Like a lot of people in the US of A, I am taking a long weekend. Posting may be a little light for a bit. So here’s an open thread for everyone else taking a long weekend. Or not. Use this thread for anything that’s not personal. Like misogyny, politics, kitties, you know the drill. (Though kitties are welcome in all threads, of course.)
I am hoping my long weekend turns out a bit better than that of the people in the Australian movie of that name from 1978, which I keep meaning to see. Apparently their little beach vacation doesn’t go so well, and they are attacked by … nature? At one point, I believe, they face off against an enraged dugong. (No, really.) The movie was recently remade, but apparently the remake wasn’t as good.
Stay tuned for more reviews of movies I haven’t seen and that I’m just giving vague impressions of based on things I’ve heard somewhere.
Hee, my mac does the same thing now, it’s old and cranky.
Did you say it was 103 there? Same here, if I could send you central AC, I would.
BELKAR!! Thanks guys, now I’ve been sucked in by my favorite no-longer-quite-evil halfling (he sorta inherented a cat, having a small living creature relying on him has made him less evil [he’s still evil])
Speaking of Belkar, Banjo the Clown has 24 followers among us, maybe Elan can dual class in cleric after all!
@pecunium: It’s actually Ellada (the d is pronounced like the th in the). I don’t think it’s very clear when the term Ellhnes (elines) first came to mean all the Greek people. In Homer’s time it referred to a particular tribe. There is also the term Romios which paradoxically came to refer to Greeks. This has to do with the fact that the Eastern Roman Empire (known as the Byzantine Empire only later) was largely consisted of Greece. This term though has fallen out of use in modern times along with the term Greek.
Real feel 100 currently (mac enclosure base is 113, CPU 171 [that’s reasonable, 113 is not]), actual temp is uh…91. I’m almost afraid to check the tank temp.
Oh look, I can’t. Their thermometer tops at 90. It’s too hot for the thermometer >.<
I can’t believe that Pillock toolshed posted the lyrics to The Animals “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” as an argument bolster. That kind of shit should make your computer blow sky high next time you try to post.
I should have known better than to go read that popehat thread, but I was too itchy (ant bites) to sleep and too groggy from the Benadryl to write anything where proper grammar and spelling were necessary, so I just decided to read around a while.
And then the sun came up. O.o
@anadiomene122 Sadly, I have had similar experiences in my first career, and you have all my sympathies.
And on the subject of knitting
DPNs or magic loop? What method are you using to cast on?
Hey, it’s not super on-topic, but I’m getting malware reports from Avast for various objects around the site; I rather suspect that someone’s doing some false reporting, just sayin’.
I wonder if anyone who checked Banjo actually doesn’t read Order of the Stick and just checked it because they thought it sounded funny. (I would respect that.)
“I wonder if anyone who checked Banjo actually doesn’t read Order of the Stick and just checked it because they thought it sounded funny. (I would respect that.)”
I know there are at least a handful of OoTS fans around here, and out of 1640 replies 24 doesn’t seem unreasonable. But hey, Elan made him from a bard’s sense of what’s “proper”, of course it’s funny!
Okay, auggziliary, there’s probably where your problem is. That’s the most basic, but also the hardest to control cast on there is.
There are lots of good cast ons, and usually you choose based on what the next few rows are going to be. My favorite super basic, good for almost anything method (not as great for socks as it stretches but there are stretchier ones!) is the long tail cast on. It has a few downsides, as you have to start by estimating the yarn you will need and pulling it off the ball before you can make your initial slip knot (thus producing the long tail of yarn you will need for the takeup yarn), and add more yarn if you didn’t pull enough, you just have to pull out your loops and start again. But it is easy enough to get the tension constant, it is decently stretchy, and once you are used to the motion, it’s pretty easy to do it almost mindlessly so that you can cast on lots of stitches while watching tv, for example. It’s the first thing I usually teach to anyone who has asked me to teach them to knit.
Of all the instructional videos I’ve seen, this one is the clearest
Wow, so glad I missed that popehat thread. Catching up!
RE: pecunium
It’d be quite the coolness to meet up, and I’ll be in NYC either at the very start of October, or anytime in September. Which leads me to some of the other things.
RE: emilygoddess
I actually make take you up on that. September is a tricky time for me, because I will lose my housing, and with the weather the way it’s been, I don’t dare try and move back into my closet. However, I can’t embark on the trip, because at the end of September is the Mass Indy Comics Expo, which I’ve always done well at, and I need the money. So I actually AM in need of connections with the work co-ops in town. Housing has had my sanity healing at an amazing pace (for me) so I can likely do the work. (And I dread the idea of the shelter system; they are NOT known for being nice to trans people, and it sounds horrific.) Thanks for the wiki; I shall look at it after I post this.
RE: Fibinachi
That would be INCREDIBLY useful. I’ll fire you an email.
RE: MordsithJ
SO using this. Thank you very much!
And in honor of all the rape apologist assholes, I repost my FEMINIST METAL!
@auggz, have you tried cable cast on? That’s what I do and it doesn’t come out all loose. It’s jut putting the needle between the loops instead of through them when making a new stitch.
I found something gratifying last night. I was reading a history of knitting and it mentioned the different styles or methods around the world. The Eastern (by which I think they meant at least Turkey onward) is crossed stitches, aka knitting into the back of the stitch. Now that’s how I knit ‘cos I never knew there was any other way, and it seems much more intuitive to go for the main gap instead of wending around the front of the wool. I shall now say I knit that way instead of “welp, I don’t do plain stitches properly”.
Course it is slightly mucked up by the fact that I’m using English method of having the yarn in the right hand. 😉
Say, knitters, is anyone here on Ravelry? I know Kiwi girl is and I think one other Manboobzer might be.
@hellkell – it’s even worse with that Pillock than with the Obtuse Fistula, because he was blaming someone who was raped as a child for not reporting.
@Argenti – “Yeaaah, I replied to pecunium’s email assuming it was true, because doubting people saying they’ve been assaulted isn’t really my thing. But his statistically improbable experience isn’t a get out of assholery free card. Like, I’m sorry that happened to you, but the rest of your comment in based on so many assumptions I want to blow on your house of cards.”
Pretty much my take on it. Not to mention that horrific attack was not commited by a woman, it was all down to men, but it’s not men en masse he’s blaming for it.
@LBT
“And in honor of all the rape apologist assholes, I repost my FEMINIST METAL!”
…You’re my hero for sharing this. I’m an avid metalhead, and I never knew feminist metal even existed. =O
RE: Ally S
That’s actually the only metal song I know. <.< Soooo yeah. At least it's a good one?
ah-HAH! Then what you want is actually Jeny’s surprisingly stretchy cast on.
I have never found anything more comfortable for socks and mittens. Endless stretch and an attractive presentation for ribbing.
@Kittehs Round these parts that’s called ‘twisted stitch’ and it’s considered an advanced technique! It also makes up a lovely fabric, with an extra linear detail that I’ve always liked.
In unrelated news, I just poured my first batch of peppermint soap into the mold and now the house is full of the scent. Housemate thinks that this is good justification to have mint chocolate chip ice cream for dinner!
Well, for the only metal song you know, you sure picked a good one. =P
@gillyrosebee – hey, cool, I haz advanced skillz!
It does give a very linear look, doesn’t it? Almost like a half-ribbed effect.
Gyech. Much as stable housing has been a godsend for me, I’m feeling a bit of anxiety.
My mental health has been going up, which is fantastic. But now I’m starting to feel the pressure to earn more money. I feel bad that my roommates are coughing up more so I can stay, even though I know it’s just through next month. I already have a pet-sitting gig later this month for $250, my commissions are open, we’re pushing through our emergency aid app… I just keep feeling like I should be doing more, and I feel guilty for saving money for my trip while my housemates help support me.
I don’t like feeling this dependent on people, but I’m also terrified that taking on more steady paying work will just send me straight back into the tailspin I 2010-2012 in.
I dunno. Being poor sucks, and I just feel parasitic right now.
LBT, you’re NOT being parasitic – d’you think your friends would have offered the space if they felt that way?
Welp, I just finished the popehat thread. 900-odd comments (hahahahaHA Manboobz comments get longer than that, and this one’s heading for the 1000 mark!).
That Pillock character … I wonder about the comment SallyStrange made at the end, about how he’s likely a harasser himself, ‘cos he’s so invested in making things easier for them, blaming women regardless of our response to harassment, blaming children for being raped, gaslighting everyone, agreeing that a woman who’s dressed up but not “putting out” (gods I hate that term) is “not playing fair”… fucking misogynistic shit from him all the way through. And like Pecunium said, that slimy, pompous way of presenting it all. He manages to pretend he’s just trying to find SOLUTIONS and wanted to be an ally until people were so mean to him. Maybe he’s not a harasser, but I’d say he’s at least a wannabe, with that attitude. Consent is a given and if women don’t want it, all they have to do is say No, in writing, in triplicate. Otherwise, well, they didn’t really say no and it’s none of his business if someone’s being assaulted in front of him, amirite?
RE: Kittehserf
*sigh* I know. I still feel bad though. Me and Sneak are gonna go put up pet-sitting flyers, try and rustle up some more $$$. We’ll be back later.
God, I want to make my life where I need to deal less and less with freakin’ money. I swear, even when I had plenty, I couldn’t stop thinking about it!
Try not to feel too bad. It’s natural, but you most certainly are not parasitic; it’s awesome your roommates actually care. Try thinking of it as something wonderful they’re doing for you rather than something bad you’re doing to them? You are a lovely person, and people.
Kittehs: Yeah, I think he’s an abuser (and if not yet, he’s 85% there) too. Otherwise, I just don’t get why he’d choose this hill to die on.
RE: hrovitnir
Thanks. I actually went and talked to them, and they reassured me that they cared very much about us and that we could totally stay, it was okay. I think I just overdid future planning and got overwhelmed. I feel calmer now and think I’ll take a rest from planning.
People sometimes praise my social skills; the way I see it, I’m trying to make up for using people’s resources by being as pleasant and interesting to be around as possible. If I can’t pay someone back in money, at least I can pay them back in EXPERIENCE.
That’s great. Make sure you look after yourself too! You don’t want to drain yourself making yourself pleasant to everybody. I hope everything goes as smoothly as possible.