Althouse: Coffee break...

January 20, 2018

Coffee break...

... keep the conversation going.

62 comments:

Humperdink said...: Looking forward to working outside today. Temps in the 30's - a downright spring day.; 1/20/18, 8:03 AM
Tommy Duncan said...: Amazing. The sunrise is unaffected by the government shutdown. It must be on the "essential services" list under Trump.; 1/20/18, 8:07 AM
Etienne said...: One of the interesting things I saw on our European vacation, was that the French do not use trees for telephone poles.

Well, 90% it seems, Concrete and Re-Bar Pole

Looks like a business opportunity.; 1/20/18, 8:08 AM
Curious George said...: Mohammed most popular name for newborn boys in the Netherlands for second year in a row

Adios, Netherlands. It's now only a matter of time.

Oh, the government lied and said "Noah" was the most popular.; 1/20/18, 8:40 AM
Humperdink said...: "One of the interesting things I saw on our European vacation, was that the French do not use trees for telephone poles."

Not sure, but I suspect they do not have the appropriate timber for utility poles.

I have ten (10) acres or so of red pine on my forty (40) acres. The tree of choice for utility poles. Tall and straight. Debarks easily.

Several years ago, timber buyer wandered by, wanting to purchase my red pine for utility poles. He offered a paltry amount for my timber. The offer was so low, I laughed. I guess that was the going rate at that time. Based upon the price he offered, a wooden pole is whole lot cheaper that a concrete pole.; 1/20/18, 8:43 AM
Phil 314 said...: In consideration of a likely 2018 woman (R) and woman (D) senate race this fall in AZ i came across
this comprehensive list of woman senators.

Has there been any meaningful or measurable impact on a more female senate?; 1/20/18, 8:47 AM
Etienne said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/20/18, 8:50 AM
Etienne said...: I wonder if the concrete telephone poles are part of a trade agreement with North Africa. They send them foodstuff and weapons, and in return get a shipload of poles.; 1/20/18, 8:57 AM
Unknown said...: "I wonder if the concrete telephone poles are part of a trade agreement with North Africa. They send them foodstuff and weapons, and in return get a shipload of poles."

They come from the trade agreement with Poland.

"Shipload of Poles" > Polish Workers > Poland.

Never mind.

--jj; 1/20/18, 9:05 AM
Enthusiasm Quotes said...: beautiful time for coffee break; 1/20/18, 9:07 AM
Humperdink said...: Wooden utility poles only rot 10-14" below the surface. Which is why the when they are inspected, the inspector only digs a few inches below the surface and probes with a screwdriver.

The electric wires for the old oil wells on my property were strung to live trees. It was the cheapest way to go. Creates havoc when you want to timber.

When I drilled the new wells, I buried all the electric. No maintenance, unless you clip one digging. Which I have.; 1/20/18, 9:16 AM
Etienne said...: Urban dictionary: reprobate - a low life scum-sucking piece of worthless donkey crap.

There's a picture of Pelosi and Schumer on that page.; 1/20/18, 9:18 AM
Heartless Aztec said...: Ocean water temps here in North Florida are at 48*F. Brrrrrr. My rule of thumb for surfing: no paddle outs in water below my age unless the air temp is my age plus 10*F.
Last year the ocean temps never went below 60*F but North Florida had no freezes last year. Guess it's a sailing day on the St Johns river instead.; 1/20/18, 9:32 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Why are commenters so obsessive about utility poles? Ever see that Curb Your Enthusiasm on that subject? You’re all Cheryls!; 1/20/18, 9:34 AM
tcrosse said...: "Why are commenters so obsessive about utility poles?"

They're bipolar.; 1/20/18, 9:40 AM
Original Mike said...: ”Why are commenters so obsessive about utility poles?”

We’ve covered pretty much every other topic in the universe. Just doing clean up.; 1/20/18, 9:47 AM
Jaq said...: I hate to say it, but it would be a beautiful picture without the pole and wires. We don’t see them in real life, we clone them out in our mind, but the camera sees all. So cloning out the utilities would probably be a closer representation of what your mind saw.

Or not. I know you have your own opinions on photography. And to be honest, even I find my sensibility about aesthetics a little cloying. On the other hand, the really pretty ones, where I deal with the details and perfect the color harmonies, while trying to stay true to the photograph, get the best reactions.

Ansel Adams said: “The negative is the score, and the print is the performance,” and post processing nerds love to quote him on that. I can look at the raw pictures myself, if that is what I am into, if I am showing them to people, I want the reactions. Especially from chicks, chicks dig artists. It’s very convoluted, the thinking.; 1/20/18, 9:48 AM
madAsHell said...: They really needed a shutdown because they can't have the FISA memo leaked into an empty echo chamber.; 1/20/18, 9:49 AM
Etienne said...: Why... obsessive about utility poles?

It was obsessively erect, and front and center in your coffee break photo.; 1/20/18, 9:51 AM
Humperdink said...: AA: "Why are commenters so obsessive about utility poles?"

I guess I'm out. A game misconduct assessed. Hope there's no suspension without pay. I can't afford it, government shutdown you know.; 1/20/18, 9:55 AM
Wince said...: Some of those hollow concrete utility poles are meant to snap when hit by a vehicle as a safety precaution.

Except when they are used in dense areas. A slow moving truck in reverse can knock one over pretty easy.

In college, I worked part time for a personal injury lawyer that represented the family of a young daughter struck and killed by one while holding her father's hand.; 1/20/18, 10:01 AM
tcrosse said...: But enough about concrete utility poles. Let's change the subject to concrete railroad ties.; 1/20/18, 10:04 AM
Etienne said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/20/18, 10:13 AM
chickelit said...: Like Crumb explains in that biopic -- explaining why he carefully clutters his cartoons with telephone poles and other urban background -- "You can't make that shit up."

Your backyard photos are Crumby.; 1/20/18, 10:16 AM
Jaq said...: Just read the previous post, well, the last line. it’s pretty clear the symbolism of the central pole.; 1/20/18, 10:16 AM
Etienne said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1/20/18, 10:20 AM
chickelit said...: The tree limb is seen through a refractory lens.; 1/20/18, 10:25 AM
Fritz said...: It's nice the way clouds from the fossil fuel boilers picks up the light from the sunrise.; 1/20/18, 10:31 AM
Kevin said...: I look for Trump to keep most of the government open and for Dems to sue him in the 9th circuit to force its shutdown.

Because that would be funny.; 1/20/18, 10:33 AM
Bad Lieutenant said...: They really needed a shutdown because they can't have the FISA memo leaked into an empty echo chamber.

Does a government shutdown mean that Congress is out of session and Trump can make a thousand recess appointments?; 1/20/18, 10:34 AM
chickelit said...: @Fritz: Those are plant food factories feeding the world!; 1/20/18, 10:46 AM
Humperdink said...: AA: "Why are commenters so obsessive about utility poles?"

Because it's dead center in your photo?

"So the psychiatrist has a patient. He draws a circle and says, "What do you think of when you see this?" He (Bob) says "Sex." [The staff laugh.] He draws a picture of a tree and says "What do you think of that one when you see it?" He (Bob)says "Sex." All right, then he draws a picture of a car, a house: "Sex. Sex. Sex." The doctor says, "You know you're obsessed with sex." And the patient says "Well you're the one drawing all the dirty pictures." (What About Bob, 1991); 1/20/18, 10:52 AM
Mr. Majestyk said...: There are planty of (freight) railroads in the U.S. The industry is doing quite well.; 1/20/18, 11:04 AM
Big Mike said...: @Bad LT, no.; 1/20/18, 11:09 AM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: They are in the (long, drawn-out) process of burying the power lines on the island where we have our beach house. I guess it will look better, but they have already cut the phone/internet buried cable twice, and you really have to wonder how much sense it makes to put high-tension lines in ground that floods semi-regularly with salt water..; 1/20/18, 11:12 AM
Humperdink said...: So the Norks have begun a dialogue with South Korea. And now the Norks are going participate in the Olympics.

Gee, I wonder what precipitated this about face? Did Obama become our at-large diplomat to the Norks? Did Bill Clinton offer to wire more cash to Kim Jong Un?

Scratching my here.; 1/20/18, 11:13 AM
Narayanan said...: South Korea house them up with Korean families instead of usual Olympics village.; 1/20/18, 11:30 AM
Narayanan said...: Hope these are Nork millennials.; 1/20/18, 11:32 AM
ALP said...: Fiona the Hippo turns one today! This overshadows the Women's March, IMHO.

https://www.npr.org/2018/01/17/578584988/thriving-after-prematurity-fiona-the-celebrity-hippo-turns-1; 1/20/18, 11:37 AM
chickelit said...: @Humperdink: You can credit Dennis Rodman and, indirectly, Madonna.; 1/20/18, 11:42 AM
ALP said...: Megan McArdle - damn, I have a girl crush on her, knocks it out of the park (again) with this fantastic article on the #MeToo issue:

https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-01-17/listen-to-the-bad-feminists; 1/20/18, 11:52 AM
Humperdink said...: "South Korea house them up with Korean families instead of usual Olympics village."

Presto! South Korea will now have a DACA problem (I kid).; 1/20/18, 12:06 PM
cf said...: I miss you michael k; 1/20/18, 12:23 PM
Humperdink said...: Tucker Carlson has the best show in Fox's prime time. Glad Ted Baxter was "retired".; 1/20/18, 12:28 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Big Mike said...
@Bad LT, no.

1/20/18, 11:09 AM

Thanks, Sarge, too bad though. Like to see him pull off that maneuver.

Blogger cf said...
I miss you michael k

+1; 1/20/18, 12:32 PM
wholelottasplainin said...: "I urge everyone to stay indoors, as the shutdown has disabled all the street STOP signs."

(something I imagine Schumer saying); 1/20/18, 1:05 PM
Big Mike said...: @Bad LT, Spec 5. Left to the NCOIC for our office in the Pentagon I'd have had a slick sleeve my entire time in service, but the guys who programmed and ran the computers that produced promotion lists were in my garrison company. Funny how that worked.; 1/20/18, 1:25 PM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: Where's Dr. K?; 1/20/18, 1:44 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: That's all right BM, they also serve who only stand and wait. Everyone can't be HSLD operators at the coalface.

Look at it this way. Crypto has killed more men than Napoleon, but ain't even in the running with disease and hunger.; 1/20/18, 2:01 PM
madAsHell said...: Dollars to doughnuts. They won't barricade the national monuments this time during the shutdown.; 1/20/18, 2:07 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: Pants, he's taking a breather, the bastards have ground him down. As I was saying elsewhere about flies and shit, that's what they do. I would step in and defend him more, but the whole thing is so high school. One doesn't even know what to say.

The only defense is not to care what such people say. The left has always been there, the right is catching up...and when everyone is lined up, America will become a 3000mi x 2000mi Beirut. ACW I will be a footnote to the storm that's coming. Apparently the left would literally rather be slaughtered piecemeal than give a little. Guess they think it'll never happen.

As I've said before, I don't know if Trump can save us, but maybe he can buy us enough time so at least my parents can die in peace. Not much hope for the children though.; 1/20/18, 2:08 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: It's good to have friends.

Tell you the truth, enemies build character, too.; 1/20/18, 2:09 PM
Jupiter said...: ALP said...
"Megan McArdle - damn, I have a girl crush on her, knocks it out of the park (again) with this fantastic article on the #MeToo issue."

Well, except her proposed solution is for women to learn to keep their knees together. Good luck with that. But she does put her finger on the problem; women outnumber men in college. Women used to go to college to get a MRS. Now they get an STD instead. Feminists have gotten everything they asked for; sexual liberation and birth control, abortion when they fail to use birth control, access to higher education and the professions. They've got everything a man could want! And boy, are they pissed off about it.; 1/20/18, 2:48 PM
Mike Sylwester said...: Yesterday the American Thinker website published an article titled "Did Christopher Steele Write His Dossier, or Did a Russian Associate?", written by Joel Gilbert and Jack Cashill. They point out passages of the Fusion dossier that seem to be written by someone whose native language is not English. Examples follow:

-----

Alpha held 'kompromat' on Putin and his corrupt business activities from the 1990s whilst although not personally overly bothered by Alpha's failure to reinvest the proceeds of its TNK oil company sale into the Russian economy since, the Russian president was able to use pressure on this count from senior Kremlin colleagues as a lever on Fridman and AVEN to make them do his political bidding.

... and ...

Trump's previous efforts had included exploring the real estate sector in St. Petersburg as well as Moscow but in the end Trump had had to settle for the use of extensive sexual services there from local prostitutes rather than business success.

... and ...

... defiling the bed where they had stayed on one of their official trips to Russia by employing a number of prostitutes to perform a 'golden showers' urination show.

... and ...

... to encourage splits and divisions in western alliance

... and ...

... to swing supporters of Bernie SANDERS away from Hillary CLINTON and across to TRUMP.

... and ...

Things had become even 'hotter' since August on the TRUMP-RUSSIA track.

-----

The article provides other examples.

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2018/01/did_christopher_steele_write_his_dossier_or_did_a_russian_associate.html; 1/20/18, 3:10 PM
Mark said...: Reporting here from D.C. And it has taken a monumental effort, much expense, and the cost of many brave lives to get this message out to you and the world --

There is a terrifying silence here in our nation's capital. In a mere matter of hours, it has been transformed into the scene from Logan's Run. Don't know how long we can last or if we can manage to get any further messages out.

And what's worse -- the government shutdown came much, much earlier than the expected time of midnight. Those diabolical bastards couldn't wait and instead shut it all down at 5 p.m. on Friday as thousands upon thousands of your government servants were kicked out of the government buildings and sent home. If you were to walk the hallways of the Department of Agriculture at 6 p.m. Friday, for example, you would have seen a ghost town. If you tried calling over at the Department of Labor at that time, the phone would have just kept ringing and ringing.; 1/20/18, 3:20 PM
traditionalguy said...: ALL the cable news today is 100% a huge filibuster about massive hate Trump eruptions from pussyhatted women.

And there's not a hint about the Memo Release that proves the Democrat's on the payroll of Emperor Soros I are nasty traitors worthy of death. But then Soros paid them all well.; 1/20/18, 3:37 PM
Etienne said...: The Government shutdown is pure theater, because everyone will get back-pay, and it will be like it never happened.

The only difference is, that Government employee's will have a free vacation.

So if you see a Government employee, shake their hand, and tell them to enjoy themselves, thank them for serving, and for them to have a nice day.

When you go to vote, remember that the incumbents are always a bad deal, and to not vote for them. Vote for the guy who drives a Plymouth.

Keep warm!; 1/20/18, 3:42 PM
Big Mike said...: The only difference is, that Government employee's will have a free vacation.

For most it will be unpaid leave. And the last new Plymouth was built, I believe, in 2000 or 2001.; 1/20/18, 4:17 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: They point out passages of the Fusion dossier that seem to be written by someone whose native language is not English. Examples follow:

Don't be silly Mike, most of our resident lefties here write like that.

Hey, wait...; 1/20/18, 4:57 PM
Etienne said...: Anyone who drives a Plymouth, can be said to be thrifty :-)

At the last shutdown, everyone was given back pay when it ended. It was part of the budget deal.; 1/20/18, 5:50 PM
Hagar said...: Watched CBS Evening News. After the initial dire warnings of apocalypse, the rest of the program turned even more contentless than normal for a Saturday night, so I watched a bit of "Pawn Stars" while waiting for the local "news" and weather.; 1/20/18, 7:05 PM
Bad Lieutenant said...: At the last shutdown, everyone was given back pay when it ended. It was part of the budget deal.

The last shutdown was not during the administration of President Trump. Hopefully we can do better this time, although of course it's not in Trump's hands but in Mitch McConnell's I suppose. Still, I don't think they should get the money, and I think the expectation should be set up front that they don't get the money.; 1/20/18, 8:23 PM