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He says utilities …. not sure my state will have any water left at the rate they’re being built here. We’re in yet another drought with record high temps and our electric grid has proven to not be reliable. After they suck us dry, they’ll move on to other states and make sure they can’t be told ”no”.
I was recently reading about AI companies ordering books, including rare ones, to scan for information before destroying.
It’s about making money by controlling information and thinking. He even alludes to ”rich people“ being able to buy more information in certain scenarios. I grouse about ads on search engines, news sites, etc, but will take that over someone having complete and specific control over what I can see, and at various price points.
I am in Atlanta this morning, picked up a sample board of the lacquer being used on our cabinets from the contractor. i wanted to check the color and sheen of their commercial paint on actual wood just to make sure the color is right. Then returning stuff to IKEA, in fact now sitting in my car waiting for them to open at 11 am.
I seem to be reaching for this skirt a lot, even though I am not really very fond of tiers. The fabric on this skirt is not at all stiff (not poplin, it’s an odd all cotton weave I cannot identify) and hangs limply. Elastic waist, perfect length, goes nicely with off white tee and a green cardigan for extreme AC. It’s just really easy to wear, iykwim. I feel about this outfit like some people must feel about their soft athleisure that is also easy to wear.
I like that bandana print, Ks.
I’ve been wanting this poncho for a while and am pretty certain Santa will bring it this year:
https://www.krsaddleshop.com/collections/womens/products/womens-poncho
I may keep my Zara suit and get it altered; I don't see the size I want on PM. Plus I only wore it like 3-4 times.
Meanwhile, for next week at my conference, I have a black blazer with a subtle texture (thrifted Armani Collezioni) and black pants from BR. They work well together without matching per se.
I've always liked the look of a suit without a visible shirt (just a cami) but not sure if it looks better with my L'Agence chain shirt. Even in NYC, where everyone wears mostly black, at least a collar showing might be nice.
This time with the right shoes too
Too late - I already put in an offer. They are seriously considering it.
Lined up a gardener too. If he's anything like his photo in his online profile, I'll be one happy cottager.
RGB was my hero too. And I too was devastated when she passed. Selfishly the timing could not have been worse for all women.
RIP Gloria. Another icon gone.
jsk, the timing was what made me hopeless and devastated at RBG’s passing.
kswl, I too wished she would have resigned to allow Obama to nominate her replacement, but I would note 2 things:
first, I detested Sandra Day O’Connor for her remark that she wanted to wait to resign till a Re:^[<ican president was in office. In principle, though not in fact, I would have felt the same if RBG did something similar. (How innocent we were as a nation to view these things as a sign of partisanship on the Court!)
second, remember the Re!.@#icans refusing to hold confirmation hearings for Garland and other Obama nominees? So, there is no guarantee that he would have been able to choose RBG’s replacement successfully even if she had resigned.
Anyway, I grieve the profound loss of the character of this country.
Why would anyone dump 15 puppies? Because some people are truly evil.
In answer to questions: As soon as we got rescue backing (which is pretty straightforward if you can foster), the rescues have taken care of all their medical needs. The rescues also give a first look at the applications and then we face-timed with them. We had the option (and exercised it) to turn down anyone we had reservations about). One of the rescues owns two large charter buses, which are outfitted inside with kennels, all accessible from the inside of the vehicle. They leave Houston with two volunteers on board. one starts driving and the other tends to the animals. So they don’t stay at a hotel or anything. the second person sleeps and then takes over the driving. And they do a big circuit to get everybody to where they belong. The other Rescue has a bit of a smaller transit van, but it’s a similar deal.
Thanks again for the kind borthday wishes! My favorite bit at the party was a slideshow / powerpoint presentation; DSIL had asked everyone to send in a photo and their best memory of me 😎 It was just precious and brought back many sweet moments shared with those closest to me❤️
In other news, a few days ago the Episcochicks met for happy hour in the garden of a downtown restaurant. Even though it was the hottest part of the day, this area is so protected by live oaks and Spanish moss that it was cool and confortable!
My new happy hour drink since 2025 is cranberry juice and either sparkling water, club soda or tonic water— refreshing and bladder friendly lol.
DH bought me an early bday gift in Revelstoke — we visited a local artist’s shop. Way better than a souvenir t-shirt! The stone is blue topaz.
Then from a local farmers market…a silver and peach moonstone ring.
I’m mad at Veronica Beard. Bought a great pair of high waist wide leg crop jeans in a 31.
Found the perfect dark wash jeans in a very similar cut, only long and not quite as high. Size 31, the largest size.
I don’t care about the number. I’ve been a 4 and a 14. No big deal.
But the second ”size 31” was almost three inches from buttoning around my waist.
Victoria can kiss my jeans…
I can top that kitchenwitch. 😆 I need to dig through old photos bc my best/worst hair photos predate electronic copies....
You look fabulous! Right in style for The Big Hair years.
Love that hair kitchenwitch!
One more! A good family friend gave my boys a nice compact tool kit along with a generous check. They both liked having some basic tools in their dorm rooms.
If anyone follows Heather Cox Richardson, check out her Facebook post comparing Dolly to a certain someone. Says it all.
Like others, I was never a fan of the music but was always a fan of Dolly. How could you not be? So sweet and the kind of person we should all strive to be.
Still watching Glow Up. She use that Revolux stuff, in a fuax marble, counter and B/S, every.single.time!
And I cannot forgive her for removing two of those unusual arched doorways, even tho the end results was great.
I am sick on vacation and watched about 10 episodes of Kitchen Glow Up yesterday!
ok, so I google "still shots from kitchen glow up yellow shelves" ,et voila:
RNmom I thought the same thing!
The first few photos of the house looked really cool until it turned into a bleak industrial space
Interesting place, some very quirky stuff. Very industrial, do not mind yjis in the main areas, but the bedrooms are too cold for me. Agree that it is always nice to have a garden.
The bedrooms look like penitentiary chic. I don't mind the paper towel holder suspended like that...out of the way and easy to reach. The odd thing by the refer is replaced in some pics by a floor lamp. Are the stair treads pick up truck bed metal? Ouch!
ISTJ, which I think is the polar opposite of whatever I was when I was young. I think life and responsibilities cause you to become more practical.
I agree that I fall between the choices sometimes or Id like to know the circumstances. For instance, is a party something being held for business reasons or a social .gathering. Why was I invited the first place?
I was anything but an introvert and quite a risk taker in my younger years.
JSK, Salonva and I can sit around together and not talk.
I like booking . com’s search features, esp especially when traveling solo. But I usually book directly from the hotel once I’ve found a place.
Bpath, is it perhaps a B&B where you’ll be staying in one of the bedrooms?
A guy I used to work with and I got to talking about diamonds once. He pointed out that deBeers had coined the slogan ”diamonds are forever” to create scarcity, keeping diamonds from being traded once purchased. From a Sotheby’s article “How deBeers Changed the Diamond Market with One Simple Tagline”: There were sub-messages to the campaign too; the slogan inherently discouraged resale, and positioned diamonds as long-term financially sound investments. To a degree, this helped keep diamond prices buoyant—there was a limited secondary market, which reinforced the rare and valuable messaging. LINK
Unless you are investing in diamonds with a view to selling in the future when prices go up, go with the lab grown. Mine are real, mostly inherited and/or purchased from a time before good lab grown was available. But I’ll bet if you were wearing your lab-grown earrings and I was standing next to you wearing mine, no one would be able to tell the difference - a theory @jsk and I can test at the GTG. 😁
From what I read, even a jeweler with a loop cannot tell lab grown from natural. They are chemically the same.
Link: Natural vs Lab Grown
Lab-grown diamonds are chemically, physically, and optically identical to natural diamonds. They have the same crystal structure, hardness, and sparkle. The difference is in the origin: one formed over billions of years underground, the other was created in a lab over a few weeks. A certified gemologist would need specialized equipment to tell them apart.
I made a suggestion to Chat. Heres the response.
The adults have all been to Pike Place Market at some point. While I think it is interesting, I don’t think it would hold the attention of the kiddos.
How recently did your guys go to Boeing? Did they go to the Everett factory?
We might split up. It might be me going to Chihuly and everyone else going to Boeing. I’m as crazy about Chihuly as DGS is about airplanes!
My little airplane nut. He and I flew to Las Vegas just so he could visit this airplane model store.
lucille my conjecture is about more than ex post fact issues. Imagine a time when someone entering a mosque is considered suspicious - that's not a stretch given recent history. Or how about someone who regularly shops at the local mercado - we've seen that in action as recently as now. Since SC interpretation and permission for profiling has been construed to be "common sense" and now allows law enforcement to use language, place of employment, ethnicity and other 'cues' as appropriate for suspicion to detain individuals, prior definitions fall by the wayside. We're learning a lot about the fragility of norms. We do not need to be complicit in further weakening them.
DLM, agreed. Now that the House has passed the SAVE America law which will allow sharing of states' voter registration lists with the feds. I am even more leery of government surveillance, especially when we have masked and armed government agents who don't believe in getting judicially-approved search warrants.
I don't understand all the insides and outs but I believe there is a substantial difference from piecing information about an event from people's Ring cameras and something as integrated as Flock.
Being able to piece an event from one or several people's individual security cameras is one thing, but full on integrated government surveillance is another.
As I understand it a sheriff already used information from Flock to track down an ex-wife who had a protection order, legally changed her name, and moved halfway across the country to track her down and murder her. He would hardly be able to do that from bits of information submitted by people to help solve a crime or clarify an accident.
In my own family three of the local ones use Google to set timers and do things like that. And they also (three women) will occasionally conference call each other and be on speaker phone with each other. My oldest sister was cooking something and she said "Google set a timer". It did not set a timer in her house, it set the timer in my niece's kitchen miles away, and sister said "That's weird, why does Google do that?" and the Google in my niece's kitchen said "Because I listen to what you say."
Its' all a convenience until it's not, and it's all about crime prevention until it's not. Basically we are all tracked in grids by satellite anyway, unless you do not have a cell phone, and now there is just going to be more precise and visual surveillance. Any social media already knows your political leanings, and what kinds of things you do because of the algorithms, so I guarantee you there are people who are already being tracked not because they are a terrorist, but because they are very vocally (albeit in their allegedly private circle) anti this administration. And if you don't believe it, I think you are naive.
Kitchenwitch, thank you for that information. i am looking into that hotel. sounds pretty central for metro and all. i think walking to colloseum would not be too long.
My state (NJ) banned plastic shopping bags about 5 years ago. We all bring reusable bags to shop with in all stores, not just grocery stores.. It has really cut down the trash in our waters and fields and along fence lines. I always carry a reusable bag in a small pouch in my purse.
I do think that plastic shopping bags can be useful for many things but we don't need thousands of them.
Our recycling company promised us the moon. Now it's changed the playing field so much regarding what we are allowed to put in the cart, there is barely anything left to recycle. I buy plastic single use bags to take to the grocery store. The paper bags that a lot of grocers have are so thin the can't make it to the car without tearing. My "single use" bags are reused for a myriad of things. I do my part for the environment by not being much of a consumer. I buy furnitiure for function and use it for decades. I don't buy a new car or upgrade my phones until they no longer work well. I think it's hypocritical of people who up grade their phones each time a new model comes out to be pointing their fingers at thin plastic bags and drinking straws.
Phones and other electonic items that are disposed of responsibly (given to organizations that advertise and tout procedures for proper handling) are processed to reclaim and reuse materials to the extent possible and then to properly find a final home for what remains. Whatever that is.