Oh CT, you are the Man of the Hour.

Aloha, Christine…! Actually the next 2 hours at least, eh…? ;-)

How’s Cleveland tonite…?

Some snow, some sunshine. Pretty crazy.

Hi guys.

Anyone know who Suzanne is doing?

On edit: that’s a big fat typo but funny so I’ll leave it. She is no longer a consultant.

CT ! CE !

{{{ Suz }}}

Sounds like the Big Isle today…! ;-)

A Mixed plate weather-wise here too…!

Ohhhhh, no wonder nobody read my cri de coeur…you were all up here. Must be why Dearie thought everyone left w/ Dr. Dick.

How’s the snow in the Islands, ctut? CE, weird weather all around.
It feels like it’s been raining for eternity..doors so swollen I can’t open them without extreme effort.. yet our aquifere (our only source of drinking water, so regular reports on the weather reprot) is still six feet below normal for February.

People being mean and nasty everywhere.

Uh, is that really what you meant? I kinda doubt she’s in shape to do anybody at the moment, however much she might wanna…

(thanks for the smile)

Here we are on this planet, stuck here together: so why don’t we all pull in the direction we need to go?
Wait don’t answer that question it is to late for a big knock down drag out. It is going to be 27 degrees in the AM cold gusty winds in the 30mph range. My duplex is sealed pretty tight. My garden won’t like this night. How is the weather near you Dearie?

Hey Man!

Oooh, just saw your edit…do you know something Suze isn’t telling us?

Aloha, tuez…! I did swap emails with her today, she’s definitely feeling pain, but she’s hanging tough…! *g*

Petro…! How’s the Great White North tonite…?

Dearie, you still here?

No, I don’t know anything, it was honestly a typo but since it was funny..

Suz is gonna snort Tea through her Nostrils … *g*

People being mean and nasty everywhere.

It’s a raging epidemic these days…! 8-(

Aloha, tj…!

Tej !

Buckle up, it’s gonna be mean and nasty for a while …

Yeah, she’s probably lurking, or will read later.

We exchanged comments on FB earlier today, but nothing major.

So Petro, is it finally the great frozen north yet?

We had chilly, gusting winds today into the night but when the Sun was up, it was quite nice.

The Future…

It’s been mild in the Toronto area, just some chilly winds today. We might get some rain/ice/snow mix on Wednesday but the “Weather experts” have been so wrong these past few years that their entire upper management should be replaced …

There was a climate change “skeptic” troll on the Diner earlier today…at first I hesitated to so label him, but decided the behavior, throw out a bunch of unsupported, disconnected no-sense making trash along with insulting assumptions about fdl readers, then when challenged on specifics, ignore the specifics and throw in some more insults..yeah, that meets the definition.

I’m just getting tired of dealing w/ people who make blanket statements, or call you a bot if you don’t make blanket statements, or can’t write a coherent sentence but call others names.
I need a break from the constant drumbeat of attacks on our rights but fear getting so far behind, I’ll miss something that requires immediate action.
Tired. Maybe I should go over to icanhascheezburger…or just revisit the pix at Caturday. Last night I was giggling away, today I’m just feeling beat down.

We hit 90 late last week, after being in the 50s Monday. Crazy. And then went from 90 on Friday to 65 again on Saturday but that was okay as the wind wasn’t blowin’.

I know, you all feel for me.

Yeah, I think the change that’s going on now has just thrown off all the models.

A nice snow would be fun…I could see myself making snow angels, building a fort, etc…..prolly just nostalgia for childhood. In reality I’d prolly just complain of being wet and cold. *g*

But But But we want to live in the past…er the good ol days. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYQ4DkhIl3I

I can never remember where you are, tuezday.
Here in San Antonio we hit 86 Saturday. Saturday night, it was 37 at the low. Today in the ’60′s, but until late it felt cold ’cause of the rain and gloomy sky.
Pretty soon it’ll be summer…no doubt 100 degrees will come early this year.

Totally! We have been promised rain only to get cold winds. Not a science a crap shoot. Especially with climate change upon us.

It’s always good to take breaks when they start getting to you. There are lots of trolls around here, trying to break up a very strong group of progressives. You can certainly tell them by the traits you outlined @ 23.

…today I’m just feeling beat down.

That sux, tj…! Remember We Are The Many…

It just floors me that there are people who don’t believe in global warming. But, anyway, why not just do the right thing for ma earth? Recycle, buy in bulk when possible, car pool, take public transportation, invest personally in alternative energy when and if possible, etc?

Aloha, bb…! How’s your slice of the Pacific doing…?

I’m in Orlando. We both have desert conditions in the winter but I’m in the subtropics so at least it’s usually a little warmer in winter and not so dry. A dry heat might be good, but a dry cold, frankly sucks.

My weather is nasty! Cold, damp, windy. My good friends and I like to walk a couple of days a week, but we, for sure!, were not walking today.

And I’m just catching up…..loved tuezday’s typo….and imagine that Suz will be getting a good belly laugh. Deep laughs are a good thing!

Now, to jump back to read………..

Amen, Petro…! They certainly do try to ‘divide and conquer’…! 8-(

Saving energy is tops on my list of planet friendly behavior. I am off flesh and dairy. Low flo plumbing eat less drive less and grow more of my own food. Happy happy happy!

Yeah, the trolling is on the rise, isn’t it? Sad.

yeah, some funny animal pix (doesn’t have to be cats…otters! That’s the ticket!) and maybe, give up on the serious non-fiction and a nice mystery where everything gets solved and wrapped up by the end. Possibly a Golden Age mystery; they tend to have a lot less gore and violence.
Come to think of it, I have one, picked up at the used book sale a couple months ago.
Been trying to get through the book about Tacitus’s Germania and its misuse and misunderstanding through history. Hard to read for some reason, and I’m beginning to think it’s that the author’s style is awkward. Interesting topic, but maybe I’ll come back to it.

Yesterday I went to a really cool lecture by a Mexican archeologist in charge of the excavation of the Templo Mayor. He made excellent use of Power Point to illustrate the story and the whole thing was just fascinating.
And I ran into a one-time co-worker, now retired, and had a nice chat, at the reception following. Not that the Aztecs/Mexica were such nice fellows, but still, the sculptures and story of the excavation in the center of the second-largest city in the Americas were great.

Aloha, Dearie…! I had some respite from the doom and gloom earlier today, but, it’s been downright chilly here in the middle of the Pacific too…!

See my 9…all in all have to be grateful for the clean fresh air of our wonderful Pacific Ocean even it is delivered cold and windy.

Nice, ctut. I don’t know Makana, but get the feeling he’s well known to the Occupiers.

Hey, I found a good thing today. Unless you read thru the Diner, it may be new to you…brb.

CE is there now ? That just a’int fair. Here I am eating Tanderines! Got a new box at Farmers Market. Average a couple pounds a day. Helps with the rowing training. Going to a regatta in Long Beach in three weeks…racing singles masters.

Thanks, CT, for the MuppetMan…..I’d only heard it on Terry Gross/FreshAir. Fun to see it. Did anyone else hear that interview? I know the composer said he wanted a sense of Nilson: Can’t Live if Livin’ is Without You and another gut wrencher….I just can’t remember what the other song was. But I loved the idea. The BIG number.

She’ll be here next month around this time, bb…! ;-)

Here we go: small poor town in WV tries diy solar panels

A bright spot! If there’s some corruption or nastiness going on behind it, I don’ wanna know.

Thanks to BP, I’ve had to revert back to eating way more meat than I like.

I have my doubts about low flow plumbing. What we need in this country are Australian toilets. They allow one to pick the amount of “flush” one needs.

Hey, tejan, I’m trusting you’ll give us a clue …. when you call in…and such. Don’t mean to prod. Just so hopeful.

I was gonna say yes, I heard that…but I think it was the screenwriter, not the composer. The movie sounds like fun. It was time for a new muppet movie, I think.

Oh, don’t worry. If there’s anything to report, I’ll be reporting it! Couple more days to go.
Given my mood today, maybe that’s just as well.

On edit: I appreciate your support. Due to divorces, mine and others’, and retirements and move aways and godknowswhat, my circle of in-person friends is way smaller than it used to be. Not really my choice, but that’s the way it’s ended up.
Thank god (or dog) for online friends like you and Suze and the usual LLN contingent. And of course, for Southern Dragon and the Caturday crowd, who have gotten me through a couple losses of the feline friends.
That’s what keeps me hanging around, and getting past the trolls. (who do usually give up eventually)

You’re most welcome, Dearie…! Here’s Bret with Conan…

Yep….glad you get a couple of days to ease back. And the nets have been kinda dicey….lot of attitude going on. Wise to lay low, I think. We will all get through this, and it would be nice if we could, how shall I say, keep the team spirit instead of lashing out at each other. Hell, we’re the good guys! Well, at least I think so!

I put in dual flush 8OZ for the yellow. At farmers market a couple approached me and asked id they could use compost toilets. I knew the answer but asked them to call the County Planning Department. That would save about half the water we use!

What do you do at the Farmers Market that brought this couple to you with the question? Interesting…

Oh, I so know! A lot of my friends have dropped off….well, I’ve moved a lot.

One of my greatest regrets is that I didn’t drive up to the Santa Cruz Mountains when Suzanne was moving. My dad was living in Los Gatos and I thought that I really should combine a visit with him and a stint of packing Suzanne’s POD. When I saw the pix of newtonusr, nahant, teddySanFran, Suzanne and others (wish I could remember who else was there)…..I was all about, “Oh, those are MY people!” Sorry I missed it.

There is a fine community here at FDL … I think any of us could go anywhere and know that there would be a friend wherever we landed. That’s pretty special.

Dearie, I’d meant to show ya this Nasa clip the other nite… ScienceCasts: An Alignment of Planets…

Yes, I think so. Certainly in comparison to the opposition..I guess I just can’t get over the people who are in contention for “leadership…”
No, I’m not going down that road again. LLN is for fun and fellowship.

There is a fine community here at FDL … I think any of us could go anywhere and know that there would be a friend wherever we landed. That’s pretty special.

No doubt, Dearie…! ;-)

We could also recycle our own ‘grey water’ too…!

Oh, I hear ya. A few years ago, in summer, there was a meetup picnic at a park in a small town between here and Austin. Greenwarrior, Gnome de Plume, Tex Betsy, and others…I got lost.
Was late anyway, my childhood pathological shyness making me delay departure. Drove all around the park…not knowing what anybody looked like, I couldn’t recognize the group, and was too shy to get out and walk up to promising groups…gave up and went home.
Really, really sorry to have missed that one.

The acquaintance I ran into yesterday was never a close friend, but we shared some interests, and a general attitude that working 150 hrs a week to practice law was not what we wanted out of life…so it was very nice to see her.

That video cracks me up. Are you a man or a muppet CT…do you have to throw your hat in the door to test the waters when you come home? Does your chewing gum lose it’s flavor on the bedpost overnight? These are the serious questions of our times?
Irish Rovers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBmW37ZJlso

Beautiful! Thanks for that. When my twin grandbabyboys were still in frontpacks, there was some special astral configuration. We took the boys out in the dark night sky just to imprint, if you will. I remember when my own kids were babies and in maybe 1973 or so there was a line up of planets on the night horizon and I got my kids up to see it….just to imprint. I do love the night sky. Our universe is so lovely.

I am on the tubes at the Board of Sups meeting during Public Comment. 11 years of PC so people recognise me of they watch it.My podium 60,000 viewers get it.

“just to imprint.” Love it. Do they remember, do you know?

I just barely remember a moon event of some kind when I was very very small. About all I can really say was that it was at my grandparents’ in west Virginia. My parents made some kid of special fuss that “imprinted.” So I guess it can work.

Fuck no that is way to leftwing, sorry keep wastin that water and over drafting your water supply! S)
Yes I do from the laundry machine to the 50 gallon aerated barrel to the organic veggies I grow and it is a recycled barrel the aerator cost $150.00 from SludgeHammer.

Oh, no wonder. Had no idea!

On edit, to 61: SludgeHammer? What a great name!

The joy of life, I”m coming to understand, is the continual stepping out and stepping up. I didn’t go to law school til I was 50…. and it was every bit as challenging as I’d been forewarned about. But I loved it! Don’t know many lawyers who actually enjoyed law school.

I’m still learning to reach out… to put my innate shyness in my back pocket. But the joy of learning is pretty cool. I’ve always been a risk taker, but now I’m learning to allow people to know me. And, wow, that’s a challenge….and also quite fun.

I don’t live on the web, but I do find the web to be very encouraging.

I do recycle some of our gray water, as the clothes washer just empties into the backyard. Wish the dishwasher did too. We only have one way city water.

They work great…we put one in our Fire Department septic system after a year zero solids! So many better ways to run our railroad!

*heh* That is a kewl name… Sludgehammer…! ;-)

Sledgehammer…

50! Wow! And I thought I was old to start at 28! Heh. There was a retired man in another section…used to see him at the library. But did not see him second year, so I’m betting he decided it wasn’t worth it.

I’m embarrassed to say I did enjoy first year…somehow wound up in what became known as “the party section.” One brave classmate invited everyone in the section to his (one-bedroom) apartment the on Friday of the first week of school.
We all got to know each other outside class, decided we liked each other, and continued the party-every-weekend-somewhere habit all year (we didn’t have exams first semester; that helped).
Knowing each other also meant that cutthroat competition law school is notorious for never developed in our section.
On top of that, I fell in love. Sigh. It didn’t do our grades any good, but the two of us quite enjoyed first year law school. *g*

Check them out! http://www.sludgehammer.net/ May be some in the Islands with all the septic systems.

No, I don’t think they actually remember….jeez, I barely remember(but I DO remember)…but it’s the idea of it. I took Girl Scouts to BlackHawk Ridge and put them on blankets to see the night sky that they could never see in Chicago. I wasn’t smart enough to know it was (help me out here CT…Pleciedes….I forget…but shooting star season.).. A shooting star fell into the Big Dipper (shoot, I’m so cool!) and one of little girls said, “Thank you, Mrs. Girl Scout Leader.”) Life is a truly grand adventure, and we deserve to enjoy it!

I can never get enough of this great Gabriel tune…! ;-) Solsbury Hill…

Absolutely. I confess I’ve developed some resentment of my ex for keeping me from exactly that for so long.
Trying to let go of that and just enjoy what’s left. (some income would help with that…lots that’s free, but travel would really do it for me)

Depends what time of year, Dearie…! Here’s this year’s Meteor timeline…

That is a great tune…one of the ones I never knew the title of. Thanks!

What, no comments on my romantic law school story?

Musta bored everybody to death. Oh well.
Thanks for the music, ctut.. There’s always something new to me when you and Suze are on duty.

My stomach has settled down, and y’all have talked me down from the inchoate rage I was feeling earlier, so I think I’ll go have some toast and go to sleep.

Thanks again for the communit feeling, everybody, most sincerely.

I was a newly divorced mother of 3 when I started a program to get my MSW at 40. Then got a great job (best job I ever had) as a juvenile probation officer. That’s where I trained ‘baby’ prosecutors’ and realized that I should just become a lawyer. Came home to CA and went to law school. 50 is too late a start, though. But I’ve enjoyed what I’ve been able to do.

And, what has really interested me is that my continual pursuit of education has encouraged my daughters (a Ph.D. and an MBA) and also their friends. I’m still not sure that I don’t have a Ph.D. in my own future! I love the grind.

Sorry, CT, if tejana and I got off on personal stuff. Did you get up on the mountain today? It got all nasty, weatherwise, in my part of lovely California today. Hope your weather is settling down.

Sweet dreams, tj…! Glad we quelled your turmoil…! ;-)

That was pretty fun.

Dang, you went at 50…? I still can take a stab at it then…! ;-)

I was waylaid in my pursuit of law school by family needs…!

That is really great. I kinda love bein’ a student, too. You really liked being a juvey probation officer? You must’ve been good.
I gotta admit, representing teen-agers in juvenile court was one of the most frustrating things I did.
Most of them could so easily go either way, and so many made the choice, damn it, to go the wrong way, and in my role, I couldn’t seem to influence them to make the other choice.

Of course, so many had the kind of parents that made it clear how they got where they were…
Oh drat, going off rambling again.

Hey, yeah, you’re a relative kid here, right?

But y’know, you like what you’re doing, right? I recommend against law school for everybody who asks – at least at this time. Not worth it for most, unless you’re so rich you can pay cash and really really love being a lawyer.

Dang it. Can’t seem to shut up tonight. (ctut, you kept me going with music last night…you rat.)
I.am.going.to.bed. It’s central time here!

No harm done in rambling, M’dear…! I enjoy your rambling ways…! ;-)

Yes you can!

My twin brother went to law school at 35 and has had a very successful career.

I came back to California at 50 and immediately started law school (CA allows for night law schools…..you won’t become an important lawyer, but if you can pass the bar exam, you can work)….and I dug in. My kids were in college or graduated. I dug in….and really enjoyed it. Constitutional Law was such a wonderful course that I would pay to take it again!

I passed the dreaded California Bar Exam on the first try (I’m one of those totally dedicated students) and already had a job working for my brother’s firm, so I was okay.

I loved studying the law. Truly loved it. Don’t know any other lawyers who actually enjoyed studying the law as much as I did. I knew I wouldn’t be “important” … I just wanted to work.

Define ‘kid’, M’dear…! Yes, I’m the youngster amongst most of ya’ll, but, I ain’t no spring chicken either…! 8-P

So which is it, man or muppet?

I love the shitkickers. Truly do. I loved my “probates.” Worked with over 400 kids and their families. They didn’t all do well, but most did. Kids are products of their families, so my court was a social work court that worked with kid&family. Fabulous job. My kids did pretty well. And social work is so basic: take ‘em where you find ‘em… help as you can….no big dreams. Of course, this was before drugs hit our semi=rural area and guns weren’t for more than hunting deer. I’m sure it’s different now. My troubles were kids who drove their trucks too fast and drank beer and cut school and shoplifted. Many of my kids were molested by fathers or friends of fathers. We had work to do, but it wasn’t threatening. I loved those kids.

Law, and even the ‘sausage making’ process always fascinated me…! I know all the ins and outs of a Law Library and truly wanted to be an Advocate(public or other) for the disenfranchised…!

Aloha, PPD…! ;-)

Doing pro bono work for folks filing bankruptcy was enough to light my fire. Medical costs were what caused most of the clients to seek help. What a crazy damned society we live in. I became a radical for just cause!

I’ve filed numerous cases for ‘fair hearings’ for housing, welfare, food stamps, etc. and prepared many a tax form for many a poor, elderly individual…! Even filed a federal court case against the VA…! ;-)

Good for you Dearie. Whew for a minute there I was sure your were going to reveal your Bonnie & Clyde past!

You are in it! Does Hawaii have ‘night law schools’…. those that are not necessarily ABA but are accredited by the state? I got an amazing education — judges and experienced lawyers who also happened to be good teachers.

I consider us night law school grads as yeomen attorneys/journeymen attorneys. We know the law; we are educated and have gained experience. We are not, for the most part, going to be famous….but we are going to do a good job.

Maybe it is time for CT and Dearie to call Elizabeth Warren a pretty good advocate in her own right. Most all of your clients need affordable housing and counseling.

Hmmm… PBS Hawaii is airing a great bio of Cab Calloway… Reefer Man…

There is also online law schools.

Kool

Hawai’i doesn’t recognize any non-ABA schools, like Cali does…! There’s only one ABA recognized school here in the Isles…! And they have a very limited admissions quota…! I have to spend three years on the Mainland…! 8-(

I can’t imagine an online law school because I think the mental stimulation and confrontation is kind of essential. I also cannot imagine a state that would permit online……but I don’t know. What do you know about this? I do know that one can study under a mentor… I think California still may allow that. The point is that you have to take the bar exam….and it isn’t easy. When I took it, 50% of the Harvard Law School graduates who took it when I did, did not pass.

you’re famous here, dearie ;)

Congrats on the 99, M’dear…! Honestly, it doesn’t matter where one goes, it’s what one gets out of it that matters…! ;-)

Indeed! And the 99 was a lovely surprise. And now I have to get some sleep because I have a deposition in Santa Barbara tomorrow! Be well my friends.

Still celebrating the 99th post — good idea, that.

A local lady with four kids with an unemployed Carpenter husband spent $10k and enrolled in online law school but she could not keep up and did not finish the first year..even locking herself in a room. She had a teaching degree and went to an exclusive private school in the East. Was sad to see the come down. uBt yes California has online law school and then take the bar. Search the web.

Sweet dreams, Dearie…! I shall head off into the wild blue yonder too…!

Mahalo for the great company tonite, ya’ll…! Aloha Oe…! *g*

night, dearie — night CT — be well, all