Welcome to The Moose Pond! The Welcomings posts give the Moose, old and new, a place to visit and share words about the weather, life, the world at large and the small parts of Moosylvania that we each inhabit.
Welcomings will be posted at the start of each week (every Sunday morning). To find the posts, just bookmark this link and Voila! (which is Moose for “I found everyone!!”).
The format is simple: each day, the first moose to arrive on-line will post a comment welcoming the new day and complaining (or bragging!) about their weather. Or mentioning an interesting or thought provoking news item. Or simply checking in.
So … what’s going on in your part of Moosylvania?
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NOTE: The comments page will now split off after 20 or so left margin comments with the most recent comments on the current page. To see the older comments, scroll to the bottom of the page and use the link.
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Morning all! Another cloudy day with showers in the forecast – and we really need the rain, so I am not complaining. Plus it keeps the temp down a bit, so it’s all good.
I got calls from the local Hillary folks AND from our local State Senator Dem candidate last night, and I’m going to go do phone banking for each one – also the local Hillary office is having a grand opening on the 25th so I will go help fill out the crowd for that too. Our primary is August 30th, and I have my absentee ballot already, I just have to figure out who to vote for for supervisor of elections. I guess our current supervisor, who has always done an outstanding job, is retiring, so I have to get over to the local League of Women Voters site to see if they have an opinion on her successor.
Jan, if you’re looking for mysteries and haven’t read them, I highly recommend the Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny – I’m re-reading the last one right now, in preparation for the new one coming out at the end of this month. Great escapism into small village in Quebec, plus Montreal and Quebec City!
I’m watching the polls and it’s great, although I worry we’re peaking too soon – but honestly, as long as Trump doesn’t undergo a total personality transplant, I’m not sure how he’ll make up a lot of ground on Hillary. The debates will be interesting, for sure, if he even shows up for them. I started watching a little of the Olympics, mainly because I caught some of actress Leslie Jones’ twitter feed about them, and she is so infectiously enthusiastic, she pulled me in. I guess NBC felt the same way, as they’ve invited her to come down to Rio to join their coverage starting Friday – should be a hoot, and even though she’s not a professional announcer or anything, she cannot possibly do worse than some of their regular announcers this time.
Ok, gotta catch up on Twitter, then go to the bank later – everyone have a great day!
Geordie, I thoroughly enjoy the Gamache books as well. I also enjoy reading her website and learning more about her real life and the creative process of writing the books.
http://www.louisepenny.com/
I am enjoying watching the sports that we don’t see televised like archery and table tennis and rowing. Yesterday, I watched the wheelchair-bound woman from Iran who was their flagbearer in the opening ceremonies compete in archery. That, to me, is what the Olympic spirit means, not golf, tennis, and basketball. JHC! There is a 24 hour golf channel – we need to see it in the Olympics too?!!?
Good morning, 64 and cloudy in Bellingham. A busy day yesterday with house tending and sewing with Ava. We drew shapes on a plain fabric square and she sewed around them, finishing with sewing her name. She is nearly able to maintain an accurate seam allowance so sewing her jammies together will happen soon.
She helped me sort and shred all the junk mail on the desk yesterday so this morning I need to address the rest of it. And this afternoon she is coming back with her Nana (other grandmother) to collect tables, chairs, wine glasses, and linens for their upcoming 50th anniversary party. Ava is delighted to be part of the planning, and to be with both of her grandmothers on the same day. A happy little girl is a wonderful antidote to the news of the day!
Warming back up but still the no-rain-but-cloud cover – not good for much of anything except staying indoors in A/C which I have to do anyway since I’m at work. Got the Spring class stuff mostly in yesterday. Now working on getting the last of the grad assistants into the payroll system. Have to move one of our current/last year’s group from a 9-month position to a 12-month position first, which of course has to go through 2 steps worth of approvals, which is why I am here right now. :) Have a bunch of Procurement-related things to do, all of which are multi-step, but at least I’ve gotten step one done on several of them. Taking my mid-morning coffee and muffin break half an hour early as I’m at a “natural break” in the flow.
If it’s good for kids, families, vets, small businesses, the environment, or the nation (actually the world in general), Hillary has a plan. Meanwhile the Rs are imploding and only hate is driving the anti-Hillary shtick. Not gonna let up on GOTV, but I really think we can overwhelm the haters.
Gonna check in at the GOS then get back to work. The Chair is bringing in Thai for us today as a thank you. Every time I get p.o.’d enough to take early retirement, I think of her and decide to stay at least through her first stint (2 years) as Chair. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good afternoon Meese -am dealing with a no hot water issue – so excuse my late check-in.
Yikes, Denise! Hope that gets solved El Fasto!
Good morning, meeses! Wednesday …
It is 68 degrees in Madison on its way up to 88. Mainly sunny skies are in the forecast.
In Wisconsin’s partisan primaries yesterday, Russ Feingold handily beat back the Fake Democrat running against him in his primary. Locally, in Dane County, we reelected our stellar District Attorney after a bitter racially tinged race, and statewide we set up some pretty good matchups challenging Republicans in 3 districts that have been blue in the past. If we GOTV, we might make some inroads in the House. At least we have people running – it is distressing to me to hear of Republicans running unopposed in November – political malpractice on the part of the DCCC and DNC. I hope Hillary puts a priority on that when she takes over the reins of the DNC later in the year.
Paul Ryan won his primary but he has to survive the general election. His district was crafted in 2011 to keep him in power but it is only R+3. Considering that R this year is not a monolithic voting bloc, there is still hope that the granny-killer can be voted out if Democrats swarm to the polls and Republicans stay home.
I am not going to weigh in on Trump’s literal call to arms because I am not going to add to the negative energy surrounding that story. Suffice it to say, when your speeches are simply random words burped out to entertain your followers, and which bear no resemblance to actual sentences, it is very easy to deny that what was said was indeed said. If it were one individual utterance, one might be able to parse it away but it fits a pattern of calls to violence.
See all y’all later!
Happy Woden’s Day, Meese, on yet another cloudy, gloomy morning in NoVa. I wouldn’t mind if the clouds produced rain, but all they do is “lour upon our house” all day. It’s going to be frightfully humid, too. People, I can’t wait until autumn.
So now—dear Goddess, let me clutch my gray corkscrew curls yet AGAIN—now the RWNJ media are trying to manufacture another email scandal starring Huma Abedin (that Arab-looking woman!) and the Clinton Foundation? Is there no end to their attempts to bring Hillary down? I wish we didn’t live under patriarchy.
The front page of the WaPo contains an item re a scathing report on racism in the Baltimore police department. Every time I think of those officers who killed Freddie Gray getting off scot-free, I feel sick. They murdered him. Whether intentionally or not, they murdered him. I’m getting to where I regard all police as potential murderers.
And speaking of that, if anyone else, especially an African-American anyone else, had said what Trump said yesterday, he’d find himself in the back of a police cruiser El Fasto.
Denise, hope your hot water has been restored!
I saw the story about the Baltimore Police Department but haven’t read it yet. I hope this means that the department will be put under special Justice Department scrutiny. The Freddie Gray case reminds me of a case in Milwaukee many years ago where a black man was beaten by the police. They claimed he fell and hit his head – repeatedly, it would appear from his injuries. In Baltimore, a man was put in the back of a paddy wagon and when the paddy wagon stopped, he was dead. Someone should have been held accountable.
Got hot water back around 8 PM last night. Thank you.
Am trying to hold off spending money for new hot water heater.
thankfully – my neighbor fixed ours (for now) after he got home from work.
Yay!
Good. I spend more than a few of the summers (Texas summers – April through October) of my youth without hot water. It sux. Holding the good thought yours holds out a bit longer – like a few years type “bit longer” :)
I slept really badly last night. Woke up at 4, got out of bed at 5, because what’s the point.
Wil Wheaton has a good diary about how it isn’t just Sec. Clinton & judges that are endangered by Trump’s call for violence; it’s normalizing violence & that’s a danger to everyone.
Leaving work early because my weight workout had to be moved. Turning up the music playing in my head, it makes me happy.
The Republicans can take this threat off the table by immediately confirming Judge Garland and removing replacing Scalia as a campaign issue to be dangled in front of Trump’s frothiest supporters. Yes, we will still have the chance to appoint other justices over the next 4 to 8 years but it becomes less of a “Konstitutionul Krisus” for the mouth breathers.
This is what happens when you start making stuff up about a president’s right to nominate Supreme Court justices in an election year: you turn it into a super-heated partisan issue.
Happy Woden’s Day. Got rain yesterday afternoon – the various online thingies are saying 0 to .4″ but there was 2″ of water in my trash can when I got home (yesterday was trash day, the can once emptied – about mid morning – makes a great rain gauge as it was at the curb and away from anything that could “funnel” the rain into it). So I didn’t have to water this morning. Cooled things off, too. It was 69 just after dawn so not only did I open up and air out, I’ve left the A/C off although I did close up again before I left. Just under 10 KWHs yesterday is the bad part, but right now it’s sunny as all get out and if it continues through the day, it will be a good one to make up. Whether today will be a “nice summer day” or not will totally depend on the humidity. The forecast low 90s will be just fine with low humidity – and have a heat index in the upper 110s with high humidity. Holding the good thought. :)
Well, Trump has committed a felony that he isn’t going to be arrested for any more than the Bundy clan was arrested for their various felonies – Secret Service, already on alert, is shifting into high. This election is turning into the most extreme, good v. evil thing I think this country has ever experienced. Definitely ever experienced in my lifetime and what I know of history of the 20th century anyway. And as it becomes more obvious every day, way up there in most serious for the world as well. (Hitler getting into power in Germany with a minority of votes was bad – but Hitler could have been stopped, he just wasn’t. Trump getting into power in the U.S. can’t be stopped.) So we will, Hillary and her “team” will, call out the best that’s in us to overwhelm Trumps’ call for the worst that’s in us – and we will win. On a minor but very positive and optimistic note, our library special election was yesterday – two votes to increase millage. One permanent for increasing O&M which hasn’t been upped since 1948, and the other a short-term increase to purchase adjoining land and build a separate children’s library on the same “campus” as our children’s programs are turning kids away for lack of space and so are our adults programs. With the separate children’s facility, the space currently allotted to children’s books and activities will expand the adult programs and the new space will be able to serve all the demand in Fayetteville. W00T!
Got to get back to work. Right now it’s mostly checking the status of everything I did yesterday that’s in the approval chain. Once the various things get through, I can do the next step. Hope Dee’s hot water situation is fixed. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Morning all! Bright sunny and hot here – so I’ve got the sprinklers back on automatic timing, as we got some rain but not enough to really restore the plants.
I was so horrified by yesterday’s awfulness from Trump, I had trouble sleeping. Assassination suggestions, undermining faith in the integrity of our electoral system, Trump is completely filling the role of tin-horned despot. We have to not only beat him in November, we have to crush him, to repudiate this despicable path he wants to put us on. Ugh.
I have nothing else today – maybe I’ll watch some Olympics, do some errands. Hope everyone has a great day, catch you later.
Here was my favorite Tweet yesterday. THIS is how we beat demagogues:
Trump – should be arrested.
Yes he should!
Makes me furious that he won’t be.
Good morning, 61 and cloudy in Bellingham. I ruined my nice day by tuning into the news later in the afternoon. My state senator, Doug Erickson, is organizing the dangerous yam’s fundraising visit to Wa State so I called and emailed him re the morality of what he is supporting. I doubt I’ll receive an answer :::sigh:::
Today’s a pool day, then I’ll try to finish the estate sale paper work. Now that I’ve had some emotional distance it should be easier.
And I think we finally got the burgundy paint for the front door mixed so it’s the “right” color. It looks alarmingly fushia when it’s wet, but then dries to a deep burgundy with no brown or purple undertones. I knew it would take some fussing around and it has!
Perhaps this is a tiny measure of justice:
Good morning, meese! Thursday …
It is 75 degrees in Madison on its way up to 88. Mostly sunny skies with a chance of thunderstorms later this afternoon. Heat index 108!
This afternoon, Hillary Clinton will travel to Warren Michigan to give an economic speech entitled “Plan to Help Working Families”. CSPAN will be covering it and it is scheduled to begin at 1:15pm Eastern. I will put up a post when I have a link.
The 7th Circuit issued a stay on the Wisconsin voter id law change that was going to allow voters who cannot get ids to use an affidavit for the November election. They are obviously an Appeals Court in Disarray! A few months ago, they ruled that even one person not being able to get an id to vote was a terrible thing – and ordered Judge Adelman to craft a remedy. He did, one that has been used elsewhere, and now they say it will likely be overturned PLUS their dallying has now succeeded in making it impossible to fix it before the election. So apparently the one guy that Judge Frank Easterbrook waxed so eloquently about can go pound sand. We don’t need fancy words, we need to restore the franchise.
In better Wisconsin news, Hillary Clinton opened up a 15 point lead over Donald Trump and Russ Feingold has a 10 point lead over Ron Freaking Johnson in the latest Marquette Poll.
See all y’all later!
Good Thor’s Day, Moosekind, and indeed there is an alleged chance of thunderstorms this afternoon. Currently we have blue skies with a few wisps of white cloud and 76 F., going up to 89 F. The weather person finally explained what a “yellow alert” is: instead of being about air pollution, as one had thought, it means that the heat and humidity combo will be oppressive.
It’s interesting that, as Melissa McEwan pointed out, the media did not express one jot of concern for Hillary’s safety, but focused exclusively on Trump’s threat. Imagine—he’s so stupid he doesn’t know that it takes two-thirds of the states to repeal any amendment.
Got weeds to pull—see you later, and wishing a good day to all!
Another bad night’s sleep. Didn’t get in my workout yesterday, the trainer & I mis-communicated. And we have heat advisories here — heat index of…. I don’t even wanna go there, but it won’t be below 100 till after 10pm.
I had People Have the Power playing in my head till I opened a tab for Youtube & this U2 song was there. I need the noise to keep me awake.
Thursday crazy.
Just when I begin to doubt that Trump can go lower than he has already gone – he ups the ante with calling President Obama and Hillary Clinton – the founders of Isis.
I am not sure I can watch any more news today – will watch the Olympics instead and kill some demons in WoW.
The news is pretty oppressive right now. I am going to watch the speech by Hillary on her economic plan and report on it. Otherwise it seems like a good day to get caught up on accounting.
Happy Thor’s Day – started the day at 75, sunny at the moment but clouds expected to roll back in this afternoon – no rain, just clouds – heat advisory posted, afternoon heat index likely to be about 5 degrees less than in Austin. Just just over 15 KWHs yesterday and while I’m not happy about it – August daylength would give me 25 on a clear sunny day – I’ll take it. 15 and up is respectable :)
Another PETA-type group nutjob tried to rush the stage when Hillary was speaking yesterday. Security nailed this one. On the ground, cuffed, and hauled out of there in 30 seconds flat. Hillary didn’t miss a beat. You had to be looking carefully to see it go down and if it had been radio nobody would have known anything was going on at all. She’s good. Her security is good. And that particular protest group is doing animal rights no good whatsoever. If this is actually the wave election it looks like being, there’s going to be progress made like a very similar wave, covering all fronts, including the Criminal Justice system. So much potential – and so terrifying to the RW. sigh. Which is why every time I see how good Hillary’s security is, I thank goddess and heave a sigh of relief.
Got to get to work. Almost done with the stuff I could have finished two weeks ago if it weren’t for the added steps and approval chains. Just in time for the new Academic Year to start Monday (faculty and GAs coming back, open enrollment of classes for those who can’t do priority registration – classes themselves start 8/22). Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Bfitz, your job sounds awfully frustrating. I think it would drive me berserk to know something wasn’t finished because of something other people failed to do.
Yikes!
Hi Diana – it IS very frustrating. It’s the reason why I actually will retire when I hit full retirement age instead of staying on. I like most of the people I work with (since we got the new Chair – I don’t, thank goddess, have much to do with the old Chair), I’m good at my job, and interacting with the kids can be fun (at least with the ones who are interested in learning stuff and aren’t entitlement little shits – Denise, goddess give her strength, knows the category I’m talking about). But I really cannot take much more of this nonsense.
Did the muffins come out OK? Moar {{{HUGS}}}
Haven’t made them yet, bfitz, hoping to do that tomorrow afternoon!
The lemon one is my favorite. If your almond butter is “dry” use a TBSP butter and only 2 oz nutbutter when you cream it with the brown sugar. But if it’s “oily” just the nutbutter is fine.
It’s plenty moist, actually!
Yup – the PETA people are winning no friends for animal rights.
If they had any guts they’d be protesting Trump.
But if they protested Trump they’d be stomped into the ground. They can trust that if they protest the candidate who’s trying to save elephants in the wild the worst that will happen to them is to be thrown to the ground, handcuffed, and hauled out. They might need a little arnica once the show is over but they won’t need ER.
PETA has been counterproductive for years. Back in the ’90s, they had a “save the whales” billboard….. not a picture of marine animals. I e-mailed them how hurtful & counter-productive that was. They replied about “tough love”…..
I’ve been an anti-PETA vegetarian ever since.
Yeah, I haven’t thought highly of PETA since about then, too.
Good mrning, 58 and partly sunny in Bellingham today. It’s a grand kids day for us…..Ryan is here now, and Ava and Emma will be later this morning. They wanted to sleep in so that’s what they are doing. Ryan is helping our son with a garden project this morning and I’ll take him and Emma shopping for school clothes this afternoon. I have a feeling shopping with the little girls last week was easier! But part of the fun of being with young teens is learning what they like, and what they don’t.
I’m also learning more that I imagined I could about his latest game, Bloodbourne. I’ve been curious about such games but now I’m getting a crash course.
Looks like Bloodbourne has awesome graphics – not my kind of game (I prefer games with elves and mages) – however they are very absorbing.
Hillary’s speech this afternoon in Michigan was superb.
Here is the CSPAN link.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?413874-1/hillary-clinton-lays-economic-vision
I hope to be able to find a transcript so I can post the speech tomorrow.
Rats! I’m not getting any sound when I go to this link. I’ll try to find it elsewhere.
Take that back – I’m not getting any sound at all for anything since I let the system do updates last night. Help. Thanks, bf
I have heard that the Windows 10 updates that were pushed this past week have some problems, particularly with device drivers – the software that allows your computer’s hardware to interact with the operating system.
You should probably back out the latest update and wait until they issue a fix.
I generally don’t install updates right away – I let them “age” for about a week or ten days.
Good morning, meese! Friday …
It is 77 degrees here in Madison dropping to 73 this afternoon. Scattered rain throughout the day.
I have the video and transcript of Hillary’s speech from yesterday and will post it shortly. The presentation and the content were such a remarkable contrast to the blathering from her opponent that it constantly amazes me that she is not winning by 20% rather than 10%. There was something about her in this speech that made me think she has clicked into a new level: supremely confident, comfortable in who she is and what she stands for. The venue was small and hospitable, a manufacturing plant speaking to workers who benefited from President Obama not giving up on Michigan. If you have time, watch it.
The 4th Circuit struck down North Carolina’s racial gerrymander yesterday. It is too late to fix for the 2016 election but the state has been ordered to fix it for the 2018 midterms. In Wisconsin, the ACLU voting rights unit filed an emergency request to the 7th Circuit for an en banc hearing of the 3 Republican judge panel‘s stay issued in our voter id case. If the stay is lifted, Judge Adelman’s order allowing affidavit voting will be allowed. Time is running out to make changes – there probably won’t be time to appeal the stay to the Supreme Court.
See all y’all later!