Althouse: At the Sunroom Café...

December 30, 2012

At the Sunroom Café...

Untitled

... we can wait out the winter.

56 comments:

Anonymous said...: A geared beach cruiser is so much more comfortable.; 12/30/12, 4:05 PM
edutcher said...: Yeah, The Blonde and the pups are going stir crazy, too.; 12/30/12, 4:11 PM
Hagar said...: You don't have garage with that house?; 12/30/12, 4:16 PM
Meade said...: We do, Hags, but who wants to train in the garage when you can have the company of Bingo, green plants, and a view of your lovely beautiful blogging wife?

That's right - livin' the dream.; 12/30/12, 4:23 PM
edutcher said...: You guys are still on your honeymoon, aren't you?; 12/30/12, 4:25 PM
Meade said...: Oh, also, how do watch the Pack come from behind and win this thing when you're huffin and puffin down in the garage? GO PACK!; 12/30/12, 4:26 PM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: I like your old fashioned pencil sharpener. Those make the nicest sharp points, and watching the blade works is mesmerizing, and using it was a nice excuse to get up and stretch your legs. But you know what? Schools these days don't let kids use them, because of "safety" and "disruption."; 12/30/12, 4:30 PM
rhhardin said...: Studded bike tires (one on the front handles balance, one on the rear too if you insist on uphill forward motion) handle ice.

They don't work on pulverized show.

The actual enemy though is salted water.; 12/30/12, 4:39 PM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: Hey! Watch out for that skimpy saddle.

You've got nerves and stuff in that perineum!

You don't want to end up like Lance Armstrong, right?; 12/30/12, 4:41 PM
Meade said...: Rrrright you are, Mitch.

rh, you mean I don't need one of these?: http://www.5280.com/blogs/2012/10/18/sports-check-out-moots-frosti-snow-bike; 12/30/12, 4:47 PM
ken in tx said...: Kids today do not use those kind of pencil sharpeners to sharpen pencils. They use them to grind down the pencils they got from the teacher to a nub. They never bring their own. While doing this they make gyrations and funny faces. Teachers are not allowed to discipline or even raise their voices about this. The workaround is to remove the sharpeners. I handed out pre-sharpened pencils, but they sabotaged that by throwing them on the floor—or sometimes sticking them in the ceiling tiles. The point was to avoid doing any written work in class.; 12/30/12, 4:48 PM
ken in tx said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/30/12, 4:51 PM
Anonymous said...: On close inspection I'm guessing it's Meade's bike. Nevermind the comfortable comment.; 12/30/12, 5:14 PM
kjbe said...: Surly time.; 12/30/12, 5:17 PM
Ann Althouse said...: I like the way what people notice is the pencil sharpener. Even though I rarely use pencils -- even to draw, I like pens -- I like a solid, old-school pencil sharpener. Screwed in, not some damned suction-cup deal.; 12/30/12, 5:25 PM
Hagar said...: They make mechanical pencils these days that work a lot better.; 12/30/12, 5:31 PM
CatherineM said...: May I ask what you use to turn your bike into a stationary bike? I would like to get something for my bike, but when you google reviews I don't know who to listen to. Thanks!; 12/30/12, 5:32 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: 5280. Mile High, get it? I did a job once for that magazine. It was a really stupid chance thing but I ended up being the guy in the sport jacket engaged in earnest conversation at a dinner table over wine with a girl I met five minutes before the photo was taken. We looked adorable together. Then departed. I think I made $160.00 for that lunch hour, plus the ladies at my real job thought it was really neat.; 12/30/12, 5:43 PM
Penny said...: I was one VERY serious student of Penmanship back in grade school, so I can tell you all that a freshly sharpened pencil yielded less than the best results for eye-catching writing.

A thicker, well-rounded edge produced superior, handwritten exhibits.

Beautiful handwriting was, and still is, a work of art.; 12/30/12, 6:04 PM
Penny said...: Does it come as a shock to anyone here that 45 states are moving to eliminate cursive handwriting from the national school curriculum by 2014?

It surprises me, but maybe it shouldn't?

Your handwriting is creative and personal and identifiable .. as "YOU".

Guess that doesn't work so well in the world of "ANONYMOUS".; 12/30/12, 6:29 PM
cf said...: My heart broke wide open over Newtown, and since then every story -- Hillary hiding, Honey-BooBoo, the Viper that calls us "folks" pushing his kool-aid, Justin Bieber with Bawbwa WahWah -- every story!! swirls together into a seamless single Thing, a zeitgeist, and I must stay silent a while longer and make no comment of my own.

I see a kindred, sad and somber one, however, over on Legal insurrection right now, this fellow, and so I share him with you good "folks". All for now.; 12/30/12, 6:30 PM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: Ken, your students are little stinkers!

Penny, I agree. I like to break the very tip off a needle-sharp Ticonderoga before writing.; 12/30/12, 6:31 PM
Penny said...: Erika, hand that Ticonderoga over a minute. Let me smooth out those sharp edges for you.

Then we can become pen pals! lol; 12/30/12, 6:57 PM
Penny said...: Funny how EVERYONE is a "pen pal" today.

Yet we use no pens. Only pen names.; 12/30/12, 7:00 PM
Meade said...: Darn - Packers came up a penny short. Sorry, Trooper, I know you were cheering hard for GB since your Giants needed them to win just to have a chance for a playoff wildcard. Maybe you should've eaten more Wisconsin cheese. Better luck next year, big guy.

CatherineM, I've been pretty happy with my CycleOps Magnetic Trainer. I've had it for about 12 years. Works with almost any bike. It especially came in handy for me back when I was racing - for warming up before starts.; 12/30/12, 7:23 PM
Penny said...: Hi cf. Not sure if we met before here at Althouse, but it's clear to me that you're in some serious personal pain right now.

I have a friend just like you. I tell her she has a "tender heart", and then I try to tell her that she needs to withdraw from anything that makes her heart, THAT tender.

That's about the time she dives into the deep end of the "pool" that is swirling with demons, both known and not.

She's a fuckin' Olympian diver to me!

And here I am, sitting on the side of the pool ... thinking WTF?; 12/30/12, 7:26 PM
Petunia said...: Giants were already out before the Packer game, since the Bears won in Detroit.

Going to be an interesting game next week. The Packers didn't do well after their bye last year but they also have no answer for Adrian Peterson. He missed the record by nine yards.; 12/30/12, 7:27 PM
McTriumph said...: Are those walls lavender or periwinkle?; 12/30/12, 7:34 PM
Penny said...: So cf?

Here's my encouraging message to YOU.

For as many people you feel are actively working against you and our country, I am totally sure there is an equal and opposite action of patriots who work on your behalf.

Put your head on your pillow, cf, and sleep well.; 12/30/12, 7:45 PM
Carol said...: Ugh. I was a dedicated distance rider but could not hack a bike trainer. Get a regular spin bike for winter, much more fun.; 12/30/12, 7:52 PM
Penny said...: Lavender blue, Billy.

Although, I must admit!

I think I just saw Peri's winkie!; 12/30/12, 8:01 PM
Penny said...: Good thing he keeps that thing to himself.; 12/30/12, 8:01 PM
CatherineM said...: Thank you for taking a moment to respond Meade! I appreciate your opinion.; 12/30/12, 8:55 PM
Dante said...: It's hard to believe much of anything from politicians these days, but apparently Hillary has a blood clot somewhere. The article indicates she will be out in a couple of days, so it apparently isn't the more serious kind.

Reading the article, I was surprised to learn Hillary fainted during a speech she was giving. That's pretty tough stuff, in my view.

Still, she needs to testify.

And I'm not convinced she wasn't drinking too much.; 12/30/12, 8:58 PM
Tim said...: The NFC West Division Champion San Francisco 49ers, courtesy of their win today and 11-4-1 season record, secure the NFC's second seed, with a first round bye, courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings win over the Green Bay Packers.

The bye is vital to the 'Niners potential success in reaching and winning the Super Bowl; regardless, no one should want to play the Seattle Seahawks.; 12/30/12, 10:09 PM
Anonymous said...: Go Hawks!; 12/30/12, 11:09 PM
Dante said...: I have a serious problem, and I'm wondering if anyone has a solution.

My 12 year old hit puberty about 5 years before I did, and as my older son says "He masturbates all the time." The problem is, he masturbates to internet porn.

I was thinking the old way would be better, which is to put a bunch of playboy magazines under the bed. But, I can imagine Big Sis putting me in jail for some kind of crime if I did that, or maybe even taking my kid away. Don't they have the power?

Meanwhile, there is no way to limit internet access. My kids are more internet savvy than my wife, and my twelve year old has used her device to access it.

I do worry a great deal about this. I've bought some playboy magazines and put them under my bed, with strict instructions to my child not to go into my room. Meanwhile, I've forbidden him to use computers except in the family room.

What can I do, to do the right thing for my kid? I'm worried he will see some screwed up sex on the internet, and that will embed in his brain.

The other kids were older, and less susceptible. Though, my middle child, who is eighteen, has been trying out 50 shades of grey on good Christian women, including the bite the lip thing.

My wife had the book, and I decided to try to read it, and got about 1/3rd of the way through when I couldn't stomach it anymore. But my kid is now using 50 shades of grey memes on women, as if they were chattel. I tried to read it because Ann was obsessing about it's anti-femininity or something. Now my 18 year old is trying to use the tenets to bed virgin Christian women, including the delayed sexual gratification, and the lip thing.

I need some help to ensure my boys don't end up being crazy sexual addicts.; 12/31/12, 12:30 AM
bagoh20 said...: I never watched it when it was originally on, but for the last couple weeks I've been watching "Battlestar Galactica" episode after episode from the beginning on Hulu. In my opinion, it's really very good. Not at all formulaic, with a lot of fleshed out approaches to politics, character development, drama, intrigue and the science fiction parts as well. Just very well done in every way. Movie quality TV, or even better than movie quality since it has better writing.; 12/31/12, 1:18 AM
bagoh20 said...: "I have a serious problem, and I'm wondering if anyone has a solution."

Does he mind that you can see where he's been on line? If that bothers him, just tell him - true or not - that you can see where he goes, and maybe that will embarrass him enough to make him do it at someone else's house, or the library, or on his phone, or outside any hotel, or coffee shop, or a million other places with wifi. You see what I'm getting at?

Or you could always get him a wholesome hooker. Most like to keep it straight and simple. Not that I know anything about that.; 12/31/12, 1:28 AM
bagoh20 said...: Personally, I gave up porn to watch Battlestar Galactica, but at my age, porn amounts to mostly science fiction anyway.; 12/31/12, 1:30 AM
Palladian said...: I received an eviction order from the marshal's office right before Christmas— apparently my landlord is tired of dealing with my underemployment and delays. But I had to go spend the holiday with my disabled mother despite the danger of the order. It's strange to find my life at an inexorable point, after all this time. Money seems abstract, the product of luck and whims, which I've had and lost.

If anyone prays and cares, pray for me.; 12/31/12, 1:55 AM
Dante said...: Personally, I gave up porn to watch Battlestar Galactica, but at my age, porn amounts to mostly science fiction anyway.

BSG: on of my two favorites. Regarding the other issues, I suppose you have to roll with the times, but the inconsistencies can trap you big time, with the powerful govt. on one side, and the meek Dante on the other.

I love my kid. Sometimes I think he taught me unselfish love, in the real sense (not the NAMBLA sense, jeez, you have to watch what you say in case it is replayed without the entire context). But I don't feel safe because my wife is unpredictable, and often angry.; 12/31/12, 2:12 AM
Dante said...: Ah! There is a good use of semi-colon!

Sometimes I think he taught me unselfish love, in the real sense (not the NAMBLA sense, jeez, you have to watch what you say in case it is replayed without the entire context); [semi-colon] But I don't feel safe because my wife is unpredictable, and often angry.

There, in order to properly reprint the entire sentence, you have to include the semi-colon!

I knew there was a reason. The press has made a reason! Oh, Wait. That never stopped them from chopping a sentence in half.; 12/31/12, 2:16 AM
Dante said...: If anyone prays and cares, pray for me.

Where do you live? And what do you need? Spell it out, clearly.; 12/31/12, 2:18 AM
Dante said...: Does he mind that you can see where he's been on line?

Also, unfortunately, or fortunately, I have no idea, he is very open with his desires. I don't have any guidance on how to deal with this.

He has been this way since a little girl lured him into the bushes and peed in front of him. My sons tried to explain she was a naughty girl, and that made him angry.

Ever since, he seems to be attracted to "naughty" girls. Sometimes it is cute, like the time he told me, when he was 6 or 7, that he kissed the Russian girl in the bus, but no one knew because they had a coat over their heads. But he broke up with her when she showed her "tee tee" (I assume breast) to another boy.

Sorry if this seems racy, it isn't meant to be. They are just the odd experiences I've had as a dad, and the new world order doesn't seem to have answers for.; 12/31/12, 2:22 AM
Tyrone Slothrop said...: I was flat on my back all summer with osteomyelitis of the lumbar vertebrae. I watched all 75(?) episodes of Battlestar Galactica It was positively addictive, and I had withdrawals when I ran out of episodes.; 12/31/12, 3:28 AM
Chip Ahoy said...: Yes, this brings back memories of when my dad had to deal with the perv within me. That was made easier because the perv within my older brother was already manifest and greater and the perv within himself is greater than both of us. So there you go, ain't no thing, to wait, for the bell to ring.; 12/31/12, 3:37 AM
Chip Ahoy said...: Who prevailed? Humans or robots? Humans I bet.; 12/31/12, 3:39 AM
Tyrone Slothrop said...: I'm sitting in a hospital room with my 91-year-old mother. She's probably dying. My three brothers and two sisters and I met tonight to try to decide what to do. Do we take her home, where the doctor says she will certainly die, or leave her in the hospital where she may have a chance? In her infrequent moments of lucidity she says she wants to go home and die, but her mental state is unreliable. Her durable power of attorney says she doesn't want any heroic efforts to resuscitate her, but we aren't there yet. If it were just a matter of "pulling the plug", we probably would, but there is no plug to pull. She is not eating, but we think a feeding tube is just the sort of heroic effort she doesn't want. Our consensus, not shared by all, was to give her another three days in hospital, with the hope that she will revive and start eating. If she doesn't, we'll take her home and let nature take its course. My God. I hope I get hit by a truck, or something equally quick and final when I'm due to shuffle off this mortal coil.; 12/31/12, 3:44 AM
Tyrone Slothrop said...: Father Guido Sarducci with something relevant about masturbation.; 12/31/12, 3:49 AM
Chip Ahoy said...: This summer I pulled out all the plants and left the tank stripped bare. Killed every snail I saw until none emerged for two weeks.

Then planted things hair plug style in anticipation of rapid growth. Which did occur. The snails multiplied like crazy from nothing, perhaps one or two eggs somewhere, I do not understand the bizarre ways of nature, now they'e completely taking over the tank. Care to see? That was tonight. Top view. No light. The snails are mostly on the other side and all over the place.; 12/31/12, 3:51 AM
Dante said...: I'm sitting in a hospital room with my 91-year-old mother

Only you and your siblings can answer that question. I would suggest listening to your mother's desires as best you can, for it is she that is dying.; 12/31/12, 3:52 AM
Dante said...: Who prevailed? Humans or robots? Humans I bet.

That's like saying the Apes won.!!!!; 12/31/12, 3:52 AM
rhhardin said...: Imus fill-in Mark Simone quotes Peggy Noonan on Obama: "It’s Always Cliffs, Never Deals"; 12/31/12, 5:45 AM
KJE said...: Mr. Meade,

If you were so inclined; I might suggest the following for your indoor workout:

http://www.amazon.com/Keiser-Keiser-M3-Plus-Indoor-Cycle/dp/B007ALIX4W/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1356955476&sr=1-2-catcorr&keywords=Kaiser+M3

You can also get it through the Althouse portal on Amazon! ;); 12/31/12, 6:05 AM
JAL said...: Palladian -- A prayer that the God who provides all will provide for you.

cf -- That comment on Legal Insurrection really slowed me down last night. The messiness of politics seems to be where we always are, but I had a deep sense of foreboding reading Bahadur's comment which was very unsettling.

Can we regain our country?; 12/31/12, 3:45 PM

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