WTF-Beta

AO Smith. That’s the brand almost all the local contractors are installing, and based on googling around, I’m resigned to the fact that they’re all probably crap anyway

An alleged Iranian connection was pushed by Netenyahu when he gave his speech to Congress. I'm 99% sure but I could be wrong. I'll post the quote or tape if I can find it. Thanks, wtg. Moving on to thread #2.

"Bloated fruit loop." I am so borrowing that description!

@pique said in Question about leasing vs buying a car: We just sold our 2006 Honda CRV with 200k miles on it. The reason we sold it is because I found the seats to be absolutely crippling. That became my #1 criteria in car shopping--the comfort and support of the seats. Same here. Hondas are great cars in many respects but the seats are like sitting on flat boards. The five hour drive up to Door County in my Mom's Accord used to leave my back in bad shape. Plus in my case, there's not enough thigh support; I'm 5'10". Toyota and Subaru seats, OTOH, are very comfy for me.

I heard Hegseth say that he talked to The Boss yesterday, and that he was told to hang on and keep fighting. Meanwhile, a great example of one-way loyalty.... President-elect Trump isn't working the phones for Pete Hegseth in his hour of need, leaving the embattled Department of Defense nominee to press his own case to skeptical senators, Axios has learned. "I don't think it's going anywhere," one senator told Axios about Hegseth's nomination chances. Why it matters: Trump is on path to lose his third nominee in two weeks, and this time he's leaving his candidate out to dry. https://www.axios.com/2024/12/05/trump-hegseth-nomination-senate I hear DeSantis is under consideration for the job.

She hasn’t been a great mayor but she had nothing to do with the intensity of the fires.

@Bernard said in Meet the coffee obsessives: I can't find the coffee pot on their website. It comes up on Amazon from Denby USA but out of stock. I wonder if it's discontinued? There seems to be a British version of Replacements LTD. https://www.chinasearch.co.uk/denby/baroque/

@ShiroKuro - Something like this? It's what @Mary-Anna is talking about, I think. [image: aea1dc2735f2ff3e0fc3bc8a89421e7f.jpg]

I see there was a companion item, the Super Awful Awful burger. Two half pound patties instead of just one. https://www.carsonnow.org/reader-content/09/29/2020/don-t-fear-original-famous-awful-awful-burger-still-here

Every now and then I put my silver (the stuff I put in the dishwasher) into an aluminum foil lined sink, dump some salt and baking soda on it, and then pour a kettle of boiling water on it. It removes most of the tarnish.

Penzey’s has Mexican oregano, too.

Lol, Ax!

Pickled beets and cottage cheese. Safie's pickled beets from Costco, to be exact. Delish!

My best friend, who lives in Sequim, had (I think) what you described as the minimally invasive laminectomy/microdiscectomy. She had to go into Seattle for the surgery because.... that's where you go for major surgery when you live in Sequim! (There aren't many doctors, and far fewer specialists on the Olympic Peninsula). I don't know the details of her problem, but I do know that the surgery did resolve her pain issues. I'll be talking to her soon and can try to get more details, though it sounds like your back problems are a bit more complicated than hers. Hoping you can get some relief from the pain. Back pain is the pits, to say the least. Yours sounds like a real challenge.

Done!

@Piano-Dad said in Biomedical research takes a hit: BTW, Columbia needs to grow a pair and fight back. Georgetown offers an example. These targeted budget cuts are illegal. I think you'll see something if their current genuflection isn't viewed as sufficient. I can't say I blame them for capitulating thus far, even if they won a specific suit the administration could fuck with them in myriad ways, renegotiate their indirects, award far fewer grants, crawl up their ass over title VI stuff (which they're doing anyway).

We have a clay cooker called a Römertopf. Don’t know how it would be for baking bread, but now I’m tempted to try it. I think most people use it to bake a whole chicken. I do a combo of root vegetables in there, one of John Cage’s recipes.

@DeweyLOU

Cindy - "Part of the problem is that folks just dont understand the reasons they are struggling because the reasons are complex." I believe this may be a large part of "how did this happen?" - that Republicans have gotten good at providing simple reasons... no matter that those reasons aren't true, they resonate with voters... Seems to me that I remember Hillary having a plan and policy for everything, but it took more than a few words to explain.