I have Bad Times news. The aphids are at my Royal Golden watermelon.
Good Times news is that it still looks mostly alive and this will give me the opportunity to learn how to get rid of aphids. I need to get rid of them before the fruit that are on the healthy vines somehow die. :(
In a former life when I was “important” enough that people sometimes asked me to speak about my job and career (USAF engineer officer, mostly construction project management) I used to use that cat herding video to describe what my daily routine was often like. I highly recommend it as an ice breaker if you ever have to speak on just about any subject!
And here’s another one I used routinely, to talk about communication. My German friends who had to operate in English thought it was hilarious, so no worries about it being offensive. Sorry about the pop-ups - you can probably find a cleaner version if you try.
he used to go home for dinner on occasion, and have mum wash his clothes..
[otoh, and waaaaay tmi: I had had a very, very lovely first date at walden pond, swimming around with Tia R. and a bottle of wine we shared, floating along with us]
"The biggest dam removal project in US history was on the Klamath River, which is nearly 260 miles long and runs through California and Oregon. Removal was completed in 2024 and with the last of the hydroelectric dams gone the fish started coming back in the fall of 2025. "
On a much smaller scale, dam removal along Alameda Creek in the southeast SF Bay Area has allowed Steelhead Trout to return to the watershed.
It is a good movie. A while ago I found out the Stones didn't write the song and it was such a letdown. On the other hand, the original recording is just as good as the Stones' version.
A friend, E, who used to live in Valencia and played music with me had moved to Strasbourg, his hometown, maybe 9 months ago. He comes back occasionally because he loves the town. Last Friday we got together with a drummer friend, J, in a rehearsal room to work out a new song E was working on.
It was a little bit painful; E isn't always clear about what he wants, didn't even bring any kind of chord chart for his song so we were learning by ear and trying to interpret instructions like "it needs more waugh! there" or "make it darker, more powerful!" I'd look at J and he had this look of pain on his face...
BUT! Yesterday E called me, just fizzing about how happy the session made him. He loved how we responded to his ideas and brought what he wanted "like, in just a second!" He praised both J and me for our artistry and empathy, to the point that I was getting embarrassed but he really meant it and clearly it just meant so much to him that we gave him just the support he needed in the moment.
Granted, he might have been a bit high when he called. Still it was gratifying.
Either I frequent decent places, or it just didn’t have good distribution. I never saw it on the shelves. Not that I was looking for it, but it’s the kind of crap that would pay stores extra for prominent placement.
I need a push. To get rid of an absolutely beautiful skirt that's never fit and I've never worn and if it did fit, I don't know where I'd wear it. It's a summer date skirt and I don't go on dates. I don't usually have attachments to clothes but this is a special skirt. So I should donate it so that someone who it does fit and does have somewhere to wear it to, can have the joy of discovering it, right?
Since it is special and you have an attachment to it can you turn it into something you would use? If not a different style of skirt/some other type of clothes, a throw pillow, table scarf, part of a quilt, or maybe a small drawstring bag (I have a bunch that I put things like shoes in when I travel) immediately come to mind for me.
Shoot, smol, that COULD be done, at least in the abstract! I'm going to think about it. It has a fabric rose on it, and ruffles... Maybe I could incorporate! I'm going to set it aside for now and think about it!
Yes! After I retired, I started going through all my stuff, bit by bit, and letting go of a lot of it. I realized I had far too many things, everything from clothes to records and cds to electronic and photo gadgets, that I hadn't used in a long time. I don't miss any of the stuff I've donated or given away.
I never do either... But once when I thought I gave this away, I regretted it. But that was a year or more ago and this thing deserves to be worn. On a nice summer day, by someone feeling breezy.
But I have a wisp of an early’90s slip dress that no longer fits me, but I had so many memories in. I am never getting rid of it. The adventures we had!
I guess it depends. I would not be able to let go of that dress, but I am sneaking up on hoarding, so pay no attention!
I fight hoarding all the time. This one has no sentiment bc it's never been worn, and looking like it won't be. I think I'm gonna do it. And I DO have a few things like you describe, not to be worn again, but loved for how they served me then.
Don't assholes like Husted have real people on their staffs that can tell them, "Don't do this shit"? Or do they just not listen to them? I'm glad they left their real words in.
Haha! Fool! A Canadian farmer who fled to Russia for "traditional values" will have to join the Russian military if he wants to get a permanent visa to stay in the country:
Has this been reported before? Sorry, I wasn't aware if it was. I just think it's funny that the same sickness that has taken over America jumped the border and got this idiot. Why anyone would think Russia would be a good choice over Canada is stupid or suffers from an intellectual disability.
I have Bad Times news. The aphids are at my Royal Golden watermelon.
Good Times news is that it still looks mostly alive and this will give me the opportunity to learn how to get rid of aphids. I need to get rid of them before the fruit that are on the healthy vines somehow die. :(
Ladybugs. You can buy them commercially.
Ladybugs eat aphids, as I recall. Plus, you get to help ladybugs.
Ladybugs? I know they do something to aphids, but don't remember if they get rid of them.
In a former life when I was “important” enough that people sometimes asked me to speak about my job and career (USAF engineer officer, mostly construction project management) I used to use that cat herding video to describe what my daily routine was often like. I highly recommend it as an ice breaker if you ever have to speak on just about any subject!
And here’s another one I used routinely, to talk about communication. My German friends who had to operate in English thought it was hilarious, so no worries about it being offensive. Sorry about the pop-ups - you can probably find a cleaner version if you try.
https://www.thedrum.com/news/world-s-best-ads-ever-87-berlitz-s-german-coastguard-recruit-gets-lost-translation
Susanna Hoffs Fan Club song of of the week-
A nice version of 'Eternal Flame'. A song inspired by the Bangles visit to Graceland and Elvis's grave.
https://youtu.be/Mi3LT3HUsKk?is=28u7XYPvaMsfIOh-
I have to read Walden for my Nature and Environmental Writing class so I got the audio book. He is INSUFFERABLE.
Little whiny tiddy baby.
heeheeheeeheee!!
he used to go home for dinner on occasion, and have mum wash his clothes..
[otoh, and waaaaay tmi: I had had a very, very lovely first date at walden pond, swimming around with Tia R. and a bottle of wine we shared, floating along with us]
And she brought him COOKIES!
Dead white guy writers almost always are, which is why I ignore them.
My students got a kick out of that term.
It would probably be too WOKE now. *eyeroll*
It’s brusque, factual use of nouns. If you can’t take that, you’re a pussy.
"The biggest dam removal project in US history was on the Klamath River, which is nearly 260 miles long and runs through California and Oregon. Removal was completed in 2024 and with the last of the hydroelectric dams gone the fish started coming back in the fall of 2025. "
On a much smaller scale, dam removal along Alameda Creek in the southeast SF Bay Area has allowed Steelhead Trout to return to the watershed.
KPIX TV 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh5aXFb3oMs
https://baynature.org/2025/06/17/latest-stories/after-28-years-alameda-creek-opens-up-to-fish/
didn't Trump put a halt to dam removals?
So, among the usual pack of finches, the local Finch Faction, I spied a small red bird...
"Is that an example of the rare and elusive Red Finch?" Says I, making up factual ornithological shit as I go, on the spot, not one lesson ever
Nope. A wee small cardinal that's getting a pass from the normally and occasionally violently intolerant Faction.
Not usual, that.
You are lucky to get cardinals...
Pretty lucky, not often, but once in awhile... They are a vivid presence.
a cardinal amongst the flock, you say?
Dude, that Sherrod Brown ad is really good. Poor people know exactly how the real world works; they can't afford the shortcuts that wealth brings.
At any given moment I can tell you my SNAP balance down to the penny without looking.
> The song referenced in today’s title is "Time Is On My Side".
I'm not sure I've even seen the entire movie, but "Time is on My Side" always makes me think of Denzel Washington's "Fallen".
It is a good movie. A while ago I found out the Stones didn't write the song and it was such a letdown. On the other hand, the original recording is just as good as the Stones' version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eljU_o7zS28
I said the same thing. It's a good movie.
Hey, you. Yeah, you.
Have you met that guy with the face?
Not that one, the other one. With the face...
I only saw the eyes. You know, the eyes without a face.
Got no human grace...
You're going to have to be more specific. If you'd said the guy with no face, then yeah, he's actually cool, just takes some getting used to.
So I have a Nice Times.
A friend, E, who used to live in Valencia and played music with me had moved to Strasbourg, his hometown, maybe 9 months ago. He comes back occasionally because he loves the town. Last Friday we got together with a drummer friend, J, in a rehearsal room to work out a new song E was working on.
It was a little bit painful; E isn't always clear about what he wants, didn't even bring any kind of chord chart for his song so we were learning by ear and trying to interpret instructions like "it needs more waugh! there" or "make it darker, more powerful!" I'd look at J and he had this look of pain on his face...
BUT! Yesterday E called me, just fizzing about how happy the session made him. He loved how we responded to his ideas and brought what he wanted "like, in just a second!" He praised both J and me for our artistry and empathy, to the point that I was getting embarrassed but he really meant it and clearly it just meant so much to him that we gave him just the support he needed in the moment.
Granted, he might have been a bit high when he called. Still it was gratifying.
So fun to make music
😊
Doug & the Business Cats (featuring an Alternative Bun today) in "Jeph Appreciation Day" short!
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lxF58B9iups
Nice Times: Dave Portnoy from Barstool Sports lost his Fox News contract this week.
Not quite "lost his footing on a concrete staircase..." but nice!
Yessss. Next up: living in a van down by the river…
Good. He’s a MA native who still has a home here. We were bombarded with ads for his terrible milk carton-boxed wine “Vinzo’s” this summer.
I’m gonna laugh so hard when they foreclose on his Saratoga McMansion.
Of course he has property there.
He leaned way out over his skis, too. *Wile_E._Coyote_ splat.gif*
gah!
I know I told you about it.
Either I frequent decent places, or it just didn’t have good distribution. I never saw it on the shelves. Not that I was looking for it, but it’s the kind of crap that would pay stores extra for prominent placement.
celebrity culture, maaaaan,
it'll be the death of us all!
[also too, you clearly frequent decent places!]
I need a push. To get rid of an absolutely beautiful skirt that's never fit and I've never worn and if it did fit, I don't know where I'd wear it. It's a summer date skirt and I don't go on dates. I don't usually have attachments to clothes but this is a special skirt. So I should donate it so that someone who it does fit and does have somewhere to wear it to, can have the joy of discovering it, right?
Since it is special and you have an attachment to it can you turn it into something you would use? If not a different style of skirt/some other type of clothes, a throw pillow, table scarf, part of a quilt, or maybe a small drawstring bag (I have a bunch that I put things like shoes in when I travel) immediately come to mind for me.
Shoot, smol, that COULD be done, at least in the abstract! I'm going to think about it. It has a fabric rose on it, and ruffles... Maybe I could incorporate! I'm going to set it aside for now and think about it!
Yes! After I retired, I started going through all my stuff, bit by bit, and letting go of a lot of it. I realized I had far too many things, everything from clothes to records and cds to electronic and photo gadgets, that I hadn't used in a long time. I don't miss any of the stuff I've donated or given away.
I never do either... But once when I thought I gave this away, I regretted it. But that was a year or more ago and this thing deserves to be worn. On a nice summer day, by someone feeling breezy.
Maybe.
But I have a wisp of an early’90s slip dress that no longer fits me, but I had so many memories in. I am never getting rid of it. The adventures we had!
I guess it depends. I would not be able to let go of that dress, but I am sneaking up on hoarding, so pay no attention!
I fight hoarding all the time. This one has no sentiment bc it's never been worn, and looking like it won't be. I think I'm gonna do it. And I DO have a few things like you describe, not to be worn again, but loved for how they served me then.
Don't assholes like Husted have real people on their staffs that can tell them, "Don't do this shit"? Or do they just not listen to them? I'm glad they left their real words in.
They've been weeding out all but the most "loyal" of their staffs all this time. It's only the bitter-enders working for them.
Husted isn't exactly hiring "the best people", so I wouldn't expect any of his staff to say things like that.
https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/columbus/sen-jon-husted-campaign-staffer-out-after-nazi-related-social-media-activity-surfaces/
Haha! Fool! A Canadian farmer who fled to Russia for "traditional values" will have to join the Russian military if he wants to get a permanent visa to stay in the country:
https://crooksandliars.com/cltv/2026/10/canadian-farmer-who-fled-russia
(nelson muntz laugh)
What, another one?
Has this been reported before? Sorry, I wasn't aware if it was. I just think it's funny that the same sickness that has taken over America jumped the border and got this idiot. Why anyone would think Russia would be a good choice over Canada is stupid or suffers from an intellectual disability.
Because Russia spares him the horror (THE HORROR!!!!) of LGBTQ+ living their lives in peace.
This is a different guy. The other was from the USA, he did get drafted, and he was killed by the Ukrainians.
I'm not sure. But there was a similar idiot a year ago or more, and that's more what I was joking about.
There are, unfortunately, a lot of MAGA types in the western provinces.
I just got the flu! I mean, I got shot! I mean, I shot an elephant in my Fluevogs! What he was doing in my Fluevogs, I don't know.
Huzzah!