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 (usually Saturday night with a Sunday date). 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?
…
NOTE: The comments page will 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 (right before “Leave A Reply”) and use the Pages Tool to view previous pages, shown here with 3 pages of comments available and Page 2 circled.
…
Good “morning”, Motley Meese! The week begins …
Morning low of 46 degrees in the Desert Southwest with an expected daytime high of 63. Sunny skies are in the forecast.
Have a great day, all y’alls!!
Not a good morning Meese
I blame DeSantis and all the others who have turned “drag show” into a call, literally, to arms. Fk them all with a rusty anvil.
I blame Defeated Former Guy for making this seem OK.
I also blame Dubya Boosh, whom I love to hate, for lifting the ban on assault rifles.
Puerto Rico
I don’t think it got out of the 30s here yesterday — which would be a very cold January day; for November, this is just crazy. And there was just an interesting noise and the electricity flashed off & back on. Perfect. Today: will set up accounts on Linked In & some of the other places people suggested for looking for that 2nd job. And make next week’s breakfast, and the risotto for Thursday.
Posted
Plus!!
I have spent quite a bit of time looking at mastodon and there are a ton of people all over the Fediverse (the federated servers in the mastodon universe) who are bright and engaged and have a lot of interesting things to say. Several things are happening there which may resolve the issue of "how the hell do I follow newspapers and blogging sites and government people/organizations". I think mastodon provides a better chance for a non-Musk twitter-like platform there because groups and organizations can set up their own servers and aren’t begging right-wing billionaires (or guys with a website who think they are god) for a place to converse/post/read.
If you want to view the posts that are gaining traction, start here Journa Host Timeline. That is a server that hosts journalists but that link curates posts from everywhere.
In case you missed it, Musk reinstated tRump. He is not tweeting yet but all of his old tweets are now available to retweet. People who are tweeting him into my timeline will be muted.
Here is what one mastodonian said about the Musk “the people have spoken” tweet:
Oh great – my security whatsis thinks this is a trojan site and blocked it. (The one above as well.)
Interesting! I wonder if it just needs to be told that it is safe? I actually don’t know if it is safe, to be honest. I need to do some research on mastodon security and a lot of other things related to the platform. It could be a ginormous trick to get millions of people lured to a desert island and cut off water to it.
Here is what Rick said:
It does offer me the option to “manage” the notification & unblock it. But if you don’t know it’s safe, I certainly don’t and I’m afraid I’ll do something that will make it miss other/real trojans if I mess with it.
Old proverbs frequently get shortened to the opposite of what they originally meant because at the time they get shortened everybody knows the whole thing and only the tag line is needed to bring the whole to mind.
The domain name it’s blocking is “nerdculture.de” but different IP addresses each time and says it’s “outbound”. Does that help any?
Good freezing Sunday morning, Moose Peeps! I hate days like this. Yeah, it’s sunny, but the winds are brutal, howling up the slope in the courtyard, nearly blowing my wig off. (Just kidding, I still have my own hair.) Believe me, the dawg will be taken out only in sheltered locations and only for business meetings. NO walkies today. It’s 31 F. right now in Ashboredom (real feel 19 F), with “gutsy” (better word than “gusty’) winds 20 to 30 miles per hour, and possible higher gusts. On Friday we’re supposed to get rain and 54 F. I’ll take that any day of the week!
Mandy pooped again during the night, although she had the decency to do it on a disposable pee pad. Today I have to clean the one that isn’t disposable. We do take her out last thing at night—9 or 9:30, and we feed her at 4:30 or 5, hoping that will allow for proper digestion. Well, this is far more than you wanted to know, no doubt.
Ethan is coming over on Wednesday. Luckily I already have baby pancakes, baby pizza, and banana chips. All I’ll need to buy will be apple juice, yogurt drink, cheese crackers, and blueberries. I feel ashamed to have him over when we have dog poop stains on the carpet. We’ve done our best to clean them up with pet stain remover, but it doesn’t always work. Anyway, there is beaucoup tidying up to do before he arrives. Luckily I’ll send my last story off for the quarterly tomorrow.
Going to look at Denise’s delightful Sunday diary after my morning chores. Wishing everyone at the Pond a good day!
It’s 28 heading for 48 and sunny. Not as windy as yesterday so it feels warmer. Yesterday we generated 6.84 KWHs and the m-t-d at 108.86 gained slightly. If we do as good today we’ll at least reach what the 2.5K system did in ’14. It helps to have all the panels working. Even if (I don’t think) all of them are producing at par. But then I’m not producing at par, as it were. Although I have finished all my Sunday cleaning chores.
At this point I’m writing down folks’ alternate addresses and hoping I’ll never need them. The idea of having to set up any other accounts is unsettling. The idea of having to set up multiple accounts makes me nauseous when I think about it. So I try not to think about it.
Meanwhile Twitter is still here (I checked) so I guess I’ll get to “work” – to the music of Dee’s diary. LOL. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good day, 43 and partly cloudy outside my window now. The sky was the classic PNW pinky blue when I woke up so that was nice to see. I do enjoy my Sunday morning family phone chats, but it does mean my day is slow to get underway. However I do feel more settled re Christmas and Sophie’s birthday now that I’ve talked it over with Erica. Sophie will be 16 yrs old on Christmas Eve so I want to give her a meaningful gift and I think the beach glass jewelry at a shop in Fairhaven will be something she will be perfect. Nice to have that decision made.
I’ve got some indoor chores to do but I want to collect a few greens from my son’s garden before it gets dark so I’d best get busy. Best wishes to all.
Good morning, meeses! Monday …
It is 45 degrees in Tucson with an expected daytime high of 68. Sunny skies with an occasional errant cloud. I am waiting to see the moonrise – it was at 4:26am but we don’t see the actual moon a bit later because it needs to clear the mountains. She will be the thinnest waning crescent – about 6.5% illumination and will be supine. My phone camera is not smart enough to take moon photos but I like seeing the moon phases even if I can’t memorialize them.
To the shock of absolutely no one, the Colorado Springs killer was radicalized by his MAGA grandparent, an elected Republican official. It is also not surprising that an anti-LGBTQ person would find Colorado Springs welcoming – it is ground zero for the white nationalist religionists who have been fomenting violence against the LGBTQ community for decades. Now that they have a national political party echoing and promoting their hate, they are emboldened to be more open about their hatred. Grrr!
The experts I follow say that the Arizona ballot counting will finish today. We are expecting another 3,400 ballots from Maricopa County. For the trumpist election denier to go ahead of Kris Mayes, he would need to get 62% of the remaining ballots – that is unlikely unless the ballots are only from the reddest precincts. The last batch was 55/45 for Democrats and was from a very blue area of Phoenix. I am not sure about the makeup of the provisional ballots and those cured late (which are what we are seeing now), I guess we will find out! My sense is that they may be more Democratic.
I have been asked by several people about writing something about mastodon and I have been gathering notes for a post. I am going to change my own server instance (aka community) because it feels like it would be better to be on the same instance as most of the people I follow. It is very easy to do – it even sets up a forward – but I only want to have to do it once. More later!
See all y’all later!
Thank you, BlogGoddess! I suffer from acute technophobia, so I’ve been waiting before trying to join Mastodon. I screwed up royally trying to join Tribel, so will leave it alone.
Appreciate it, Jan. I’m right up there with Diana on technophobia.
Love the picture, good to know about the act. It is still winter-cold here. I wore a coat & gloves this morning and it won’t get out of the 40s today. This is January weather, not fall. In the office, but at least it’s the only in-office day this week.
My allergies are killing me & I copied & pasted my check in from the orange place, please disregard. And can someone please build a time machine, go back a few decades & kill those damn trees? Plant something else, of course, but please just kill those trees. I swear I’ve used half a box of kleenex just this morning.
{{{anotherdemocrat}}} Healing Energy to you. Thank you for the clarification – I was puzzled about the reference to the picture. I thought maybe something else was blocked for me. LOL. Holding you in The Light. moar{{{HUGS}}}
Yeah, Bob has a White House Picture diary. The caption from today’s picture:
Ah. Yes, it is good to know about the act. moar {{{HUGS}}}
Good Monday moaning, Moosekind. It’s 27 F. and sunny, but not windy in Ashburn. The wind will rise this afternoon. We are still trying to get organized for Ethan’s visit. Despite the fact that I got out of my warm bed at 11:30 last night to take Mandy out, she still pooped and did No. 1 on the pee pad AND the carpet. Our carpet is a wreck. Not to put too fine a point on it, our lives are a wreck. (First-world, self-inflicted problem, I know.)
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I can begin some non-urgent writing chores. I also have to visit Trader Joe’s today after Dearly returns from the barbershop. We are very slow getting started today.
Wishing a good day to all at the Pond.
It’s 39 heading for 44 and sunny today. Yesterday we generated 6.48 KWHs and the m-t-d is 115.27 – we have at least gotten ahead of what the 2.5K system generated in November 2014.
Stiff, groggy, and slow moving this morning. At least my fingers, though cold, work. I’ve only dropped one thing this morning and I’m able to mousew without difficulty. So far. I haven’t checked on anybody this morning but as of last night nothing new with anybody.
I have checked to see if twitter is still here and since it is, I’m off to do my twitter chores. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Good morning, 42 and cloudy outside my window today. I’ve grumbled and griped while trudging through my Christmas list, so today my resolve is to try to enjoy doing what’s left. Talking with my dil (Keri) yesterday helped me refocus so I owe her a big thank you! One part of the season I do look forward to is making outdoor arrangements from a variety of twigs, branches and berries so I’m going to keep collecting greens and using them will be my reward for doing the things I don’t enjoy as much.
Sue will be here soon to do a quick clean so I need to do my part now and then get out of her way. Best wishes to all.
Tuesday Meese. 28 here in Kingston going up to 47
Haven’t started my cooking yet – but have all the makings.
Not much Puerto Rico coverage.
Good morning, meeses! Tuesday …
It is 45 degrees in Tucson with an expected daytime high of 68. Partly cloudy skies are in the forecast. We do have Feels Like temperatures here where the high of 68 will feel like 66. I noticed on my morning walk yesterday, when it was about 55, that when it is more humid, it feels much colder – the sun can’t cut through it. Yes, 55 is not very cold but I think my body is already used to being warm most of the time and it certainly feels cold.
Georgia relented and will allow early voting on the Saturday after Thanksgiving for the runoff. Good. Turnout is going to be important for us to retain the Senate seat and make it easier for the Senate to be a bulwark against the chaos of the Republican House. The only committees doing meaningful oversight will be ones created in the Senate and unless we gain a 51 seat majority, Mitch McChinless can block the formation of investigative bodies. In a fair world, the House Republicans planning to soil themselves over Hunter Biden’s laptop would be mocked and run out of office – sadly, their constituents will love it just like they love tRump being a personally gross and disgusting person. I am holding out hope that Republicans who won in bluish districts – running as moderates – might decide that they don’t want to be one-term House Members and push back. We shall see!
Arizona finished their election day counting and Kris Mayes, Democratic candidate for Attorney General, has a 520 vote lead. The counties are charged with certifying their election results by November 28th and once those certifications are received, the automatic recount can begin. In a place that uses scanning machines, the most accurate way to process ballots, it is rare for there to be errors and extremely rare for there to be errors significant enough to erase a 520 vote margin. Some races are close but being close does not signify anything other than a divided electorate. I am a little surprised that the election-denying tRump endorsed candidate did so well when the other trumpers did not but I think the misogyny factor may have contributed. Competent women running for office against a male opponent will always start the race behind. It was good to see that the last batch which came in as heavily R also had a significant number of undervotes for Attorney General – while the Republicans could not vote for the Democratic woman, they at least did not vote for the incompetent trumper but left a blank oval.
I got nothing useful done yesterday and I need to put my nose to the grindstone this morning. Twitter is poised to make some changes that I think will make it unpleasant to be there (filling timelines with unblockable ads) so I need to not procrastinate on my mastodon research. However, accounting work has to come first. I discovered that I missed filing a government report and got a bill related to a missed tax payment (fortunately filing the report eliminated the bill) but I need to get back on top of things with the end of year coming up.
See all y’all later!
Good morning. Our cold & rainy spell continues, more December than November. But fall rain means more bluebonnets next spring, so I’m ok with the rain. Do miss our normal 70 degree days & needing 2 quilts on the bed….. This is Texas, we don’t do cold. Anyway, I’m wfh today so I’m watching astronomy and getting ready for work.
It’s 35 heading for 61 and sunny. According to the widget today is the last fully sunny day for the month. sigh. Also the warmest. My son will be coming over this morning to clean the solar panels. We shall see how much that helps. Yesterday we generated 6.34 KWHs and the m-t-d is 121.55 – a slight gain towards being on track.
I think I’ll give up on trying to guess what makes the difference as to when I sleep, how well I sleep, and when I wake up for the day. I’m obviously up earlier than I was yesterday anyway. Amelia had an ortho appointment yesterday that apparently went well. Jill was a bit depressed as it was her son’s 20th birthday yesterday, the 2nd in a row she’s missed seeing/talking with him. But as he’s AWOL (he and a small group of LGBTQ+ folks walked out after a series of incidents the CO refused to address) it’s just as well she doesn’t know where he is or have contact with him.
Twitter’s still up and at least for me not showing any more glitches than it did before the change in ownership. I’m there until it stops working for me. Bright the day, Meeses. {{{HUGS}}}
Elon Musk is now reinstating the anti-trans accounts that were banned when there were rules against anti-trans violence. He is angry that no one wants to advertise on his garbage web site and is lashing out at what he calls activists who promised that they would not boycott or harass his advertisers (they said that they promised no such thing). So he is using his $44 billion web site to intentionally hurt people who are not nice to him! To the extent that it connects me to news sources that I don’t want to lose, as long as I can continue to block bad people I will stay there for now. When the blocks stop working, then I will leave permanently and find other ways to follow the news.
Good Tuesday morning, Meese! Here in Ashboredom it’s sunny, 39 F., and threatening to go up to 54 F.
Ran to Trader Joe’s this morning to get grandchild-type food, plus the apple pie I was asked to contribute. They didn’t have one with the lattice crust! “Oh, hell,” I thought, before remembering that there are people in this country, Ukraine, and Indonesia who have real problems, “they aren’t expecting an apple pie with a crumb crust!”
Arrived at TJ’s at 8:30. It was busy but not yet mobbed. Luckily it turned out that TJ’s had a French apple pie. Anything French is good, right? And the Marquis de Lafayette did help us win the Revolutionary War, when French troops defended National Airport.
Next trip—Costco, to synch my hearing aids with the HearLink app, which mysteriously lost all its synch for no reason that I’m aware of.
OK, I’m off! Wishing a good day to all at the Pond.
Good morning, 45 and raining outside my window today. I’ve been re grouping re our holiday plans this morning because son#2’s family is all sick and our daughter’s husband tested positive for covid yesterday. So looks like it’s just RonK, son #1, and me for TDay. We need to find a small turkey this afternoon, or perhaps just a turkey breast. It will be a quiet day but that’s ok. Much to be thankful for regardless.
Best wishes to all.
Bummer! I am a little nervous about how casual people are treating the virus that killed over a million people in our country. There are still a lot of unvaccinated people out there coughing and hacking their COVIDs all over us. The good news is that the smart people will vaccinate and (usually) have mild symptoms – I no longer care about those who choose not to vaccinate other than to feel sorry for their children. I mask in public and will continue to do so.
Oops! I should also have said I hope they feel better soon. People tell me that even the mild form of the virus is pretty unpleasant.
So sorry to hear that! Hope they get better soon.
{{{princesspat}}} Healing Energy to your family. A small feast is still a large celebration. moar {{{HUGS}}}