Bastet

That drives me nuts! I am sympathetic to the fact some people have a terrible sense of direction, but I am not at all sympathetic to those who don't grasp the fact whether they take a right or left depends on which direction they're coming from. Setting aside all the technology available today, if nothing else stick a goddamned compass in your car. There's no excuse for that shit. Depending on their attitude, I may be helpful and ask where they're coming from and then supply, okay, you'll be heading [direction], so turn right/left. But if they're just irritable dunces who expect the world to cater to them, forget it. Figure it out or don't come.

I make a dill slaw that always goes over well at gatherings because it's a little different than the typical cole slaw -- red and green cabbage, corn, scallions, celery, carrot, and dill, seasoned with garlic salt and parsley, then dressed with olive oil and lemon juice. Watermelon may not be in season yet in your area, but if it is Ina Garten's arugula, watermelon, and feta salad is delicious, and another crowd pleaser (there's always someone who thinks they won't like the combination of ingredients, and then raves about it). If asparagus is still in season, an asparagus salad is nice -- the really thin asparagus stalks sliced into thin slices, tossed with finely diced red onion and grated pecorino cheese, and dressed with olive oil and either red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar. But if you're just farming out who makes what kind of dish and then those people come up with their own version of it, I'd say make sure someone brings some sort of slaw or green salad, because it's really annoying to go to these things and have just a bunch of meat and starch. Baked beans, yeah (I loathe beans of all kinds, but that probably is a good idea). A fruit-based dessert? Some munchies - a cheese platter, veggie & dip, guacamole and one other chip/dip combo, etc.

Is this because there's a central location, so stuff found on various trains is held at one of the end-of-the-line stations temporarily and then moved to the official Lost and Found, where it's logged in and available for retrieval? I can't fathom how else it would take that long. Goodness, I would hope so, because those numbers are crazy good. In fact, 68 on insulin would have me a little nervous. Well, if you were a cat, anyway. :-) I hope you find your pen kit, and that you get to transition to fewer doses of insulin soon, and, ultimately, can graduate to an oral medication.

When I was in college, the best friend of my best friend's boyfriend (got that?) was short; I can't call up the memory clear enough to give a guess, but noticeably short - I'm 5'9" (or at least I was then; maybe closer to 5'8" now) and was probably only wearing an inch of heel and he was by far the shortest guy I'd ever danced with. Which brings me to my story. We were at a party that was a lot of fun except for the part where during a designated song, all the women were supposed to ask a man for a dance. There is so much wrong with that, but let's skip it for now. I had already been planning to ask "Mike" (I cannot remember his name, and refuse to call him Shorty, so let's just say Mike), because if I was going to engage in this ridiculous exercise, it might as well be with someone whose company I knew I enjoyed, but when it was announced this stupid dance was coming soon, the boyfriend came over and asked me if I would ask Mike, because he didn't want him left standing there - which, at his height, happens to him a lot at parties. Can you imagine how picked on he must have been as a kid once everyone started outgrowing him? What school dances were like? And that it was still such a big deal in college? But no Napoleon complex at all; he was a nice guy. If I was otherwise attracted to him, I don't think our height disparity would have bothered me. (I do wonder about certain logistics when there's a big difference in heights, but some of these couples pop out kids, so obviously there are positions that work.)

During the original run of Roseanne, Becky was often used as a third adult in the family (starting at about 14), so if Roseanne wasn't home in time, it was often Becky rather than Dan who was making dinner (but, even then, they were usually popping in the oven something Roseanne had prepped). Darlene cooked once or twice. I'm going over in my mind other shows I watched in which teens were part of the core cast to see if I can think of other examples for you, but apparently I didn't watch very many and, of those I did, no teen cooking scenes are springing to mind.

That really did add something. It's not necessary, but it's a bonus. I love that they only worked together for a season, yet became friends for life (well, I assume Kate and Jaclyn are still friends; I know all three were still friends at the time of Farrah's death).

They tasted like the inside of the can in which they came to me; every single time I'd try one (because they looked like something I'd like, so I just kept falling for it), I desperately wished I was eating a Cheetos Puff instead. But if I come across them, I'll try again to see if I feel any differently now.

Right; not all drugs can be compounded into a gel/cream for transdermal application. And, among those that can, sometimes you'll find it's not as effective as the oral version of the drug. Plus, some cats want you rubbing something inside their ear about as much as they want you giving them a pill. And it costs more. But - where it's available, works, you can bear the extra cost, and the cat just thinks she/he is getting a nice ear rub, it is a wonderful alternative for cats who can't be "pilled" and who can sniff out a hidden pill from across the room. Methimazole (they hyperthyroid medication) is the one I most frequently hear about as a transdermal gel, but I know prednisolone (the steroid) is able to be compounded that way as well. Oh, and @riley702, I just looked it up, and Prozac can, too. At a quick glance, I did not find any info on its efficacy at that application versus oral, but it can be done.

It's bad enough they replace their regular programming in winter with their Christmas dreck, but in July?! It pisses me off every year, too; ruining my Golden Girls fix is one thing, but to do it for that crap is all the more annoying.

How very Smokey and the Bandit!

Wow. Coming out of the gate at EIGHTEEN with Faking Love (co-written) is a pretty damn good start, and then having Reba McEntire sing her Last One to Know a few years later? Then all those Trisha Yearwood songs (Everybody Knows, XXXs and OOOs,). Wild Angels (Martina McBride), You Can Feel Bad (Patty Loveless), Strawberry Wine (Deana Carter), If I Fall You're Going Down With Me (The Dixie Chicks). It goes on and on; I had no idea how many of the songs I love from country's women in the '90s, especially, were written by the same person.

I always remember that it's Lincoln because he starred in The Lincoln Lawyer.

Right. I just can't remember if it was before the renewal, so they were saying, "If we get another season, we'll get into that," or if it was after, so it was "Now that we have more episodes, yes, definitely, we'll be catching up with the characters we left out initially." And, of course, now there is no 11th season of Roseanne, but a new spinoff instead. Had Roseanne continued, I expected to hear about Jerry and Andy but not see them; I didn't think they'd want to bother casting them, but would go into some detail about what they're up to since fans wound up being far more curious than I think they expected. But now that it will be The Conners, we may meet them; as I said before, a spinoff needs to be a blend of old and new characters, and Jerry and Andy are in the interesting position of being both, so they're rather tailor made for it.

Tonight I made another easy chicken dish I inexplicably had not made in quite some time -- start chicken breasts baking, sauté mushrooms and onion, add chicken stock, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and thyme to the mushrooms and simmer for about five minutes, add a little butter at the end, then pour it over the chicken.

Yeah, I like Ruby Dee, but Mammy Watkins is a seriously shitty character, but who doesn't get treated by the script as the jackass she is. It's the nature of sitcoms for behavior that would be called out in real life to be played for laughs instead, but this is ridiculous. She was like another mother to Blanche, and then just up and disappeared on her without so much as a good-bye when Blanche was ten, leaving the girl to wonder what she'd done to make her leave. Then all these decades later, she turns up and says, "I could sure use a hug" at the door, like nothing ever happened. Then she really gets going, saying the reason she got in touch is she heard Blanche was selling off Big Daddy's stuff, and she wants the music box (for free, mind you). When Blanche tells her to get stuffed, she orders her to sit down like Blanche is still the child and she's still the nanny. All so she can tell her she and Big Daddy were lovers.* Not as some death-bed confession in which she seeks an apology or anything like that, no, but as justification for her demand for that damn music box. When Blanche is big enough to say she forgives her, she says she doesn't want forgiveness, because she's not ashamed of anything! Fool, bye. *When Blanche tells the others, she says they had an affair for over 50 years. She left because Mrs. Hollingsworth found out about the affair, so if it went on for 50 years, that means they kept on even after that? Assholes.

Great to hear about the Kitties Gunderson!

Around here, the dives generally still don't. But that's about it; now you may even see a couple of TVs in the bar section of high-end restaurants. It's rather ridiculous.

I am a huge football fan, so for the Super Bowl (and the playoffs, and college bowl games, and rivalry games, and ...) my ass is parked on the sofa so I can properly watch the game rather than being distracted by anyone else's hooting and hollering (or, worse, talking because they don't care about the game). I like several other sports, but not on that level, so I may happen to be out when an important game is on, and, yes, it happens. There are sports bars, specifically designed to be gathering places to watch games, and a lot of bars within "regular" restaurants also put sports on their televisions. So if there is an important game on, especially one in which a local team is playing, you know that a sports bar will be crazy and a lot of "regular" bars will be noisier than usual.

Wasn't it said they were planning on catching us up with them in the second revival season? I don't remember if it was a "If we get another season, we'll get into it" or a "Now that we've been renewed for another season, we'll get into it" situation, but I am fairly certain the sentiment was expressed. If so, they'll probably stick with that plan for this spinoff -- spinoffs need to blend old and new characters, and Jerry and Andy qualify as both.

Ha! I think it's an okay movie (and quite good for a romantic comedy, which is not at all my genre, but this one skips a number of the things that bother me about them), so I think I've only seen it all the way through once and then bits and pieces going around the dial over the years and thus don't recognize a lot of the moments being discussed. But this one - yes. Unless under circumstances where it would be inappropriate to do so, if someone gives me information I really could have used earlier, I say, "Once again, things that could have been brought to my attention YESTERDAY!"

Fiber is good for hairballs, so you're on the right track with the pumpkin (unflavored, unsweetened psyllium is easier and cheaper - but that's if you're feeding wet food to mix it into it; feeding dry, if your cat is one of those who'll eat pumpkin, that's the way to go). Generally, you give a teaspoon a day. You may want to start with 1/2 teaspoon. You can give it until the problem goes away, stop, and see if the problem comes back. If the pumpkin needs to become an ongoing addition to his food, at that small amount it's no problem to continue indefinitely.

I should try this show again. Major Crimes pretty much ruined the non-Sharon episodes of The Closer for me -- other than a few favorites, if I try to watch one of those, I just spend the whole time wishing Sharon was there -- but I'll give it another whirl. Thanks for the heads-up.

Same here. I like most of her songs, and think she's a terrific live performer, so I like her a lot. But I skip over that one.

I agree. Roseanne Barr has overshadowed Roseanne Conner enough lately; I don't want it to happen yet again in how they write her out. It's bad enough Roseanne Conner will (presumably*) be dead (I'm glad the show is coming back without Roseanne Barr - damn right ABC should cut ties with her - but Roseanne Conner is a separate entity, and her dying semi-young after all she and the rest of the Conners have been through is sad, so I'm upset with Roseanne Barr for creating this mess that has such a ripple effect), I don't want it to be by way of character assassination. *They kind of have to kill her off, not just as one of the only realistic explanations for her absence, but because of the shit ABC/producers will get if she's alive, leaving the possibility she could come back in the future.

I don't even have a smartphone, so you know I'm with you. It's not that I find all "smart" technology inherently bad, but I don't need it, so it's not worth giving up any of my privacy for. If this stuff was just helpful, without also being intrusive, I might find some of it fun to have (much of it I'd still think was just pure silly). But I think about how much even someone like me is tracked and catalogued, and extrapolate to how it would be if I was so much more connected, and it boggles my mind. We as a society are steadily changing the "reasonable expectation of privacy" standard, and it bothers me.