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[northland10]

Good for him, but still somewhat ridiculous. Midwest auto towns are lightly peppered with similar home properties surrounded by factories. I can think of two in Lansing MI alone.

There was that lady who refused to sell to Trump in Atlantic City.

[zekeb]

Then there's this. More good news from the Foxconn debacle.

Couple blocked from accessing Mount Pleasant business near Foxconn was paid $1.6M

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/ben ... ated-press
African American spelling bee champ makes history with flair

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Zaila Avant-garde understood the significance of what she was doing as she stood on the Scripps National Spelling Bee stage, peppering pronouncer Jacques Bailly with questions about Greek and Latin roots.

Zaila knew she would be the first African American winner of the bee. She knew Black kids around the country were watching Thursday night's ESPN2 telecast, waiting to be inspired and hoping to follow in the footsteps of someone who looked like them. She even thought of MacNolia Cox, who in 1936 became the first Black finalist at the bee and wasn't allowed to stay in the same hotel as the rest of the spellers.

Declared the champion, Zaila jumped and twirled with joy, only flinching in surprise when confetti was shot onto the stage.

Sometimes she knew more than she let on. Part of her strategy, she said, was to ask about roots that weren't part of the word she was given, just to eliminate them from consideration.

Only one word gave her trouble: “nepeta,” a genus of mints, and she jumped even higher when she got that one right than she did when she took the trophy.

“I’ve always struggled with that word. I’ve heard it a lot of times. I don’t know, there’s just some words, for a speller, I just get them and I can’t get them right,” she said. “I even knew it was a genus of plants. I know what you are and I can’t get you.”

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[p0rtia]

I'm playing with an idea for a political cartoon. Here's my first draft. Does it work? Suggestions to make it better?

Venn.jpg (34.5 KiB) Viewed 2248 times

[zekeb]

The parts could be better aligned.

[keith]

Good for him, but still somewhat ridiculous. Midwest auto towns are lightly peppered with similar home properties surrounded by factories. I can think of two in Lansing MI alone.

There was that lady who refused to sell to Trump in Atlantic City.

The Castle

[zekeb]

The Bishop got rid of this priest

He needs to be defrocked. If he's no longer serving as a priest he will have free reign to spread the Big Lie and claim that since he's a priest, he has some credibility.

[jez]

Just a bit of a vent.

Today was lovely. D, my roommate/landlady/owner of the house I live in, when to visit her parents. The basement trolls (two 20 year old boys that are family friends of Dawn's that needed a place to stay for a couple of months when their family moved to FL that has turned into almost a year) were out for the day doing who knows (or cares) what. The house was quiet. The thermostat was set above morgue levels. I was comfortable and enjoying the quiet. Did some cooking, did a bit of cleaning, played with the pup, took a nap... just enjoyed the day.

Then she came home from visiting the parents. Within a few minutes of getting home, the thermostat was back to morgue, she has her TV on in her room, watching a musical of some kind quite loudly and singing along. Boys came home from wherever they were and made a beeline for the backyard to have a bit of recreational herb. It was loud again. I became sad.

*sighs*

There are days that I think I need my own place, if for no other reason then I miss the quiet. I miss being able to go to bed and not hear people yabbering away or opening and closing doors. But if I leave, she loses the house considering I'm basically paying her mortgage with my rent. It's the reason she got a roommate in the first place. And the boys? Yeah, they don't pay squat. They are supposed to, but don't. She is a pushover on that one.

I may give it another year. If I survive that long. After that, I may start making plans to move out west (Seattle area).

Vent over. Thanks for reading.

[MN-Skeptic]

But if I leave, she loses the house considering I'm basically paying her mortgage with my rent. It's the reason she got a roommate in the first place.

How difficult would it be for her to find a new tenant? Realistically?

[Luke]

Tek, what a blessing you were able to leave that money in NC Loved how you put it. Was up in Wellington for Gay Polo, it's gorgeous there. My young niece also rode there for a horse competition (no, she wasn't in Gay Polo).

Jez, are the 20-year-old boys cute? Maybe you could send them to St. Louis to work at Jim Hoft's Gateway House of Boys.

And congrats, Sugar! That sounds terrific, do you know (or can you tell) what film is shooting?

[sugar magnolia]

Tek, what a blessing you were able to leave that money in NC Loved how you put it. Was up in Wellington for Gay Polo, it's gorgeous there. My young niece also rode there for a horse competition (no, she wasn't in Gay Polo).

Jez, are the 20-year-old boys cute? Maybe you could send them to St. Louis to work at Jim Hoft's Gateway House of Boys.

And congrats, Sugar! That sounds terrific, do you know (or can you tell) what film is shooting?

Right now it's called "The Inspection" but that's always subject to change. The story is something about Marine Corps bootcamp and it's being filmed at the Highway Patrol academy. My dad (retired trooper and current historian for the Patrol) is more excited about it than I am, I think. It was sort of surprising how the memories flooded in when I stepped foot in the building though. We grew up out there playing in the halls and it's where I learned how to drive, how to shoot and how to cook for 100. They also have a basic police class training right now and it's almost like being back in my own academy class hearing them out on the parade grounds doing PT. I almost hate to admit how much of a movie fan I'm NOT so I have no idea who is even in this movie. It look me 2 days to recognize Eric Roberts on the last set I worked on. I was sort of surprised when I showed up and was told I was in charge of ALL alteration stuff. The on-set costumer was a woman I worked with on a previous shoot and she recommended me, they hired me 2 hours after she contacted me, gave me a raise by the time they sent the contract to me, and put me in charge of several other people. The costume designer is surprisingly easy to work with (not all of them are) and actually listens if I have input. Twice yesterday he said "that's a great idea, let's go with it" about my suggestions. If I had kept my mouth shut it would have resulted in about 40 more hours of work for us and would have paid for Aidan's wedding AND the dining room floor, but it was unnecessary work. A nice little surprise was showing up and finding out the guy from our studio had been called in to make some set pieces too. He'll only be there a couple of days but it's always nice to see a familiar face in a sea of strangers.

3 weeks of long days in front of me, but nothing after that so I'll have time to do all the wedding planning stuff. We're even skipping Jazz Fest in October because it's so close to the wedding date. That one's hard but it will be worth it.

[neonzx]

...
3 weeks of long days in front of me, but nothing after that so I'll have time to do all the wedding planning stuff. We're even skipping Jazz Fest in October because it's so close to the wedding date. That one's hard but it will be worth it.

That's awesome, sugar. Please, if you are permitted, post some pics of the finished designs.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Jez, MN asks the important question. My question is the follow-up. Are you there to help or to be a tenant? If it is to help, is there an end game? How long are you going to help her and not help yourself?

[neonzx]

My poor USB mouse died overnight... dead-dead. Unrecognizable to the computer.

Well, Big Lots opened at 9:00 am and I went to replace my mouse with another el-cheapo USB mouse ($7), but there was a Hershey display as I walked in with large assorted bags of miniatures. I don't much eat candy but I keep a glass bowl out for guests. My $7 mouse turned into a $30 shopping spree.

[jez]

Jez, MN asks the important question. My question is the follow-up. Are you there to help or to be a tenant? If it is to help, is there an end game? How long are you going to help her and not help yourself?

It's a bit of both, I guess. I am helping her as a friend, but at the same time, I'm her tenet. But it's probably 80/20.

As for finding someone new: Well, that hasn't gone too well in the past for her. I think on the old board I mentioned the Tweedles who moved here with me. They didn't last a year before I basically financed their move out to their own place. Then there was Psycho because she panicked without a second person helping with rent. That was a story in of itself and we ended up going through the eviction process to get her out of the house.

My end game is to finally get out west, and she knows this. Options are: I move to Seattle to be with Jim; Jim moves to this area after he retires in a couple of years (his Dad lives in KY); Jim and I find a mutually agreed upon area to move to. I won't be here forever and she knows it. What she does from there, I don't know.

I'm just being grumpy I guess. I like quiet and I forgot how much I missed it. When I first moved in, she was going into the office in Cincy. I pretty much had the house to myself (totally ignored the Tweedles). Then COVID happened and she started working from home. It's been going so well, she will only need to go into Cincy once a month.

So, yeah, not sure what the end game is. I'm just trying to save money. I do think I need to talk to her about my rent decreasing. She just recently paid off her car. I have medical bills I'm trying to pay off and will probably have more later this year plus I need to get a new car. The car needs another fix done to it (oxygen sensor again, this time bank 2). I think I'm just letting my anxiety get the best of me and letting the little things get to me.

Thanks for letting me get it off my chest, y'all.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

[Lani]

[RTH10260]

[AndyinPA]

Can you eat them like cicadas?

[Foggy]

As it turns out, in the Atlantic Ocean (we're at the beach for a week) they turn the surf off at night in order to save electricity. I never knew that.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

As it turns out, in the Atlantic Ocean (we're at the beach for a week) they turn the surf off at night in order to save electricity. I never knew that.

Audio recording or it didn't happen!

[Foggy]

I recorded it, but it's very, very quiet.

[bill_g]

It's Seven's Day
7/14/21

[RTH10260]

It's Seven's Day
7/14/21

Are you guys and girls all safe and sound out their?

Here the world did not go under!

[sugar magnolia]

So I'm working with a seamstress on the movie and she is batshit, stark raving, bonkers insane. I spend hours every day listening to her talk about her 78 year old "fiance'" that she has actually never met, but he's sent her photos of the houses he's bought for them to live in when they get married (last month, last week, this week, next week, next month, this summer) very, very soon. He was on his way to meet her and bring her the 3 carat engagement ring when his helicopter was ambushed and went down. One time he got in a gunfight with "the scammers" and his partner (oh yeah, this guy is an 80 year old undercover attorney with Homeland Security) was hospitalized. The fiance has been shot, attacked, abducted, ambushed and all sorts of fantastical stuff. He got stabbed in the shoulder and spent 3 weeks in a coma. Apparently PTSD from fighting in Vietnam makes you comatose if you get stabbed. But the coma and his tendency to pass out for hours at the time are not a concern for national security in his secret squirrel job because he has 2 doctors that travel with him. Together, the 2 of them have put 37 people in federal prison for 'somethingsomethingscammerssomething" and she has won a tricked out, custom, top of the line Mercedes that is tied up in customs right now, or she would be driving it instead of her Chevy. Meanwhile, she's working by the hour to pay for gas and depending on this job to keep her house, apparently. The only believable (to me, she believes every word she's saying) thing she's said is that she's been taken for several hundred thousand dollars (I know where she lives and that number is perfectly reasonable) in those "you won a million dollars, send us $100,000 to collect your winnings" scam, and at least 2 where they send you money for something and you send half of it back.

I can't even type any more of this because it makes me crazy. Half of it is because it's frustrating to not stand up and scream "get a fucking clue" and half because I know she's most likely still being scammed but have no idea what to do about it. I'd never laid eyes on her until Sunday, don't know her family, or any of her friends, and I have to work with her daily for the next 3-4 weeks. I don't even know if there is anyone to report it to. She has no bank account because of the scammers cleaning her out and leaving her holding the bag for god knows how much money. Her fiance claims to be an attorney so she does anything he tells her to do, including apparently, firing her previous attorney. I'm at a complete loss but she's a nice lady and I'm not sure I can take weeks of listening to her talk about this BIG BLINKING RED WARNING SIGN of being scammed.She calls and leaves long, loving messages on his phone but he never calls her back because he knows her phone is tapped, so he has "other ways" of communicating with her. All I can think of is those stalkers who think the weather girl is communicating with them by wearing a blue dress on Friday. It makes my head spin.