Category: Crankypantsing

Crankypantsing, Meta, Pets

Wake-up Calls

Shelly

I suddenly woke up at 2am and remembered that I had to renew my domain name. Oops! It expired yesterday. All is well, though. Those 2am reminders are a pain in the ass, but they usually make enough of an impression that they stick with me.

Still haven’t decided what to do about my computer. Also, still cranky as hell about it!

A cute Harriet story:

I’ve been letting her hang out on the patio, on a tie-out, while I’m in the living/dining room and can keep an eye/ear on her. This allows her to have time to mooch around, eat grass, lie in the sun, and watch the wee woodland critters, all of which she enjoys tremendously.

There are usually other dogs outside, most of them hanging out on upper balconies. Harriet knows she’s not supposed to bark (I bring her in as soon as she does), so when the other dogs bark at her, she’s taken to MOOOing back at them. She sounds *exactly* like a very small cow. It is crazy cute. You can actually see when she is getting ready to moo, because she stretches out her neck–just like a cow!–, lowers her head, and takes a deep breath. Then, she purses up her lips and MOOOOOOOs.

Crankypantsing, Meta

Mah Motherboard, She Go ‘Splodey!

Shelly

On the list of things you do not want to wake up to on a Saturday morning, I think I’d add “Dead Motherboard” somewhere near the top.

What that means is that I now have no computer at home, so any updating I do will have to be done before work. Hrmf! I had no idea just how much I used my computer, but lemme tell ya’, I nearly tore my hair out this weekend.

I think I’ve found a decent bare-bones kit, but “some assembly required” is an understatement. I’ve installed hardware before, but never a motherboard. Eeep!

Crankypantsing, News & Politics

Hate Crimes and Journalism

Shelly

From Frank James, blogging via the Chicago Tribune, on the hate crimes bill that just passed the Congress and the companion bill introduced to the Senate:

If you’re the sort of person who decides to pummel or kill someone because he’s of a different race, or transgendered, or walks with a limp due to a physical disability, are you really likely to be stopped because Congress put a federal law on the books making it easier for federal law enforcement officials to help local counterparts prosecute you?

We don’t have laws in order to deter potential criminals. That may be a desirable side-effect of laws, but the reason laws exist is so that

A) We all know which behaviors are socially acceptable and which are not, and
B) People who do things that society as a group deems unacceptable can be punished for their actions.

To argue that a law is unnecessary because people will just go ahead and break it, is ludicrous. People break laws all the time. That is in no small part why we have laws. If we were to employ Mr. James’ logic, we should get rid of them all, because they are just going to be broken, anyway.

Conservatives vigorously oppose the legislation because of what they say is the unequal treatment it would in the eyes of the law that would be afforded to some victims of crime versus others. For instance, the law could come down harder on someone who assaulted a gay man than someone who committed the same act against someone straight.

I suspect that very few straight men are threatened, beaten, or killed just for daring to be straight. When someone is attacked simply for being a member of a particular group, the violence is done to him or her in effigy. It is meant for the whole group; it is a form of terrorism.

Also, religious conservatives feared the new legislation could be used to criminalize a clergyman whose fire-and-brimstone against homosexuality might, inadvertently, spur a misguided believer to commit a hate crime.

Boo-fucking-hoo.

Was that load of excreta an example of what passes for journalism, or what passes for op-ed? Or is it a far right political blog flying under the Chicago Trib’s colors? I can’t tell, and that’s a huge problem. The line is so hopelessly blurred between journalism and opinion, that it’s no wonder people think that asswagons like Bill O’Reilly are actually journalists. Journalists, for fuck’s sake! What the hell is wrong with people? And when you have on-line news agencies embedding blogs in their websites, it just gets hopelessly muddled.

Crankypantsing

Crankpantsing, Ahoy!

Shelly

Postcard

Since I’m in a cranky-assed mood, I thought I’d complain about other people being jerks. Ha! I think I’ve mentioned a certain bad-tempered, kinda crazy, artsy-craftsy person before, but perhaps not. I know I’ve boggled at her behavior in other venues, and, if you have been involved in just about any artsy-craftsy Yahoo group, you probably have run across her. Maybe you’re even a fan? If so, you have my condolences!

Anyway, I’ve belonged to various Yahoo groups run by her, and others that she was a heavy participator in. I ended up quitting all of them, because of how she treated people. I do sometimes read her blog, though, and when I do, I am always amazed at how nasty she is to her “fans” and customers. Maybe they don’t realize it, because they don’t read her blog? I dunno, but I’d feel really crummy if I found out that someone I admired and had been supportive of was, at best, resentful of me. I get the impression that she views her adoring fans as leeches. O ick.

Yaknow, I’m nowhere near her league, and I don’t really want to be. But, I do get regular e-mail from folks who have questions. Some of them are really silly questions. That’s okay. Lord knows, I’ve asked my own fair share of stupid
questions! I also don’t think that anything I do is particularly original, much less proprietary, so if someone asks me where I got something or how I made something, I’m happy to share. It’s not like I invented the wheel or anything.

I don’t know why this person irritates me so much (well, yes I do, but that’s a whole ‘nother kettle of fishes) or why I bother to read her blog. I shouldn’t, because whenever I do, it makes me cringe.

Crankypantsing, Ladybusiness

In Asshole News

Shelly

Alec Baldwin is a controlling, manipulative asshole. I don’t care how many ways he tries to rationalize his actions, or how hard he tries to blame his behavior on other people, he’s still a controlling, manipulative asshole. And to think, he’s the “normal” Baldwin!

Camille Paglia is also an asshole. Blaming women for some rage-frothing misogynist killing a bunch of people is really beyond the pale. And the way she goes about it is really kind of special. See, women are either having too much sex with men, or they aren’t having enough sex with men. Either way, it’s all our fault if a man goes on a ladyhating shooting spree. (Via Echidne of the Snakes)

Not having insurance sucks. I’ve been there. Not having enough money to go to the doctor or buy meds even when you have insurance sucks. But, this takes the cake. I nearly swallowed my tongue when I saw how much Twisty’s meds cost. And her insurance won’t pay for them, so she has to cover the entire cost herself. I’m sure that’s only a fraction of what she’s had to shell out for daring to have cancer, but thankfully, she’s been able to afford it. Lots of Americans cannot, and if they are diagnosed with cancer, they will die from it, for lack of treatment.

Can someone please explain to me why this is a better system than socialized medicine?

Crankypantsing, Photography

Visualizing Icicles

Shelly

100_3239

The only thing worse than waiting around all afternoon for repair folks is waiting around all afternoon for repair folks who do not show up. Hrmf! So after yesterday’s no-show, I called again at 8:30 this morning, to see what the hell happened and to leave my work number, so that they can call me when they are ready to come to my apartment. I still haven’t heard from them. I realize they’re probably pretty busy, but they could at least call to tell me they’re busy, and to give me an estimate on what day they might be able to get to me.

Thankfully, it hasn’t gotten ungodly hot yet, but by 5:00 last night it had reached 78F indoors. That’s kind of toasty, even with fans running. A brief shot of cold air would have been nice. I also have an element out on my oven, so I can’t bake anything. Of course, this would mean that I’m craving Shake-n-Bake tofu. (No, really! It’s good!)

(Photo: Ice Storm 19 February 2007)

Crankypantsing

Milton Sighting

Shelly

Folks, I just saw Milton, getting out of his car. In the light of day. And guess what? He has one of those piercingly loud car alarm arm/disarm thingumies. Shocking, I know, that he’d have a loud, obnoxious car. And he’s arming/disarming it every frigging time he goes to the car for another load of groceries! WTF? When I bring in things from the car, I leave the back door hanging wide open. I can’t imagine that our tiny apartment complex is teeming with thieves, but even if it were, if someone wanted my toilet paper and rice badly enough to steal it, then they probably need it worse than I do, and they’re welcome to it.

Also, I’m 99% positive, based on where that car is usually parked, that it’s the one whose alarm has gone off several nights in a row. Milton must sleep with earplugs, because it took him about half an hour to get his ass outside to turn it off, last time. How anyone withing a mile radius of here escaped without bleeding ears is a mystery.

Crankypantsing

Something Fishy

Shelly

100_3628

I took a semi-break from Netflix, reducing my subscription to unlimited one-at-a-time. That did not mean I didn’t want my DVDs in a timely fashion, however! A full day has been added to both the return and the mail-out times, which could be the fault of the USPS, but somehow I doubt it. Hrmf.

But it gets better. And by better, I mean worse.

Last Friday, I returned to my former uber-lotsa DVDs at once subscription (or, in the local patois, prescription–WTF?!). I checked my queue, just to make sure nothing hinky was going on. It said that my next batch of movies would mail on Friday. Good. That\’s how it ought to work. Only it didn’t. They should have arrived on Saturday, and when they did not, I checked my queue again. Magically, it said that my next batch of movies would be shipping on Monday, not last Friday.

I am not amused.

(Photo: Harriet’s new woobie. Mr. Fishy Fish’s portrait was taken using a Holga SILS 120 filter.)

Crankypantsing, Pets

Pet Food

Shelly

If you own a dog or a cat, you’ve been following the pet food contamination story pretty closely. Rice and corn glutens have now been implicated alongside wheat gluten as being contaminated with melamine. The most logical theory I’ve seen so far is that the melamine was added deliberately, in order to make the gluten appear to have more protein than it really does. Higher protein means more money for the distributor. Melamine is apparently added to ruminant feed, but because of their longer and more complex digestive systems, the practice is (relatively, at least) harmless. Cattle can metabolize the melamine without it harming them.

Anyway, I have to buy both dog and cat food today. Harriet got the end of hers this morning, and Pandora is on her last bowl of food. I’m not looking forward to this. None of the foods I’ve been feeding my animals have any kind of gluten in them, but I’m still leery. There have been so many delays and so much politicking involved in recalls so far that I just don’t trust the government or the pet food industry to get information to us in a timely fashion.

So, what to do, what to do? I think I’m going to go with Canidae and Felidae. I’ve fed both in the past, long-term, and was very happy with the general health of my cats and dogs. Canidae does not use glutens of any kind in their feeds, and they claim that all their ingredients are grown and processed in the US. I have no reason to doubt that they are a trustworthy company, but I can’t help but be concerned.

Also, it’s Little 500 weekend, and I have to work tomorrow. Kill me now!

Crankypantsing

Iron Skillets

Shelly

I hate non-stick cookware. Hate, hate, hate it. I’ve inherited a couple of nice iron skillets from my mom (three, if you count the cute little pie wedge cornbread skillet). If they are seasoned well, and you are careful, iron is virtually non-stick.

I’m not always careful, though. Sometimes I do stupid things, like add tomato sauce to my just sauteed veggies, while they are still in the pan. Oops. All is not lost, though! Reseasoning an iron skillet is easy peasy. One of my favorite methods is to make pancakes. No, seriously. The first pancake may turn out a little funky, but the rest should be fine, and by the time you have made 3-4 of them, you will have a beautifully reseasoned skillet. And pancakes. Mmmm.