Althouse: At the Prairie Café...

July 8, 2016

At the Prairie Café...

... you can talk about whatever you want.

54 comments:

Coconuss Network said...: Kaputt from a recent trip to London. A spectacular city, respect the people very much, but the cityscapes are so vast. Very tired from the hustle and bustle and walking.; 7/8/16, 9:37 AM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: I wanted to name my firstborn daughter Prairie but her father wouldn't let me. I still think it's a lovely, evocative name.; 7/8/16, 9:39 AM
khesanh0802 said...: I often imagine, but can't picture, what it must have been like for the first explorers who experienced the American prairie. It stretched, I believe, from Ohio to the Rockies and far from being a desert was covered with grasses and flowers. It must have been quite a vision.; 7/8/16, 9:51 AM
Anonymous said...: "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin."

Matthew 6:28; 7/8/16, 10:00 AM
Michael K said...: "I wanted to name my firstborn daughter Prairie"

I remember the college professor who named his daughter "Cellar Door" because it was pretty.; 7/8/16, 10:00 AM
Michael K said...: "the first explorers who experienced the American prairie."

My grandmother's farm in Illinois had been homesteaded by her parents. There was a pasture that had never been plowed. One year, my grandfather decided to plow it and plant it in corn. The corn was 12 feet high. That must have been what the early farmers saw although they did not have hybrid seed.; 7/8/16, 10:03 AM
Etienne said...: My dad was born and raised on a farm in North Dakota. I once asked him what they did for fun as kids.

He said one time they caught some frogs, and then they climbed to the top of the windmill, where they would watch the frogs jump off.

It was much different for kids before Radio and TV...; 7/8/16, 10:04 AM
Sydney said...: I notice you put your photos on Flikr. What is the advantage of doing that? Considering it myself, but not sure if it is worth the effort over keeping them on a thumb drive.; 7/8/16, 10:08 AM
Luke Lea said...: God she takes pretty pictures!; 7/8/16, 10:32 AM
Etienne said...: Thumb drives are not for archiving, they aren't easily linkable on the web. Using the various Cloud solutions you can be sure the data is being backed up.; 7/8/16, 10:33 AM
Unknown said...: No TV. For Fun. In the Smokies.
My Granddaughter proclaimed she would catch a firefly in her 3x3 inch bug net.
First Swing she got one.
We watched it for an hour in the jar, then she let it loose.; 7/8/16, 10:40 AM
Sydney said...: Thumb drives are not for archiving, they aren't easily linkable on the web. Using the various Cloud solutions you can be sure the data is being backed up.

I see the advantage for web linking. But why is the Cloud better for archiving. The Cloud depends on other people's computers and an internet connection. A thumb drive you have in your possession to conserve.; 7/8/16, 11:00 AM
Original Mike said...: "I see the advantage for web linking. But why is the Cloud better for archiving. The Cloud depends on other people's computers and an internet connection. A thumb drive you have in your possession to conserve."

I agree with you not trusting the Cloud, but I've had images "go bad" on a thumb drive. My archive strategy is to keep multiple copies of images; burned to DVD, two hard drives (my computer's hard drive and its back up drive, as well as the original camera memory. What this strategy doesn't protect against is my house burning down, so I'm thinking of adding the Cloud as well. Or I could store the DVDs offsite.; 7/8/16, 11:13 AM
Bill said...: I found a click beetle on the carpet this morning. It brought back childhood memories of holding them between my fingers and feeling the little snap.

Years later I learned the family name is Elateridae. I took him outside and settled him at the bottom of a camellia.; 7/8/16, 11:16 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Sydney said...

I see the advantage for web linking. But why is the Cloud better for archiving. The Cloud depends on other people's computers and an internet connection. A thumb drive you have in your possession to conserve.

You have in your possession, except when you leave it at home. Or you lose it. Or it gets destroyed in a fire. The people who do cloud servers put a lot of though into backup and recovery, because if they fail they are unemployed. Of course, nothing to stop you from keeping a copy on a thumb drive and keeping it in the cloud.; 7/8/16, 11:17 AM
Etienne said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/8/16, 11:19 AM
damikesc said...: You know, stories like this:

Presented in a recent interview with a scenario, floating around the political ether, in which the presumptive Republican nominee proves all the naysayers wrong, beats Hillary Clinton and wins the presidency, only to forgo the office as the ultimate walk-off winner, Mr. Trump flashed a mischievous smile.

“I’ll let you know how I feel about it after it happens,” he said, minutes before leaving his Trump Tower office to fly to a campaign rally in New Hampshire

are a bit disconcerting. Even Stone won't say he is positive Trump would actually serve.; 7/8/16, 11:22 AM
damikesc said...: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/08/us/politics/donald-trump-president.html?_r=1

is the link. Don't know why Blogger ate it.; 7/8/16, 11:22 AM
Jaq said...: Better than someone who believes they are called by God, or deserve the presidency because America owes them.; 7/8/16, 11:25 AM
damikesc said...: Better than someone who believes they are called by God, or deserve the presidency because America owes them.

No argument. But if you don't want to actually do the job...why run?; 7/8/16, 11:30 AM
Henry said...: Flickr gives you a massive amount of storage for free. I have an automatic uploader on my phone, so every photo I take is automatically backed up to Flickr whenever I connect to a wireless network. Much less hassle than syncing the phone to a computer.; 7/8/16, 11:30 AM
rhhardin said...: Don't miss the first half hour of Rush today, interviewing Heather Macdonald on the whole affair.

My analysis exactly.; 7/8/16, 11:30 AM
rhhardin said...: My flickr pics go to another computer every night, and to an online backup service from there as well, and to an external HD every month.

I'm Mr. Recovery.; 7/8/16, 11:32 AM
rhhardin said...: Though what I aim to back up is actually new computer code, the photos going along for the ride.; 7/8/16, 11:33 AM
rhhardin said...: Different HD each month. Each HD is good for about 5 years before it fills up.; 7/8/16, 11:34 AM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/8/16, 11:42 AM
Original Mike said...: The Cloud ain't so great when you often go to where the internet isn't. I've learned the hard way to make sure data is physically on my device. Not just trust that the app says it is, but to actually confirm it.; 7/8/16, 11:45 AM
CWJ said...: Regarding Comey's performance last Tuesday. Someone compared it to Pontius Pilate, and there is some validity in that. But I think the better comparison is to Marc Antony's masterfully ironic "Friends, Romans, countrymen..." speech. Like Antony, he was surrounded by political adversaries, and had to use irony to make his point. Lay Comey's "no reasonable prosecutor" against Antony's repeated assurance that the assassins were all "honorable men," and I think you'll see what I'm getting at.

It's sad that Comey overestimated his audience's grasp of dramatic irony. But I suppose it allows him to sleep soundly.; 7/8/16, 11:50 AM
Original Mike said...: I watched the entire Comey hearing. I wish I had taken notes. I have looked but have been unable to find a transcript.

One thing I came away with is that the case for Hillary's competence was shredded. Not that the media will report it.; 7/8/16, 11:59 AM
Hagar said...: I think the White House decided to go full Orwell after Hillary! said she was not quitting regardless of what the FBI recommended.

So, why send Comey out there to make the announcement?
Well, it is the FBI, and for a lot of people that is all they hear - "it is all very confusing, but if the FBI says so, it must be true."*
Also, he is supposedly "non-political" and holds a 10-year tenure, and is very smart and tough and could be relied upon to keep his cool in the inevitable resulting uproar.

The MSM all use words like "exonerated," "cleared," etc., and even Megyn Kelly, who definitely should know better, said Comey had declared Hillary! had not committed a crime, though he did not say any such thing - quite to the contrary.; 7/8/16, 12:09 PM
Jupiter said...: If I am not mistaken, the police in Dallas just used a drone to kill a terrorist.; 7/8/16, 12:20 PM
cacimbo said...: Nature always looks so beautiful and enjoyable through Ann's camera lens. Inspired I venture out onto my deck and am dive bombed by carpenter bees. Back to viewing nature vicariously.; 7/8/16, 12:34 PM
buwaya said...: This is as I expected turning into a terrible year. Worse is to come.
I am considering taking to drink.

Me gusta el tinto, el claro y el blanco;
me gustan los vinos de cualquier color,
y me da lo mismo beberlos en bota,
que en vaso, botella, pellejo o porrón.; 7/8/16, 1:06 PM
Hagar said...: Rex Stout's "The Doorbell Rang" was published in 1965.; 7/8/16, 1:27 PM
Fernandinande said...: rhhardin said...
Though what I aim to back up is actually new computer code, the photos going along for the ride.

I help people in a linux forum and am amazed how many people "lost all my files!" cuz they're stupid.

buwaya said...
I am considering taking to drink.

No me gusta los vinos (¡el yucko!), pero bebo la cerveza Victoria e Salvador's margarita mix. How's my Spanish? (Too lazy to cheat.); 7/8/16, 1:41 PM
buwaya said...: Your Spanish is coming along.

gusta - gustan, because los vinos is plural
e - y - and; 7/8/16, 2:06 PM
buwaya said...: That bit is an old Spanish folksong. Like so many easily modified lyrics for whatever purpose.
Much like "Cucaracha", though I don't think this one ever made it to Mexico.

Here is the tune -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3C3eIXqtUM

Sam Peckinpah admired this movie.; 7/8/16, 2:11 PM
Earnest Prole said...: Beautiful photo — reminds me somewhat of a painting 500 years’ previous by Albrecht Durer, Great Piece of Turf; 7/8/16, 2:22 PM
Jaq said...: No argument. But if you don't want to actually do the job...why run?

I don't know how I would have answered that incredibly stupid question he was asked, but I wouldn't have been able to resist sarcasm, I guarantee you that.; 7/8/16, 2:23 PM
Bob Ellison said...: I still remember bits of my high-school Spanish "dialogs":

Que vas a hacer el Sabado?

No se. Depende. Porque preguntas?

Porque quiero invitarte a mi fiesta de cumpleaños!

...

Ay, claro. Muchos invitados, muchos regalos.

No te invito por eso.

Lo digo en broma.; 7/8/16, 2:24 PM
Jaq said...: Well this is certainly the perfect day for a bad news dump on a Friday afternoon. I wonder what it will be.; 7/8/16, 2:31 PM
Clyde said...: I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

I wanted to name my firstborn daughter Prairie but her father wouldn't let me. I still think it's a lovely, evocative name.

The father had it right. The mean kids would have called her "Prairie Dog."; 7/8/16, 2:59 PM
eddie willers said...: "Cellar Door" because it was pretty.

I have read that it is the most beautiful 'word' (phrase?) in the English language. And if you say it without knowledge of what it describes, it IS beautiful.

Though for a daughter, I would change the spelling to something like Selador.

Beautiful words made ugly:
Ceylon / Sri Lanka
Persia / Iran; 7/8/16, 3:01 PM
buwaya said...: - "Cellar Door" because it was pretty. -

There is quite a voluminous Wiki on "cellar-door". I thought it was some fancy of Tolkien, but no, it has come up often before.; 7/8/16, 3:15 PM
Jaq said...: It's like when Errol Flynn as Sinbad, I think, was headed for beautifully named "Dairy-a-bar"; 7/8/16, 3:26 PM
Fernandinande said...: buwaya said...
Your Spanish is coming along.

Actually it's going away. When I was in France I spoke both "Spench" and "Franish" because I got them all mixed up.; 7/8/16, 4:35 PM
buwaya said...: I guarantee that my "Franish" is worse than yours.; 7/8/16, 4:56 PM
Quaestor said...: I wanted to name my firstborn daughter Prairie but her father wouldn't let me.

Good on him.; 7/8/16, 5:09 PM
Quaestor said...: It's like when Errol Flynn as Sinbad, I think, was headed for beautifully named "Dairy-a-bar"

In the plot Sinbad was on a quest for the fabled Isha-Karim Zoondai of the gods.; 7/8/16, 5:12 PM
Karen of Texas said...: And see what happened when I read "cellar door"?

Say, say oh playmate,
Come out and play with me.
And bring your dollies three.
Climb up my apple tree.
Holler down my rain barrel.
Slide down my cellar door.
And we'll be jolly friends,
Forever more more more

That was from my childhood, *many years ago*, and involved all kinds of hand slapping as an accompaniment. I can't believe that whole thing just popped into my head when I read cellar door. Weird.; 7/8/16, 5:18 PM
LCpl Predator said...: I have a feeling that Anne is traveling.; 7/8/16, 5:26 PM
Quaestor said...: Sam Peckinpah admired this movie.

That's interesting. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't La fiel infanteria about the Falangist soldiers during the Spanish Civil War? Admiring such a film might be considered "unenlightened" by most Hollywood types then and now.; 7/8/16, 5:38 PM
tim maguire said...: I am currently blocked from reading your blog on my work computer. I wouldn't normally bother you with a detail like that except that it was the pornography filter that caught you. That, I figure, is worth mentioning.; 7/8/16, 5:43 PM
buwaya said...: Peckinpah wasn't enlightened.
See "Cross of Iron" - well, I'm sure you have.
He was a realist. His Mexicans in all his movies were real people who spoke and behaved exactly as they should and would, he didn't pretty them up. The scene in "The Wild Bunch" with the General and the kid is, well, brilliant I think.; 7/8/16, 6:00 PM