Mrs Whiggins

That sailing away to Key Largo is not the paradise that Bogie and Bacall made it out to be? With respect to dialogue concerning effort, acquisition, contentment, happiness, personal growth, gender, and species progression--there is IMO, if one choose to see it, room for nuance here. Many variables here and even with attempts to remove personal biases and experiences, it's not going to be easy because we're talking about a generation(s) that is not us and we aren't living it in the same way. It's not uncommon for those that study "happiness" to discuss the short-lived high that certain activities bring (such as a purchase, etc) but for overall well-being, there is almost always an element of "doing for others" that can elevate our own emotions; that social interaction of caring and nurturing triggers something in our brains that smooths out the worst of our anxieties, fears, and doubts. Too much and we, ourselves, may feel burdened but overall the acts of kindness that became a movement (for awhile anyway) are one of the ways our species was able to progress and develop and grow. Any parent who beamed with pride while watching their child learn to share or behave this way toward others may understand why this is preferable to the stress of watching their child push others to the ground in order to be first in line for the free ice cream cone. One of the nuances here is that one child received and happily consumed an ice cream cone but is now the asshole of the kindergarten class while the child who helped the other to their feet and consoled them for their pain has probably made a connection that is much longer lasting. The rule of kindergarten is always don't be the asshole. Many many years of individual accomplishments have been written in history, but I still like Admiral (ret) William McRaven's Ten Things to Change the world speech he gave in 2014 and two of those: Success in Life Requires Teamwork (find someone to help you paddle) and It's What's Inside That Counts (measure a person by the size of their heart not the size of their flippers) are good places to start. For all we Americans brag about doing it alone and individualism (not in and of themselves bad things), we have a bad habit of forgetting we were not left on a mountain top alone as a baby. The comments by @956 Worldwide about the younger cohorts and how the adults in the room didn't exactly behave like adults when it came to the pandemic has a harsh truth to it. Even when children have to face hardship, stress, and the reality of a situation--they will always look to others to see what society expects for behaviors and we were atrocious--to each other and in many different ways. And then we rationalized it and blamed everyone but ourselves. Not our finest moment in a nation that has had some shining ones and some horrible ones and some that are more than a little tarnished upon reflection.

Still a bit amateurish though. William still has two Kates, two Annes, and a Jane to go if he wants to turn pro.

With respect to housing, and this is entirely anecdotal and I've not delved into any serious examination of fact v feeling but something we've noticed in our area is just how many SFR homes are snapped up by investors large and small and thus taken off the market for younger purchasers. For example, a new school opened up and there was the predictable flight towards the 'new' attendance area by those who had the means to move. Instead of selling their former homes, many switched them to rentals. In another area close to a higher ed campus, SFR homes were replaced with lease by the room units which makes sense as the homes were not amenable to the population density that a college neighborhood would need except that took yet more stock of older homes with no replacement. Those are the small investors for the most part, but the large scale operations buying up homes by the thousands seems to compound the problem. For better or worse, home ownership has been one measure for young couples starting out and even if they're like my family and not looking for a large home (ours is much less than the 2021 average of 2,480 sq ft as we ring in at 1,900 sq ft and that's plenty) it's getting more difficult to locate well built 'small' homes like ours that haven't been snapped up by investors. Granted, some neighborhoods have HOA or covenant restrictions against renting and that can help in that endeavor, but older neighborhoods like ours do not so it's been interesting watching the changes over time. Our children may not be so fortunate in their househunting, but they also have learned that happiness dwells within the walls of the smallest abode provided there is love and kindness.

On to the next and The Shadow Docket by Stephen Vladeck was on the new book shelf at our branch so have begun that. Thus far, I like his writing style but it certainly requires my best focus as that style is densely packed with information (or maybe I'm getting old and my brain struggles when the shadows grow long). Vladeck is currently the Charles Allen Wright Chair in Federal Courts at the UT School of Law.

Ah yes, my representative. The asshole from the bellybutton of Texas.

I think it's her. She's 42 and received some high dollar health care. Much ado about nothing.

Haha! Yeah, we've lived in several places where "chopped beef" is the norm with brisket.

I understand this sentiment, but I also am sympathetic to some of the problems faced in that state regarding population, pollution, and climate. They've got the highest, or nearly so gas tax in the nation, but considering some of the transportation demands in their state, natural disasters or potential ones that may impact road construction requirements (for safety) and IIRC don't they require a special blend of fuel (which may impact supply from refineries that produce it) in order to limit smog effects in the urban areas such as LA which has weird geography that can factor in air quality? California has been fighting how to figure out clean air/safe transportation/high population/cost to consumers for decades but I wouldn't say Texas ought to sit back and ignore some of the lessons that have been learned over that time period because people are affected by this in costs that are more long term than just at the pump. Over the years as we've traveled back and forth heading to family north of Texas we've noticed how much more hazy the sky around the DFW area is than it used to be. We live south of DFW and frequently there is a brownish tint around the city one can spot from a distance. While Los Angeles is #1 for ozone pollution in the nation, the Houston/Woodlands metro area is #9 and the Dallas metro is at #18. That's not the whole story as there is more to air quality than that. While Texas has fewer earthquake issues with respect to road construction, the tolls take their toll from the pocketbook as well. Texas has its frustrations and problems and so does California. I'm blessed in that wherever we've lived or visited, the people have been overall pretty nice to be around.

Perhaps, I've not gone looking around to date it. Few are under the impression he's had a change of heart or mind since whenever he made this statement, however. The plausible deniability is that he's only referring to those directly with whom he works i.e. his staff and not the People of We, the People but I'm not one of those who gives him any wiggle room in that regard.

A book I read and commented on in the Books thread dealt with adults in the film/tv (mostly tv) industry, both in front of and behind the camera. While the topic was adults (and more specifically women, persons of color, and other under-represented groups, my overall impression was that this was not unusual behavior by some of the studios/productions despite attempts (lawsuits filed by victims, etc) to thwart the most egregious offenders. I don't know if the #MeToo movement that came afterward has assisted the endeavors to make the industry accountable for (pardon the pun) harboring bad actors, but it has got to be frustrating for anyone who did or is currently trying to create a safe professional environment for creative work to flourish. The industry should rid itself of the unspoken mantra 'in order for great art (or even a somewhat entertaining but highly profitable children's program) to happen, tyrants, racists, sexual abusers, etc must be given free reign.'

One of the best non chemical treatments I've ever done once our St. A starts greening is to mow twice a week. The grass gets really thick and that aids in less opportunity for both germination and being able to spot the rando weed that popped through.

Yeah, I could do w/o that kind of luck. I mean admitting that one admires ancient leaders who assassinated their political rivals and who in turn were assassinated is not a conservative democratic principle nor is it an admirable one as I suspect the admiration is more for their heavy handed authoritarianism than it is for their military strategy in battle.

10/10 the truck driver is the type to bitch about lazy people and/or people who don't follow the rules because of course the rules don't apply to said driver. On a good karma note, we were walking out of a crowded Austin restaurant on Lamar recently and there were some grandparents pulled up with the grandkids piling out of the car with the agitated grandmother who was trying to figure out where equally agitated grandpa was going to park with no spaces available. So we strolled up, 'excuse me, but if you can wait one sec we're backing out right there' (point to our car) which was ten yards away. Probably saved that guys life, he looked like he was going to have a heart attack if he had to find a place to park over the lunch hour on a weekday.

Here are a few sources I've used in the past: Burpee's--often sold in stores, but their online store has packets w/o the fancy photo packet and it was slightly cheaper, or at least it was. Haven't ordered from them in a couple of years. https://www.burpee.com/ Select Seeds: (Online)I have good luck with germination with their seeds. https://www.selectseeds.com/ Johnny's Seeds: (Online) same, they do a lot of commercial sales and target that market, but their seeds are solid. https://www.johnnyseeds.com/ Botanical Interest: (Online and in some garden centers that are not big box stores) I've gotten a lot of seeds from them as they have some decent heat friendly and heritage varieties. https://www.botanicalinterests.com/ There are some other companies from which I've ordered when searching for specific seeds, but the above places have a good overall variety. One additional note: while I try and order from small businesses, sometimes small companies will have less overall supplies so you've got to order early in the season. Harvest time being what it is, they've only got so many fields/sources and while most are upfront about availability, there were one or two where I had to inquire about why my order hadn't shipped (because the planting window for viability was shrinking). I didn't list every company because there are a lot(!) but the ones above are some of the companies I use most often along with Territorial Seed Co, Seed Savers Exchange, Baker Creek, and Harris Seeds. I can't speak to price so much. Growing from seed is fairly economical and since I'm often looking for a specific variety, I'm pragmatic about it. I've used Ferry-Morse (I think they might be a Lowe's vendor (?) but had less success with germination rate unless it was a variety that was super easy. Park Seeds (another one you might find in stores) is also okay but I haven't bought/ordered from them in a while. For tomatoes, I both buy a transplant or two from our local garden shop but grow my own indoors and then put out when it's warm enough, which has worked well. I grow a fair amount of flowers and thus seeds are worth the trouble for me unless it's something that is difficult due to germination rates or other picky issues. From seed this year I've got tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, beets, carrots, beans, various parsleys and some are already in the ground and growing while others are still under the lights. (I was a little late with some of them this year due to illness). For flowers, I haven't yet planted zinnia seeds, but I've got alyssum, petunia, amaranth (for ornamental purposes), coleous, celosia, lobelia and some others. I get a lot of volunteers every year as well; the larkspurs are blooming right now and some of last years petunias have gone rogue, sprouted and bloomed. Morning glories are practically a weed in the garden now they sprout so much but I can yank them out and leave the ones that are in a good location--the anole love them as do the bees (which helps the tomatoes).

This past weekend the UTSA Roadrunner Invitational had a handful of Longhorns competing and here are the results: Women's 400m: Imuetiyan Ogbeide (7) 56.34 First place: Alanah Yukich (Texas Int) 52.77 Women's 800m: Olivia Howell (1) 2:04.54; Amity Ebarb (2) 2:11.73; Mackenize Browne (3) 2:11.99 Women's 1500m: Eva Jess (1) 4:30.03; Virginia Knight (8) 4:44.86; Allyson Little (9) 4:46.34; Elizabeth Pickett (10) 4:47.51; Haley Harper (13) 4:49.31 Of the results, Howell had a good showing with an official 800m time that is currently near the top of the early season lists. On Wednesday the 27th, the Women's Heptathlon will kick off the Texas Relays...

Along with the mention above of the film set to release, the RNC move has me wondering that besides the $$ grab by the Trump Org for its criminal syndicate if there is also the underlying thought amongst some of them that they don't really need to concern themselves with outreach because they will have other methods of staying in and/or gaining power. They've got red states that do their bidding, they've got SCOTUS (Likewise), and they've got the trial run coup from January 6th. I'm not feeling confident regarding the upcoming election and it isn't because the popular vote would be for Trump but because they've told us who they are and what they are willing to do and too many people (including some of the wealthiest individuals on the planet) not only have gaslit the danger to American democracy but actively support a nationalist supremacist theocracy or at the very least, a fascist authoritarian leader who will defer to those individuals.

I've almost finished it, and I was rather surprised myself with various titles. It's given me a few titles to add to my personal 'to be read' list. I'd noticed that several of those titles were ones published at particularly busy times in my life and I tend to read more nonfiction during those periods as I find nonfiction easier to set aside and return to w/o having to reread everything (alas, the trials of a memory like a sieve). So the discovery of some new and interesting novels has been worth the read. (Each of the included titles has a blurb about the story and author along with a few notes here and there about books in general such as illustrations and jacket designs etc) I laughed when I saw 50 Shades on the list, though. I read the first book in the series but was not a fan; not for any prudish reason but because it just didn't seem all that well written. The author's story was based on her own fanfiction and I've read enough fanfiction to have discovered stories in that homegrown category with much better prose. Gary Paulson's Hatchet series was on the list as well and my children loved those stories; I think they read them at some point after reading My Side of the Mountain by Jean George (along with the sequels to that story).

I'll have you know that I've got the best morale superiority complex. I can out morale all the other competitive sports, academics, and PTO mothers with my encouraging hard charging slogans I hear all the alpha dads shouting from their pickup trucks parked on the grass during practices. Iron sharpens iron! There's no crying in baseball! You got this baby girl! Leave everything out on the field! No pressure no diamonds! It's definitely progressive because the longer the competition, the worse and more unhinged I get. [/sarcasm]

This story is pretty bad and I don't mean the writing. Goodrich was arrested in Virginia recently, but the case itself goes back a number of years. The Associated Press was doing an investigation on how the LDS church had a 'playbook' of sorts to protect its clergy from accusations of sexual abuse. Story here: https://apnews.com/article/mormon-church-investigation-child-sex-abuse-aedc8cfc9175ebadb18420ec25a5f99c Goodrich had been arrested for the abuse, but then released when the fellow bishop to whom he confessed invoked "clergy privilege' or some such and refused to testify. But it gets worse. Apparently, Goodrich is also a dentist and at some point (about the time his daughter accused him of raping her at home and on the trip) he was going through a divorce and got on a dating website (Match or something similar) and met a woman. She accused him of drugging and then raping her. Chelsea Goodrich approached the AP with her story, she said, because her father remained free and practicing dentistry in Idaho with access to children. Chelsea Goodrich approached the AP with her story, she said, because her father remained free and practicing dentistry in Idaho with access to children. Chelsea Goodrich approached the AP with her story, she said, because her father remained free and practicing dentistry in Idaho with access to children. Chelsea Goodrich approached the AP with her story, she said, because her father remained free and practicing dentistry in Idaho with access to children. I repeated that four times to get the point across. People accuse women and children of falsifying accusations against predators, but time and time again, the predators are protected because they are overwhelmingly NOT drag queens or other marginal members of society but because they are in a protected class of authority (most often male) figures and their words and positions are considered more believable. One hundred and fifty six victims vs doctor Larry Nassar at MSU before he was sentenced to prison.

Because his father doesn't love him.

The organ harvesting also ties into MTG's theory (promoted by Russian state media) that Ukraine is harvesting children's organs and selling them on the black market. So, it's a little of a two-fer for anti-abortion and anti-aid-to-Ukraine.

Humans are one-twelfth human endogenous retroviruses. A retrovirus that infected reproductive cells may be what made it possible for mammals to develop internal pregnancy.

It burns like ice? Then I got curious and looked it up. Apparently the story goes that blue flames burn the hottest, but in ranking the chips, Mashed argues that they are not as hot as Fuego or Nitro. I wonder if one eats an entire bag the toilet looks like Lysol Power Bowl Cleaner.