93 thoughts on “Tuesday Open Thread

  1. fkaWaldenPond August 9, 2016 / 8:07 am

    Lilly King was fantastic last night! Open shade and speed!!! 😀 😀

    • allein ? August 9, 2016 / 8:26 am

      I enjoyed that. The Russian chick did not look happy with her silver medal.

      • Murray C. August 9, 2016 / 10:54 am

        Don’t you hate that? The other swimmers have been pretty gracious and in some cases overjoyed at having medalled and there’s a grumpus sourpuss – tho’ perhaps she faces something at home we can’t begin to imagine.

        • allein ? August 9, 2016 / 11:02 am

          Isn’t she the only one swimming for Russia, too? It must be hard not having teammates there supporting you, while everyone else is against you even being there.

          • Murray C. August 9, 2016 / 1:28 pm

            The whole doping thing is such a pity. All those para-Olympians being shut out of the games seems like overkill, but I don’t know the circumstances in any complete way.

  2. allein ? August 9, 2016 / 8:27 am

    Hey, guys, I brought popcorn!

    • Birdcage August 9, 2016 / 8:37 am

      I. Can’t. Stop. Watching. This.
      Hypnotic.

      • allein ? August 9, 2016 / 8:38 am

        I know, right?

        • Faye August 9, 2016 / 8:48 am

          I’m stuck here watching IT chew. I guess this is my life now.

          • allein ? August 9, 2016 / 8:50 am

            There are worse things you could be doing with your life.

            Like finding the one screwy formula in a massive excel sheet, for instance.

            • Mich Patt August 9, 2016 / 8:54 am

              Story of my life.

              • allein ? August 9, 2016 / 9:10 am

                I actually know what’s wrong, it’s just annoying because you can’t see it until you validate the numbers against something else. I wish I had done things differently when I populated the thing, but alas. The person who’s done it in the past left unexpectedly and so we were kinda doing things on the fly. Oh well, not my responsibility next year, so the person whose responsibility it is can figure out how she wants to do it.

                • Saffron August 9, 2016 / 10:13 am

                  Gah! Also stressful///taking someone else’s spreadsheet and doing a search and destroy mission for the formulae that don’t work.
                  But Allein you WIN at the interwebs today for the popcorn gif. It is quite soothing to watch….

                  • allein ? August 9, 2016 / 10:21 am

                    I wrote the formula; I should have just linked in all the numbers I’m calculating off of in a separate sheet and then linked to the results instead of doing the formula in each tab. I would have been able to see better when there were zeroes where there shouldn’t be.

                    I’ve seen that gif on another site, usually posted when someone says something inflammatory that the gif-poster expects to cause a spectacle. (A site I’ve been not-commenting on much the past couple days after letting myself get caught up in an argument over the weekend with someone who quickly turned to being a ******* just to **** me off further. I need to learn that it’s not worth the stress.)

                    • Murray C. August 9, 2016 / 10:57 am

                      I’m still back at the chewing – not sure what kind of deer? – what you guys are now talking about is so far above my ken as to be incomprehensible yet so very impressive.?

                    • allein ? August 9, 2016 / 11:02 am

                      I’d rather be watching deer chewing, Murray C.

      • Murray C. August 9, 2016 / 11:00 am

        I’m thinking the chewing sound inside those ears could be deafening!

  3. Birdcage August 9, 2016 / 8:36 am

    I am enjoying the Olympics, too! Canada has been doing well in the pool and on the rugby field which is thrilling! Can’t wait to get into the women’s gymnastic finals: the US team is a powerhouse and I know I’m really going to enjoy watching that wee Simone Biles do her thing. But it’s hard to stay up at night to watch all of the prime time coverage! I foresee the need for double caffeination at the office in the AMs over the next several days.

    • allein ? August 9, 2016 / 8:40 am

      I was watching last night waiting for the Men’s gymnastics, but they never showed any of it, at least not before I went to bed a little after 11:00. Though I’m okay with Men’s diving. 😉

      I will stay up for the women’s gymnastics, if I have to. I think that’s tonight. Women’s is always more fun to watch, anyway.

      • Laura August 9, 2016 / 2:58 pm

        They showed a teensy bit of the men’s gymnastics at 11:50, and then proceeded to show the majority of it at about 12:30! I was really annoyed. I can stay up for that, but other people want to see it, too. 🙁 Our guys made a couple of major mistakes, unfortunately, that cost them. Do you want me to spoil the results or not of the team standings? I don’t like to spoil people who want to remain unspoiled until they can see for themselves.

        And I agree, the women’s is more fun. I’m not sure why — the men do lots of crazy stuff, too. I do like the high bar most — since they invented those dowel grips some years back, they’ve started doing some really wild release moves. The women on the uneven bars, too. Honestly, I don’t know how they do that stuff — but I sure enjoy watching them do it!

        • fkaWaldenPond August 9, 2016 / 3:07 pm

          The men on the rings, when they start doing the flips?! Aye carumba!

        • allein ? August 9, 2016 / 3:16 pm

          I don’t care about spoilers. I don’t have a way to record it and I’m not likely to seek it out online.; if I don’t catch it, I don’t catch it.

          I’m guessing they’ll make more of a point of showing the women’s since they get so much attention.

          • Laura August 9, 2016 / 4:24 pm

            Okay. Well, thanks to their big mistakes, the US team came in fifth. The order went Japan, Russia, China, Great Britain, US, Brazil, Germany, Ukraine. The Ukraine guys were weird — they deliberately took zeroes on everything, apparently to rest for the individual finals! Seems to me they should have just dropped out of the team competition and let another team that WANTED to be there have a chance. 🙁

        • fkaWaldenPond August 9, 2016 / 7:03 pm

          Don’t worry about ‘spoilers’ with me Laura; I am all real-time and more than happy to go back and watch afterwards. Life happens all around us all the time–I am kinda eye-rolly on people who want everybody to stop and live on their schedule. Bring on the news if you see it! 🙂

      • fkaWaldenPond August 9, 2016 / 7:06 pm

        Dear heavens, if you like watching the men’s diving, give the men’s rugby a glance… ahem and wowzer.

        • Murray C. August 9, 2016 / 8:59 pm

          I love the men’s synchronized diving. Not so much into team sports – takes too long to get an outcome. Diving, two seconds they have a score and it’s “NEXT….”

          • allein ? August 9, 2016 / 9:13 pm

            Me too. I have a short attention span when it comes to sports.

  4. PaulaO August 9, 2016 / 8:55 am

    Anyone from cute overload around, like Oakley2600?

    Yeah I kept waiting for men’s’ gymnastics especially the rings. Bummer they weren’t shown. But platform diving is cool and kinda scary

    • allein ? August 9, 2016 / 9:12 am

      I think most of us are CO refugees (I didn’t comment much there, though). Sadly, Oakley and her puntastic humor don’t seem to have found us here.

      • Mikeyfur August 9, 2016 / 2:00 pm

        Yep, I miss Oakley, but CO alum like Allein is def taking up the slack in the pun department. For which we are all grateful.

        • allein ? August 9, 2016 / 2:05 pm

          Aw, thanks. I am no 260Oakley, though.

          • TrixAndSam August 9, 2016 / 11:11 pm

            260Oakley is our Gold Medalist for all time!

  5. Mich Patt August 9, 2016 / 8:57 am

    We’re too cheap to pay for regular television channels so no Olympic coverage for us. Instead, we watched “I am Big Bird: the Carroll Spinney story” last night on Netflix. So dang good! Ended up having Muppet/Sesame-related dreams.

    Back to the Olympics… GO CANADA GO!

    • fkaWaldenPond August 9, 2016 / 9:16 am

      Mich, are you not living in Vancouver? If so, go to the CBC website as they are streaming the entire Olympics. I don’t have cable either but have been watching, having it play in the background both at home and at work.

      • Mich Patt August 9, 2016 / 1:04 pm

        Yeppers! Living in Vancouver and YOU ARE A GENIUS. Had no idea it was being streamed by a local and legit agency. I *may* even be able to watch while at work. Thanks, Fkawaldenpond. 😀

        • Murray C. August 9, 2016 / 1:26 pm

          HAMSTER DOG ALERT! I couldn’t figure out how to post it, but apparently there was a capybara sighting on the Rio Olympic Golf Course. I went on the CBC website (thanks, FKAWaldenPond) and lo and behold, there he was chomping happily away on what looked to be VERY rough rough. (that’s where the dog part come in)

          • fkaWaldenPond August 9, 2016 / 1:41 pm

            Glad you guys found it! Due to geo-coding you may not be able to watch the stream outside of Canada- (ya, I know! it is usually the other way around) but isn’t it the ‘bomb’ Mich?! I play it at work on another page and listen to it, switch over if something thrilling is going down.

            Us Canadians always seem to love a story on Hamster Dogs! 😀 😀

            Btw Mich, if you go to CBC music, they have tonne of music streams for free too. That is what I am usually streaming at work instead of the Olympics.

  6. Faye August 9, 2016 / 9:23 am

    I call this kind of gorgeous kitty a Bracelet Cat! Nice bracelets.

  7. Jan August 9, 2016 / 9:29 am

    It’s zero-dark-thirty here and I’m already at work in need of a nap. Ugh.

    Lily is officially double the size she was when I got her. And double the trouble. I thought we were past the worst of the biting phase, but last night she was an absolute maniac. I wish there was a kitty daycare to send her to!

    • Faye August 9, 2016 / 12:03 pm

      Small spray bottle filled with water will fix the biteies right away.

      • allein ? August 9, 2016 / 12:07 pm

        That worked on Stripes a few times*. Then he just started attacking the bottle.

        (*Not for biting, just for getting into things he shouldn’t.)

      • Jan August 9, 2016 / 12:31 pm

        Spray bottle doesn’t phase her at all. She’ll run away when I use it, but then she’s back again doing the same thing less than 30 seconds later. I finally shut her in her room (yes, she has her own room with food/water/litter box) for 20 minutes or so. It didn’t calm her down any, but it let me get ready for bed without bloodshed.

        • Murray C. August 9, 2016 / 12:53 pm

          I heard about squealing really loudly when they do that sort of thing and it’s worked with my cat when she gets a little too worked up. And the really loud Pfffft sound that a cat mother makes to scold her offspring is supposed to be effective, too. A tin can with a few coins in it works at least for a while – either shake it or drop it from a height when she’s acting up. And maybe rather than a spray bottle use a water pistol with a steadier rather than diffuse stream. Good luck and don’t let anything get infected!

    • debg August 9, 2016 / 3:08 pm

      Hurray for Lily! And the biting will end. I still have chewed-off corners of book covers from the late 1980s, when Clive was a kitten. It takes me back every time I open one of them.

  8. dubravkamcvmd August 9, 2016 / 9:53 am

    I’m distracted by your dazzling beauty more than your stripes, O Feline Overlord!

  9. 6rabbits August 9, 2016 / 10:02 am

    Gorgeous kitteh!

  10. Gigi the cat lady August 9, 2016 / 10:35 am

    Waiting for the vet to call us, after Boo yesterday it was Penny’s turn to have a teeth cleaning and she will also probably loose a few. ?

    • debg August 9, 2016 / 3:09 pm

      Sorry, Gigi. That is neither fun nor inexpensive. How is Boo doing?

      • Gigi the cat lady August 9, 2016 / 11:25 pm

        I’ve been mostly off the computer, Boo is not doing so good, he hasn’t eaten much today, almost nothing in fact. If that doesn’t change we’ll have to force feed him. Penny has not eaten either but she’s still under the drugs I’ll wait until tomorrow to start worrying about her.

        • Murray C. August 9, 2016 / 11:37 pm

          Oh, my, I do hope they’re much better by tomorrow. Syringe feeding a cat has to be difficult and having your furbabies feeling crappy is hard on Mom.

  11. Faye August 9, 2016 / 12:11 pm

    I’m off to the vet with Bucky Barnes. He has to be sedated to have his nails cut. Petrified of having his nails done. Fights hard enough to hurt himself poor boy.

    So exam, shot, drugs, nails.

    One errand: bank. It is very hot out. I plan to come home and draw in air conditioning. Simple stovetop dinner.

    It’s awesome to be retired. No Excel formulas to worry about. I’ve gotten through life without having to learn PowerPoint or Excel. Give me Word and leave me be.

    Eventually will begin using a drawing tablet and drawing software. Considering a blog and a long overdue Etsy shop.

    Out early tomorrow to beat the heat. Need to go out for essentials: haircut gas prescriptions. Maybe art store for a rubber stamp and one yellow marker. I’m poor this month.

    • Murray C. August 9, 2016 / 12:57 pm

      Isn’t it a good thing we don’t need to be sedated for ordinary grooming.

      Faye, do you have anyplace near you that collects and sells artists’ materials? We have something called the Resource Exchange where people take all sorts of art supplies they won’t use anymore – and other stuff as well; fabric, buttons, household goods – it’s a thrift store for artists. Man, I hate to hear about you having to be so careful about supplies. It might be worth a google search.

      • Murray C. August 9, 2016 / 9:03 pm

        How did Bucky Barnes do today?

        Also, I was wondering if you ever get supplies online from the likes of Dick Blick – good prices and they have everything. You probably know all of this already, so forgive me if that’s the case. I just hate to think of an artist having to be without what she needs.

    • Laura August 9, 2016 / 3:08 pm

      Neither of ours have any problem with nail trimming, fortunately. Although apparently greyhounds traditionally have a *lot* of trouble with teeth, so we’re going to have to keep a close eye out on Melody’s teeth. They were cleaned right before we adopted her, so she’s good right now.

      When I worked in an office some years back, I got pretty good with PowerPoint and could handle very, *very* simple Excel. But I’ve lost it all, and that’s just fine with me. Word gives me enough trouble. I’ve always hated that program, after working on WordPerfect for so many years. It just isn’t as user-friendly. With WP, I can map out my keyboard in ways I simply can’t in Word to make all kinds of keyboard macros and shortcuts. So I work in WP and convert to Word. Clunky, but it works for me.

      • Sumo-Mermaid August 9, 2016 / 5:59 pm

        I’ve found auto-correct is a great feature, in place of macros, when you know there’s stuff you use a lot. Great for habitual typos, too.

  12. Smartypants August 9, 2016 / 12:15 pm

    Gorgeous kitteh!

    Thanks for the extra Open Thread, Mike – I’m especially grateful to have the Cutetropolis community here today. I had terrible nightmares last night, and presently I’m having a buttload of pain (joint disorder). So it’s really good to have a place I can visit in my jammies and see what everyone else is up to.

    This morning I did the mandatory stuff – trash out, check the mail, return library magazines, stop by pharmacy – and now I’m watching TV – toggling between cop shows and the Olympics, dousing myself in Aspercreme and Tiger Balm, and trying diligently to stay out of the junk food (b/c it’s tasty but inflammatory).

    Hope you guys have a great day!

    • Murray C. August 9, 2016 / 12:49 pm

      Feel better, Smartypants!?

    • debg August 9, 2016 / 3:11 pm

      Smartypants, so sorry for your pain.

    • Laura August 9, 2016 / 3:11 pm

      Sorry you’re hurting, Smartypants. Sore joints are no fun! I hope you feel better soon. Are you having the same kind of heavy, damp weather we’re having? Honestly, I think I need to start building an Ark; it’s rained so much recently that our pool is about to overflow. It’s ridiculous. And it makes everyone extra-achy. I only have osteoarthritis, fortunately, but it’s still unpleasant in this kind of weather.

    • Not That Mike The Other Mike August 9, 2016 / 3:15 pm

      Hope you feel better soon, Smartypants. I hear you on the junk foods — the stuff we love the most hates us the most. :/

    • Birdcage August 9, 2016 / 3:27 pm

      Hey Smartypants – I have a joint disorder, too. Not trying to play a game of “match my woe” with you, just more of an occasional “misery loves company” thing. I like Voltaren Emulgel for my pain. I stay away from pain killers that have ibuprofen in them because I find they give my bad nightmares sometimes. A warm bath and PJs help me. I often lose that junk food battle, though. Hang in there!

    • Smartypants August 10, 2016 / 8:23 am

      Thank you so much, guys! Doing much better this morning. I really appreciate your kind thoughts and suggestions.

      I’m doing pretty well with the healthier diet (I hate to admit, that cliche is true – if you keep doing the same thing, you’ll keep getting the same result).

      Hope you have a great Wombat Wednesday!

  13. Flowerfanatic August 9, 2016 / 12:57 pm

    I read about so many of you not being able to stay up to watch the Olympics. I have a DVR so when there’s a program I can’t stay awake to watch (or 2 at the same time), I record it and watch it whenever it’s convenient. My tv is in the living room. Actually we have 2 DVRs. Hubby has one also in the great room (family room). We NEVER watch the same programs. Entirely different tastes in programs. I like reality series, game shows, anything musical, and other girlie programs. He likes things like CSI, Blue Bloods, and the like plus baseball, basketball, golf, and football. I sometimes wonder how we’ve lasted for 58 years of married life!!

    • Laura August 9, 2016 / 3:17 pm

      Wow, 58 years, Flowerfanatic? That’s absolutely wonderful!

      Hubs and I never, ever watch the same shows, either. He watches a lot of sports, especially hockey and soccer/football, but he’ll watch just about anything. Now that he’s retired, he’s *finally* discovered the “off” button on his remote, thank heaven. I don’t watch much TV, but when I do, it’s pretty much nothing he watches. We have a single DVR now, but can record five (!) programs at once, which eliminates the conflicts; and I have as much control of the DVR from my remote box as he does from the main box. So that works out well. We’ve only been married for 20 years, but it still makes me wonder how we ever got together in the first place! 🙂

    • allein ? August 9, 2016 / 3:21 pm

      58! My aunt and uncle just hit 62!

      They have one TV in the back room and one in the kitchen. No DVR. Though my aunt sleeps a lot so I don’t think they fight much over TV shows.

    • amyliz August 9, 2016 / 8:28 pm

      I have to admit, while I do have a TV, I am a party pooper who is not much interested in the Olympics! But for those of you who are, enjoy!

    • Murray C. August 9, 2016 / 10:29 pm

      Now THAT’S hilarious! Tara, do you have a Sorting Hat???? And I think it’s a typo but I love “Ravelclaw” – perfect for a cat.

      • Tara August 9, 2016 / 11:07 pm

        Haha! oh yes, a typo for sure. Jacques is a “Ravenclaw” – Sweet’Pea would be the *Ravelclaw* as he is the sneak who steals my balls of yarn when I’m knitting. But maybe that also supports his sorting into to Slytherin?

      • allein ? August 9, 2016 / 11:11 pm

        Shouldn’t that be Unravelclaw?

        Stripes is a Ravenclaw.
        Stars is a Slytherin.

        I’m scared.

  14. Puddleglum August 9, 2016 / 8:53 pm

    I’m late to this party but I just wanted to post what has to be my favorite Olympic moment so far! Still laughing so hard over this from last night… 😀

    • Murray C. August 9, 2016 / 8:56 pm

      How’d your date go, Puddleglum? Well, I hope. (I’m pretty sure it was you!! sometimes I confuse everyone’s activities and details, I feel like I have to make a spreadsheet but I don’t know how.)

      • Puddleglum August 9, 2016 / 10:14 pm

        It was great, thanks for asking! Friday night date was followed by a Saturday date, which was also terrific. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

        • Murray C. August 9, 2016 / 10:22 pm

          ?

    • fkaWaldenPond August 9, 2016 / 8:57 pm

      This cracks me up so much! Here are some more…:Dhttp://olympics.cbc.ca/news/article/michael-phelps-intense-phelpsface-starts-internet-frenzy.html

      Amyliz and the rest who are not the *biggest* 😉 Olympic fans– thank you for being good sports, plugging your collective noses with a smile and putting up with us! 🙂 🙂 Be patient with us, it is only two weeks!

      • Murray C. August 9, 2016 / 9:05 pm

        What was with the guy who kept shadow boxing right in his face? I guess he thought it’d be damaging psychologically – what a tactic.

        • fkaWaldenPond August 9, 2016 / 9:08 pm

          It may have worked…*shrugging* as shadow boxer won. Apparently Phelps was actually growling when this was going down. Holy smokes, I only do that in my head at work. 😉 We’ll keep you posted who comes out with what; they are racing soon!

          • fkaWaldenPond August 9, 2016 / 9:34 pm

            Phelps won, big claps, that is amazing. 🙂 Wow, that was intense! (and I don’t even know if I like the guy, but heck, massive, massive respect.)

    • allein ? August 9, 2016 / 9:06 pm

      That’s gonna be this year’s McKayla Maroney.

  15. Jan August 9, 2016 / 10:03 pm

    Here she is this afternoon, looking as innocent and sweet as only the Lilymonster can. I had to work a ten hour day today and she was really happy when I got home! (She’ll tell you that she was on the verge of death by starvation, but don’t believe her; she had a whole bowl of crunch available!)

    • Jan August 9, 2016 / 10:07 pm

      And don’t ask me what the smudge on her nose is; it wouldn’t come off with spit and a kleenex….

    • Murray C. August 9, 2016 / 10:11 pm

      Ooooh, she’s a love. Looks like she wore off some hair on that nose?

    • allein ? August 9, 2016 / 10:19 pm

      Only one bowl? Poor deprived kitty.

      • Jan August 10, 2016 / 12:20 am

        Oh yeah, she’s deprived all right… one kitty castle downstairs, jungle-gym made of storage totes upstairs, a slave to play with her practically every waking moment when I’m home, first choice on which side of the bed to take AND dibs on all the covers… spoiled is more like it.

        Herself in action!

        • Smartypants August 10, 2016 / 8:39 am

          Clearly training for 2020 Olympic whapping – er, boxing!

        • fkaWaldenPond August 10, 2016 / 9:34 am

          Go girl! *whap,whap,whap,whap,whap,whap…*

        • Jan August 10, 2016 / 9:56 am

          Yep she’d be a guaranteed gold medalist in the kitty “Whap and Bite” competition! 🙂

  16. Murray C. August 9, 2016 / 10:24 pm

    OK, inquiring minds want to know, what was Michael Phelps laughing about during the medal ceremony????

    • Smartypants August 10, 2016 / 8:40 am

      Gold-medal cuteness!

    • Phred's Mom August 10, 2016 / 9:14 am

      Thank you. I needed that.?

  17. Murray C. August 9, 2016 / 10:57 pm

    ?

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