Right, what's a little sweater sniffing between sworn enemies?

Riley ,'Sleeper'


Natter 78: I might need to watch some Buffy for inspiration

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, butt kicking, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


aurelia - Nov 19, 2025 5:54:56 pm PST #10270 of 11178
All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story. Tell me a story.

I'm in my office, listening to the Fezziwig party, drinking hot water.


Hil R. - Nov 19, 2025 9:06:02 pm PST #10271 of 11178
Sometimes I think I might just move up to Vermont, open a bookstore or a vegan restaurant. Adam Schlesinger, z''l

Frustrating day today.

Tried to do the annual enrollment thing for health insurance and so on, but the network refused to recognize that I was logged on.

Student came to class wearing a mask. I asked if she was feeling OK, and she said, "Yeah, I tested positive for Covid on Monday, but I met all the requirements to come back to class." So, I put on my N95.

I had to send out exams for high school students taking my online calculus class. I email the exams to teachers at their schools, and those teachers print them out, supervise the students taking them, and then scan them and send them back to me. I can't just send the same exam file to each one, because we use a system where each exam had QR codes on it, so I needed to be careful to send the right exam to each person, and to make sure not to send the same file to two different people. It took me a while to get the individual emails put together and the files attached and to double-check that I'd matched up the names and the files correctly. And then one of the teachers emailed me to say that she couldn't open the attachment. I checked, and none of the files had downloaded to my computer correctly, which meant that none of the attachments were right, and I had to redo the entire thing, after downloading each individual file (I'd done it as a batch before, which apparently you can't do.)


Dana - Nov 20, 2025 5:14:05 am PST #10272 of 11178
I haven't trusted science since I saw the film "Flubber."

Even one of those things is too shitty for a single day. Three is just rude.


-t - Nov 20, 2025 8:20:14 am PST #10273 of 11178
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration

Yeah, that is some unneccessary piling on


Calli - Nov 20, 2025 10:49:11 am PST #10274 of 11178
I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul—Calvin and Hobbs

-t, if you want to give it a go, maybe nab one of those airline minis that liquor store often have? You’d just be out a dollar or so if you don’t like it.


-t - Nov 20, 2025 10:52:41 am PST #10275 of 11178
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration

Oh, that's a great idea! Thanks!


JenP - Nov 20, 2025 11:22:44 am PST #10276 of 11178

I got purple first, but I haven't started anything else yet (well, except Wordle, which is my first one every day) + I have to go back to yesterday in Spelling Bee -- I think I only guessed, like, two words. The world is very invasive on my puzzle time these last couple of days. Rude.


DavidS - Nov 20, 2025 11:33:57 am PST #10277 of 11178
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."

Dang, Hil, that's frustrating.

Seconding the mini-bottle solution to Tequila. They have a spinner rack near the checkout at BevMo and you can get almost anything you want in a tiny size.

Welp, the only thing standing between me and a painful and premature death, is the literal game of Whack-a-Mole my dermatologist plays with me.

Had my skin cancer screening last week and of the three biopsied sites, two were bad. A basal carcinoma on my hairline which will require a Moh's procedure (my second), and a tiny "melanoma in situ" on my arm, first layer of skin only.

But melanoma is still alarming and also resets my screening schedule back to every three months. It's only the size of a freckle, so nowhere near as bad as the melanoma on my shoulder that required surgery that left a six inch scar. Still, it requires immediate attention.

The Moh's procedure isn't painful but it's an unpleasant way to spend an afternoon. It's just a very meticulous excision and microstitches designed to avoid scarring on the face.

Anyway, thanks Dr. Watkins and her eagle-eyes.

ION, I have ordered my turkey for pickup next Tuesday because that's how quickly Thanksgiving is coming.


Laura - Nov 20, 2025 11:48:01 am PST #10278 of 11178
Our wings are not tired.

The world is very invasive on my puzzle time these last couple of days. Rude.

So rude!

Ugh, David. It is a constant battle. Reminds me that I need to do my skin check. All have been okay so far, but living in FL for 45 years it remains on my regular check list.

ION, I have ordered my turkey for pickup next Tuesday because that's how quickly Thanksgiving is coming.

I looked at a bunch of pickup meal options, but NONE of them seem quite right, so I am probably going to have to do it all myself. I was going to try the Costco thing, but all sold out.


-t - Nov 20, 2025 11:49:07 am PST #10279 of 11178
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration

Dang, Hec! Very glad you have these screenings!

We are not doing a turkey this year, mom has ordered the Veggies en Croute and sides to pick up, um, I don't know when because I don't have to do it, but I think she told me Monday? I'm getting a turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce delivered right now (well, imminently) to make up for the gap, from a new-to-me place called Sprankles Deli. It's not Kprinkle but it's pretty close...

Ooh, time to check on the availability of that pie she likes...