Kidsandliz Looks like me if I wear high heels!
One note not mentioned above; while supplementing breast milk with cow or goat was done prior to the introduction of formula, it was not historically regarded as safe for another reason. Insufficient sanitation in the handling of cow’s milk prior to the introduction of Pasteurization was a major cause of death in children due to milk-borne diseases. My parents grew up in the era when the change began, and saw just how much of a societal shift it produced.
This was supposed to be a reply to the comment thread immediately above; my phone app picked the wrong thing to attach it to.
@werehatrack Well, I’m not talking about that far back, even - but it could be I’m actually thinking of kids who were older than the bottle-feeding age who had to drink goat milk rather than cow’s milk. Like @phendrick’s son.
Thinking of our Haiku threads (unblame)
Blame - these big vehicles have been parked behind my back fence since last Thursday, making a hell of a noise
all day long from about 8:30 till 5:00.
@Kyeh well that is terrible
Unblame, eventually, because they’re burying cables; they’re going to bury the power lines too, so sometime in the future the overhead lines will come down, reducing the number of power outages and the fire risk.
Soon, I hope.
Maybe @phendrick needs a better internet connection. Somebody should send him this and hook him up.
Sharing a clue with @yakkoTDI.
@yakkoTDI
Unblame - clear skies here, so a perfect view of the eclipse. A nice long one, too!
I thought it would be more red, though.
@Kyeh Thunderstorms here. No view. BLAME!
@Kidsandliz @Kyeh not my pic, but here ya go
Clear sky here, but light pollution makes getting a decent image next to impossible.
@tinamarie1974 thanks!
Blame! I just flew back from my son’s graduation from UC Berkeley and was feeling a little off. Took a home Covid test and it indicates positive. Fuck me!
@macromeh Ugh - hope it’s a light case! Get well soon.
@Kyeh Thanks. I actually don’t feel all that bad - like just a mild cold at this point. I have a tele-appointment with my doctor tomorrow. My wife and son are taking tests as I write this.
@Kyeh @macromeh Docs will tell you keep an eye on your temperature and symptoms, and take OTC meds (decongestants/nose and chest, antihistamine/drainage, acetaminophen/fever and aches). 10 days is the current recommendation on isolation time to end of symptoms. Five before you feel better and back to normal.
Try to stay home/in to not spread it. You can get a booster if you’re due right after your symptoms are gone and you’re testing negative.
The Feds just announced you can get another set of free test kits from the fed site.
https://www.covid.gov/tests
@Kyeh @mike808 Wife and son both tested negative, so that is a relief. Looks like I am the lone pariah (not a new role for me
).
@mike808 Thanks for the heads-up on the plague test kits; my daughter and a family friend have both come up positive in the past three weeks, and we’ve been testing more often as a result.
@Kyeh @macromeh I hope you mask and social distance and use hand sanitizer - even in the home. I tried, and even moved to the guest room, but the wife still got it from me a few days later.
I am just so thankful Science (or deity of choice if you’re a believer) gave us the vaccine and boosters. It would have been devastating if either/both of us ended up on ventilators and cost taxpayers millions, not to mention the emotional loss for my adult kids and loss of child support for the ex. Well, not so much that last one.
@macromeh Hope you have a mild case!
@Kidsandliz Thanks, so far so good - mostly just low energy, sniffles and an annoying tickle cough. My Dr. called in a prescription for an antiviral (Paxlovid - 3 big pills twice a day for 10 doses). I’ll take my first dose Thu evening.
BLAME
And while I am at it… BLAME Although at least I have a pattern going there (Unblame for that? Nah.)
Blame. Baby formula the new toilet paper. Scavenging for a 6 mo old.
@Kidsandliz
So I keep wondering - how did non-breast fed babies survive before formula came along? I seem to recall people feeding them cow’s milk, but now somehow that’s verboten?? I knew of kids having to get goat’s milk because they were allergic to cow’s milk; and I think those kids grew up okay …
@Kidsandliz @Kyeh execellent question. I googled
https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/formula-feeding/Pages/Why-Formula-Instead-of-Cows-Milk.aspx
@Kyeh I am sure there are recipes out there that are balanced baby home made formula. The issue will be knowing which ones are nutritionally balanced and can we even get all the ingredients these days. Some had unhealthy things in them like Karo syrup which is corn syrup and not all that good for you. The second problem is that liquid needs refrigerated and that isn’t always possible. And it is hot in areas of the country. Be nice if health departments listed good, healthy recipes and even if there are some that will create powered that all you do is add water and liquid baby vitamins (or whatever).
@Kyeh Also cow’s milk doesn’t have everything in it that breast milk has or that a kid needs. It isn’t complete nutrition for a baby human.
@Kidsandliz @tinamarie1974
Yeah, I googled the question and saw similar info, but I still wonder how everyone managed back before formula got invented?
@Kidsandliz @Kyeh it is a really good question. Im gonna have to ask my mom. I know I was one of those “allergy kids” and needed special soy milk/formula. But maybe she knows???
@Kidsandliz @Kyeh @tinamarie1974 Wet-nurses?
@compunaut @Kidsandliz @tinamarie1974
Besides that. I really think I remember babies getting cow and goat milk. I’ll have to ask someone who’d know.
I suppose it’s true that the formula gives more complete nutrition but I also wonder whenever something that’s only available if it’s produced by big corporations becomes the ONLY thing that’s acceptable.
@compunaut @Kidsandliz @Kyeh @tinamarie1974 One note not mentioned above; while supplementing breast milk with cow or goat was done prior to the introduction of formula, it was not historically regarded as safe for another reason. Insufficient sanitation in the handling of cow’s milk prior to the introduction of Pasteurization was a major cause of death in children due to milk-borne diseases. My parents grew up in the era when the change began, and saw just how much of a societal shift it produced.
@Kidsandliz @Kyeh @tinamarie1974 When our adopted son was an infant, he was allergic to many foods, including formula and cow’s milk. Our family physician recommended goat’s milk for him and he thrived on it. IIRC, he went through a couple cans a day; them more later before solid food. Downside, he was pretty stubborn growing up.
Now that he’s an adult, he is still pretty stubborn – but I can’t say for sure the goat’s milk contributed to his particularly hard head. He actually doesn’t care for goat’s milk now and still says he has several food allergies (nuts, most seafood, …)
Received two packages on Saturday - one from Meh, one from Sephora. Both were wrong. Blame for the
. 
Keep forgetting to ask! Who had Monkeypox on their bingo card for May???
@tinamarie1974
Not me! I hadn’t even heard of them until a few days ago and then I had to Google it.
@Lynnerizer same actually
@tinamarie1974 Apparently, these guys…
https://www.newsweek.com/report-simulating-monkeypox-outbreak-released-six-months-ago-1709520
“In the scenario, the initial (simulated) outbreak was caused by a terrorist attack in May 2022”
@macromeh @tinamarie1974 Unconfirmed reports are that this one is related to “tourists” engaging in some monkey business with the local monkey population and then infecting those around them and spreading it on their return. From there, it is “Welcome to Outbreak City”.