chickenfeet (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chickenfeet) wrote2025-06-27 07:06 am
chickenfeet) wrote2025-06-27 07:06 am
shadowkat (shadowkat) wrote2025-06-26 07:48 pm
shadowkat) wrote2025-06-26 07:48 pmOn a quiet and somewhat dull Thursday...
The temperature dropped outside. It's now in the 70s. As Breaking Bad put it - night and day outside today.
At work, I ran into a neighbor in the lobby of my building (it's all Crazy Org).
He saw me, first. Told me this was his last day - he was retiring. (I honestly thought he was retired. He is definitely older than me.) We pass all the time in the laundry room and elevator - he lives across the hall from me with his family. He has a dog, and a neurodivergent son, who I think has either Touretts or Ausbergers?
Apparently he was a legal investigator for one of the agencies in Crazy Org since roughly 1993. I was somewhat envious - it sounded more interesting than editing legal documents and financial analysis and negotiations. I'm admittedly bored and frustrated at the moment. It's making me cranky? Well that and struggling with sleep, lingering chest congestion, and brain fog.
Below is a photo of Crazy Org today, standing tall against a gray sky.
It was bound to happen - that I'd run into a neighbor as they are retiring, considering Crazy Org employs over 75,000 New Yorkers.
I took a walk at lunch - it was mild, pleasant even, and overcast - also the last day of school in New York, apparently, so not that many tourists wandering about mucking up the works. Or many bikes for that matter.
And I saw a wild turkey in Battery City Park. Breaking Bad and I decided that the turkey probably escaped from Staten Island via the Ferry. [ETA: Where the turkey came from was/is a joke. We've no clue. We were just joking that it escaped a farm in Staten Island and came by ferry. (Which didn't happen). And since the photo is horrible - no I did not approach the wild turkey.]
( bad photo of a turkey )
Other than that the day was slow. So slow, I worked on my novel, played with spreadsheets, and played on my phone. Art History Major is off to see her family in Ohio.
***
Some good news?
The Senate Parliamentarian managed to take a hatchet to the Big Shitty Bill. Apparently you can't just add everything you like to a reconciliation bill which is meant to balance the government's budget. It's basically an accounting bill - that gets quickly passed because it's needed to balance a budget. They tried to add a bunch of stuff that had zip to do with that to the bill, which is in violation of the Senate's rules.
Parliamentarian removes medicaid cuts from Reconciliation Big Beautiful Bill
Violations Continue to Mount on Big Beautiful Bill
As one commentator aptly put it - adding the things the Republicans did to the Bill would be akin to balancing your household budget and adding a fancy new car for yourself.
For those who have raised valid concern following the Parliamentarian rulings knocking out some of the worst aspects of the GOP’s budget bill, Thune has reiterated no overruling.
***
R.I.P Bill Moyers
"Legendary journalist Bill Moyers has died at age 91. Moyers was the former White House press secretary under President Lyndon B. Johnson, and leaves behind a distinguished legacy in American journalism. Over five decades, he became known for his in-depth interviews and thoughtful documentaries on programs such as Bill Moyers Journal and Now with Bill Moyers. A champion of public broadcasting, Moyers received more than 30 Emmy Awards, nine Peabody Awards, and the National Humanities Medal for his contributions to civic discourse. Rest in peace, Bill."
At work, I ran into a neighbor in the lobby of my building (it's all Crazy Org).
He saw me, first. Told me this was his last day - he was retiring. (I honestly thought he was retired. He is definitely older than me.) We pass all the time in the laundry room and elevator - he lives across the hall from me with his family. He has a dog, and a neurodivergent son, who I think has either Touretts or Ausbergers?
Apparently he was a legal investigator for one of the agencies in Crazy Org since roughly 1993. I was somewhat envious - it sounded more interesting than editing legal documents and financial analysis and negotiations. I'm admittedly bored and frustrated at the moment. It's making me cranky? Well that and struggling with sleep, lingering chest congestion, and brain fog.
Below is a photo of Crazy Org today, standing tall against a gray sky.
It was bound to happen - that I'd run into a neighbor as they are retiring, considering Crazy Org employs over 75,000 New Yorkers.
I took a walk at lunch - it was mild, pleasant even, and overcast - also the last day of school in New York, apparently, so not that many tourists wandering about mucking up the works. Or many bikes for that matter.
And I saw a wild turkey in Battery City Park. Breaking Bad and I decided that the turkey probably escaped from Staten Island via the Ferry. [ETA: Where the turkey came from was/is a joke. We've no clue. We were just joking that it escaped a farm in Staten Island and came by ferry. (Which didn't happen). And since the photo is horrible - no I did not approach the wild turkey.]
( bad photo of a turkey )
Other than that the day was slow. So slow, I worked on my novel, played with spreadsheets, and played on my phone. Art History Major is off to see her family in Ohio.
***
Some good news?
The Senate Parliamentarian managed to take a hatchet to the Big Shitty Bill. Apparently you can't just add everything you like to a reconciliation bill which is meant to balance the government's budget. It's basically an accounting bill - that gets quickly passed because it's needed to balance a budget. They tried to add a bunch of stuff that had zip to do with that to the bill, which is in violation of the Senate's rules.
Parliamentarian removes medicaid cuts from Reconciliation Big Beautiful Bill
Violations Continue to Mount on Big Beautiful Bill
As one commentator aptly put it - adding the things the Republicans did to the Bill would be akin to balancing your household budget and adding a fancy new car for yourself.
For those who have raised valid concern following the Parliamentarian rulings knocking out some of the worst aspects of the GOP’s budget bill, Thune has reiterated no overruling.
***
R.I.P Bill Moyers
"Legendary journalist Bill Moyers has died at age 91. Moyers was the former White House press secretary under President Lyndon B. Johnson, and leaves behind a distinguished legacy in American journalism. Over five decades, he became known for his in-depth interviews and thoughtful documentaries on programs such as Bill Moyers Journal and Now with Bill Moyers. A champion of public broadcasting, Moyers received more than 30 Emmy Awards, nine Peabody Awards, and the National Humanities Medal for his contributions to civic discourse. Rest in peace, Bill."
shadowkat (shadowkat) wrote2025-06-25 07:21 pm
shadowkat) wrote2025-06-25 07:21 pmHow do we overthrow a dictatorship? With a lot of lawyers...not sure about getting rid of heat
1. How do we overthrow a dictatorship?
Apparently by hiring a bunch of extremely smart constitutional law attorneys and judges who can give the dictatorship just enough rope to hang itself, while at the same time protecting the rest of us. It's highly more productive than how they overthrew the Nazi's in WWII, which didn't exactly end well for anyone - it resulted in an extremely high cost of human life - which we can all agree that we do not want to repeat at any point. [Note the Star Wars approach - we do not want. Star Trek yes, Star Wars no.]
I'm following a bunch of constitutional and immigration attorneys of FB, and they are amusing me to no end, also keeping my spirits up.
My favorite is Ann P. Mitchell - whose an attorney based out in California, and is quite logical. Also, she was at one point asking people for a humane way to get rid of katydids from her garden, which further endeared her to me.
Per Mitchell:
( The Government asks a Judge to put a Stay in the Kilmer Abrego-Garcia case - to basically save the federal government from itself - since it may suffer irreparable harm completely of its own making )
That's the long one, here's the gist: A federal judge in Tennessee just denied the government’s request to keep Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia locked up while it appeals his release. Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. upheld the magistrate’s order to free Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador last month, while he awaits trial on human smuggling charges (fake charges cooked up by the Trump administration).
FB is finally paying me back for joining it back in 2008 to follow political issues and social justice. Who knew?
2. So, the Mayoral Primary race resulted in an upset, of sorts?
"This was supposed to be former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s fifth act, his triumphant return to New York politics after a long stint in the wilderness. Instead, New York City delivered an electoral shocker by choosing a socialist Muslim immigrant as its Democratic mayoral candidate, immediately making Zohran Mamdani the front-runner in this heavily Democratic city.
And it wasn’t even close. With 93 percent of the precincts reporting as of this morning, Mamdani leads Cuomo by over seven percentage points."
It was 44% to 38% this morning.
( commentary and concern over the evil Republican Candidate )
3. Now, I know why the heat is zapping me.
If you are on any of these medications - the heat will affect you more than most.
Heat affects everyone, but did you know some medications cause patients to have a higher intolerance to heat?
Be sure to increase hydration and decrease full exposure to sun if your medication is on the list. [I have three on the list - it's my high blood pressure medication - it means I'm intolerant to head now. Lovely.]
4. BigBeautiful Ugly Bill - the Budget Bill that the Trump Administration wants passed by July 4.
Per Anne P. Mitchell:
"Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has struck down the clause in Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' that tried to hamstring the courts from holding defendants (read as "Trump and others in his administration") in contempt. (Ironic as Trump clearly holds the courts in contempt.)
Remember when I told you that clause would never have passed constitutional muster anyways? (That's also incorporated in my pinned post.) Meaning that *had* it passed, the courts would have struck it down faster than you can say "nice try". But it's good that they won't have to deal with those shenanigans, as they already have their plates full with holding the rule of law against the onslaught that is the Trump administration.
Parliamentarian MacDonough held that the clause, along with some others, including withholding the already-approved funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the larger cuts to SNAP, violate the Byrd Rule. You see, budget reconciliation bills, such as the Big Beautiful Bill, only need a simple majority to be passed, which is *why* the BBB was introduced as a budget reconciliation bill.
BUT, the Byrd Rule says that any budget reconciliation bill must deal with, and *only* deal with, you know... *the budget*. No policy items dressed up as budgetary items allowed! Sneaking policy into a budget reconciliation bill so that the policy only needs a simple majority to be passed and enacted, rather than a 60+ vote majority of the full senate, is a no no. And so the Parliamentarian has told the Republican senators "No, no."
Senate Parlimentarian's No List - 12 Things Struck from the Big Beautiful Bill per the Hill
( excerpts )
Off to watch my soap. I'm trying to get my living room lower than 80 degrees and failing. I'm not sure if I need another A/C or if I need to get a new one. The one in the bedroom - is keeping the bedroom at whatever temperature I set it. So I may require two. But I'd rather not.
Oh well, the heat wave is breaking tomorrow. NYC is not set up for blistering heat. It's used to milder temperatures - it's like London in that respect.
Apparently by hiring a bunch of extremely smart constitutional law attorneys and judges who can give the dictatorship just enough rope to hang itself, while at the same time protecting the rest of us. It's highly more productive than how they overthrew the Nazi's in WWII, which didn't exactly end well for anyone - it resulted in an extremely high cost of human life - which we can all agree that we do not want to repeat at any point. [Note the Star Wars approach - we do not want. Star Trek yes, Star Wars no.]
I'm following a bunch of constitutional and immigration attorneys of FB, and they are amusing me to no end, also keeping my spirits up.
My favorite is Ann P. Mitchell - whose an attorney based out in California, and is quite logical. Also, she was at one point asking people for a humane way to get rid of katydids from her garden, which further endeared her to me.
Per Mitchell:
( The Government asks a Judge to put a Stay in the Kilmer Abrego-Garcia case - to basically save the federal government from itself - since it may suffer irreparable harm completely of its own making )
That's the long one, here's the gist: A federal judge in Tennessee just denied the government’s request to keep Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia locked up while it appeals his release. Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. upheld the magistrate’s order to free Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador last month, while he awaits trial on human smuggling charges (fake charges cooked up by the Trump administration).
FB is finally paying me back for joining it back in 2008 to follow political issues and social justice. Who knew?
2. So, the Mayoral Primary race resulted in an upset, of sorts?
"This was supposed to be former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s fifth act, his triumphant return to New York politics after a long stint in the wilderness. Instead, New York City delivered an electoral shocker by choosing a socialist Muslim immigrant as its Democratic mayoral candidate, immediately making Zohran Mamdani the front-runner in this heavily Democratic city.
And it wasn’t even close. With 93 percent of the precincts reporting as of this morning, Mamdani leads Cuomo by over seven percentage points."
It was 44% to 38% this morning.
( commentary and concern over the evil Republican Candidate )
3. Now, I know why the heat is zapping me.
If you are on any of these medications - the heat will affect you more than most.
Heat affects everyone, but did you know some medications cause patients to have a higher intolerance to heat?
Be sure to increase hydration and decrease full exposure to sun if your medication is on the list. [I have three on the list - it's my high blood pressure medication - it means I'm intolerant to head now. Lovely.]
4. Big
Per Anne P. Mitchell:
"Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has struck down the clause in Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' that tried to hamstring the courts from holding defendants (read as "Trump and others in his administration") in contempt. (Ironic as Trump clearly holds the courts in contempt.)
Remember when I told you that clause would never have passed constitutional muster anyways? (That's also incorporated in my pinned post.) Meaning that *had* it passed, the courts would have struck it down faster than you can say "nice try". But it's good that they won't have to deal with those shenanigans, as they already have their plates full with holding the rule of law against the onslaught that is the Trump administration.
Parliamentarian MacDonough held that the clause, along with some others, including withholding the already-approved funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the larger cuts to SNAP, violate the Byrd Rule. You see, budget reconciliation bills, such as the Big Beautiful Bill, only need a simple majority to be passed, which is *why* the BBB was introduced as a budget reconciliation bill.
BUT, the Byrd Rule says that any budget reconciliation bill must deal with, and *only* deal with, you know... *the budget*. No policy items dressed up as budgetary items allowed! Sneaking policy into a budget reconciliation bill so that the policy only needs a simple majority to be passed and enacted, rather than a 60+ vote majority of the full senate, is a no no. And so the Parliamentarian has told the Republican senators "No, no."
Senate Parlimentarian's No List - 12 Things Struck from the Big Beautiful Bill per the Hill
( excerpts )
Off to watch my soap. I'm trying to get my living room lower than 80 degrees and failing. I'm not sure if I need another A/C or if I need to get a new one. The one in the bedroom - is keeping the bedroom at whatever temperature I set it. So I may require two. But I'd rather not.
Oh well, the heat wave is breaking tomorrow. NYC is not set up for blistering heat. It's used to milder temperatures - it's like London in that respect.
shadowkat (shadowkat) wrote2025-06-24 08:31 pm
shadowkat) wrote2025-06-24 08:31 pmEntry tags:
More June Questions...and memage
The heat (it was 101 degrees today, and tonight has not dipped past 95 degrees with a high barometric pressure, and moderate air quality) - resulted in a sick nauseous headache by the time I got home, which is still lurking in the background. I felt dizzy, wiped out and off. Most likely the hangers on from my bout with COVID last week.
So instead of walking the fifteen to twenty blocks to the voting place, which is about a twenty minute walk in the heat, not helped by my sciatic nerve, I copped out. I feel really bad about it. But it is what it is. It's not like I have anyone I really want to vote for anyhow. I really did not like any of the people running. I'd landed on one, but I wasn't happy with the choice. I'll vote in the actual election - possibly by mail. This has taught me to try mail in voting from now on.
Heat and menopausal bodies are not mixy things. I also think my blood pressure was a bit off. I took the additional meds, it's seems to have leveled off a little now.
21. What is your favourite salad dressing?
Right now, it's usually lemon juice. I rarely use it. But if I do use it - I live olive oil and vingear, or Cesar Salad Dressing (with anchovies flavoring it).
22. Have you owned an aquarium or had a pond in your garden/backyard?
Don't have a backyard. So no on the pond. Parents had a lagoon for a bit.
And brother has a pond in his backyard, but not sure that counts? I owned an aquarium when I was a child - but not since then, too high maintenance.
23. Where is your favourite holiday destination – have you been more than once?
Don't really have one? I grew up with the view that you go somewhere different every year. I go to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina (it's a nice island off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia, that has sandy beaches, and is large enough to have a town, etc. It's not a small island.) But I only go to visit my mother, previously my parents, whom I'm exceedingly close to.
24. In 1911 French couturier Paul Poiret held his infamous 'The 1002nd Night' costume ball to launch his “Parfums de Rosine", the first signature scent linked to a design house. Have you a favourite scent?
I am allergic to most perfumes, unfortunately. They give me headaches. But I do like Lavender - doesn't bother me. (Note - most people with scent allergies or who are sensitive to perfume, have no problems with lavender for some reason or other). I also like lemon or citrus, euclyaptus, and pine.
Cinnamon now makes me sneeze. And Vanilla can make me queasy at times, weirdly.
I adore the scent of coffee.
***
More on what comforts me?
Songs or musicians that I find comforting?
* Joni Mitchell, Sarah McLachlan, The Magnetic Stripes, Sand Sheff, Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles, Sondheim's Into the Woods, The Stones, David Bowie, Janis Ian, Suzanne Vega, Joan Jett and the Runaways/ also that other band - basically anything with Joan Jett, Brenda Carlyle, the Indigo Girls,
and Pink Floyd
Mostly Folk and Classic Rock, also classical music - anything by Yo Yo Ma, or John Williams movie themes. I have a fondness for Gershwin and Jazz. Jazz reminds me of my Dad, who adored it, that and Frank Sinatra.
**
Smartbitches tempted me to buy another couple of books on Kindle, both were a $1.99. Went to get the first one, Hench, only to discover I'd already purchased it a year ago and forgotten about it. At least Amazon will inform me, other places aren't as considerate.
***
A picture of the fountain outside my workplace. It's finally working. No, no one was climbing into it. They can't without hurting the flowers. It's not a swimming fountain.
People were threatening to open up fire hydrants today - which is illegal. The city parks and the city has fountains folks can play in.
So instead of walking the fifteen to twenty blocks to the voting place, which is about a twenty minute walk in the heat, not helped by my sciatic nerve, I copped out. I feel really bad about it. But it is what it is. It's not like I have anyone I really want to vote for anyhow. I really did not like any of the people running. I'd landed on one, but I wasn't happy with the choice. I'll vote in the actual election - possibly by mail. This has taught me to try mail in voting from now on.
Heat and menopausal bodies are not mixy things. I also think my blood pressure was a bit off. I took the additional meds, it's seems to have leveled off a little now.
21. What is your favourite salad dressing?
Right now, it's usually lemon juice. I rarely use it. But if I do use it - I live olive oil and vingear, or Cesar Salad Dressing (with anchovies flavoring it).
22. Have you owned an aquarium or had a pond in your garden/backyard?
Don't have a backyard. So no on the pond. Parents had a lagoon for a bit.
And brother has a pond in his backyard, but not sure that counts? I owned an aquarium when I was a child - but not since then, too high maintenance.
23. Where is your favourite holiday destination – have you been more than once?
Don't really have one? I grew up with the view that you go somewhere different every year. I go to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina (it's a nice island off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia, that has sandy beaches, and is large enough to have a town, etc. It's not a small island.) But I only go to visit my mother, previously my parents, whom I'm exceedingly close to.
24. In 1911 French couturier Paul Poiret held his infamous 'The 1002nd Night' costume ball to launch his “Parfums de Rosine", the first signature scent linked to a design house. Have you a favourite scent?
I am allergic to most perfumes, unfortunately. They give me headaches. But I do like Lavender - doesn't bother me. (Note - most people with scent allergies or who are sensitive to perfume, have no problems with lavender for some reason or other). I also like lemon or citrus, euclyaptus, and pine.
Cinnamon now makes me sneeze. And Vanilla can make me queasy at times, weirdly.
I adore the scent of coffee.
***
More on what comforts me?
Songs or musicians that I find comforting?
* Joni Mitchell, Sarah McLachlan, The Magnetic Stripes, Sand Sheff, Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles, Sondheim's Into the Woods, The Stones, David Bowie, Janis Ian, Suzanne Vega, Joan Jett and the Runaways/ also that other band - basically anything with Joan Jett, Brenda Carlyle, the Indigo Girls,
and Pink Floyd
Mostly Folk and Classic Rock, also classical music - anything by Yo Yo Ma, or John Williams movie themes. I have a fondness for Gershwin and Jazz. Jazz reminds me of my Dad, who adored it, that and Frank Sinatra.
**
Smartbitches tempted me to buy another couple of books on Kindle, both were a $1.99. Went to get the first one, Hench, only to discover I'd already purchased it a year ago and forgotten about it. At least Amazon will inform me, other places aren't as considerate.
***
A picture of the fountain outside my workplace. It's finally working. No, no one was climbing into it. They can't without hurting the flowers. It's not a swimming fountain.
People were threatening to open up fire hydrants today - which is illegal. The city parks and the city has fountains folks can play in.
cactuswatcher (cactuswatcher) wrote2025-06-24 01:10 pm
cactuswatcher) wrote2025-06-24 01:10 pmGood Grief
It's bad enough that my YouTube general feed has filled up with ads this year. It's also so cluttered with garbage channels that I often don't even see my "favorites" when they post anymore without going to my personal favorites feed.
Too much of it is just a pathetic money grab anymore. They come up with interesting titles with no real relation to the video, so people will click on them. I suppose it's my own fault for clicking on a video about old movies and find the computer generated narrator can't pronounce Bette Davis; clicking on a video about geology and the fake narrator can't pronounce New Madrid the name of the most famous earthquake fault in the U.S. east of California; clicking on a video supposedly about rivers in the U.S. in which perhaps a human mispronounces Cairo, Illinois where the Ohio and Mississippi rivers meet... It makes Wikipedia in the old days seem reliably authoritative.
This afternoon I clicked on a video that was supposed to talk about some old movie stars. It started off the first section (on John Wayne) with the phrase "From the dusty streets of Monument Valley..." Even if this is AI B.S., who was so stupid as to enter Monument Valley in a data base of Western towns? Either nobody edits this garbage or they are so ignorant they couldn't edit properly, if they wanted to.
I wish YouTube gave us a way to block these channels from nitwits, so I can get to new creators I'd like to watch more quickly.
Too much of it is just a pathetic money grab anymore. They come up with interesting titles with no real relation to the video, so people will click on them. I suppose it's my own fault for clicking on a video about old movies and find the computer generated narrator can't pronounce Bette Davis; clicking on a video about geology and the fake narrator can't pronounce New Madrid the name of the most famous earthquake fault in the U.S. east of California; clicking on a video supposedly about rivers in the U.S. in which perhaps a human mispronounces Cairo, Illinois where the Ohio and Mississippi rivers meet... It makes Wikipedia in the old days seem reliably authoritative.
This afternoon I clicked on a video that was supposed to talk about some old movie stars. It started off the first section (on John Wayne) with the phrase "From the dusty streets of Monument Valley..." Even if this is AI B.S., who was so stupid as to enter Monument Valley in a data base of Western towns? Either nobody edits this garbage or they are so ignorant they couldn't edit properly, if they wanted to.
I wish YouTube gave us a way to block these channels from nitwits, so I can get to new creators I'd like to watch more quickly.
fresne (fresne) wrote2025-06-24 08:45 am
fresne) wrote2025-06-24 08:45 amMurderbot tv - episodes 5-7
Now that I have once again been so blessed as to watch Murderbot episodes 6 & 7 (and a rewatch of 5) a few maundering, meandering thoughts about the divergences and the complementary creatures that the books and the tv show are.
Also some massive digressions, because that is how I roll.
Which, fair warning, is where I shall start.
( Read more... )
Also some massive digressions, because that is how I roll.
Which, fair warning, is where I shall start.
( Read more... )
fresne (fresne) wrote2025-06-24 08:44 am
fresne) wrote2025-06-24 08:44 amEntry tags:
Murderbot TV - episodes 3 - 5
So, um, this is very long. I am very much enjoying the show. I very much enjoy the books. I think they complement each other in interesting ways. While also understanding that not everything hits for everyone. See also, folks I was *sure* would like the Good Place and bounced right off.
Anyway, post Covers Ep3-5.
( Read more... )
Anyway, post Covers Ep3-5.
( Read more... )
fresne (fresne) wrote2025-06-24 08:40 am
fresne) wrote2025-06-24 08:40 amEntry tags:
Murderbot TV - to Episode 3
I've been posting some essays over on Tumbler about Murderbot tv and it occurs to me I should also post them here, given long form, etc.
So, something written when I'd only seen up to episode 3.
( Read more... )
So, something written when I'd only seen up to episode 3.
( Read more... )