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Post by Merge on Sept 30, 2024 13:16:54 GMT
I think Harris will win. I'm not convinced that the Republicans will allow her to take office - whether through cheating at the polls, contesting election results in concert with state legislatures, the house refusing to certify, or outright violence. They know this is the last gasp for their orange leader to avoid prison, so they will stop at literally nothing.
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Post by Merge on Sept 30, 2024 12:49:55 GMT
I live in Texas. I never check our registration. We've never had a problem. Things are different these days. |
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Post by Merge on Sept 30, 2024 1:50:36 GMT
onelasttime Open talk of The Purge! Posted up thread, first post this page.. This will end up being one of those things his supporters deny he said, like suggesting that Covid could be cured by injecting bleach. |
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Post by Merge on Sept 30, 2024 0:38:17 GMT
Living in a blue area of Texas, I check my registration and my family's about every other week.
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Post by Merge on Sept 29, 2024 21:50:54 GMT
Another vote for Cytopoint shot. Call your vet.
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Post by Merge on Sept 29, 2024 17:59:43 GMT
Too many, but I go through periodically and turn off the ones we’re not using … only to turn them on again when they have something I want to watch.
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Post by Merge on Sept 29, 2024 15:37:36 GMT
It’s on my list. Kristen Bell fan since Veronica Mars.
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Post by Merge on Sept 29, 2024 15:36:59 GMT
I do nothing to attempt to look younger and I don’t care if I look my age (57). For years and years I looked much younger than my actual age and I didn’t like that just as much as people seem to not like looking their actual age. When you’re 18 you don’t want to look 12. When you’re 21 you don’t want people thinking you’re 15. I was still getting carded when I was in my mid to late 30’s and it was annoying as hell at the time. I have gray hair. I have wrinkles. Some of my kid’s classmates mistake me for her grandma. Guess what? Don’t give a damn about any of it because I’ve earned all of it. Other people can do whatever they want, it’s their body and their money but none of that is for me. ETA: Just the thought of having to manage even more things I would have to do for the rest of my life to maintain sounds exhausting to me. It’s all I can do to fit in time to get to the hair salon twice a year for a hair cut. I’m with you on not wanting to make time for the upkeep. I wear my hair short enough that it needs to be cut every five weeks (and I get a mani/pedi every three weeks because it makes me happy) and that’s enough maintenance for me. Can’t bring myself to add more regular appointments (brows, lashes, Botox) to the schedule. |
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Post by Merge on Sept 29, 2024 15:31:27 GMT
The only permanent change I've made to my body is pierced ears and one tattoo. Temporary changes have dropped off significantly as I've aged. I don't wear makeup unless I'm going to an event. I no longer color my hair. My eyebrows are disappearing at an alarming rate. I do use a brow pencil when I go it in public, but I'm retired, so I'm doing that less as well. Here's the thing, menopause is a bitch on your looks. You don't realize just how much estrogen works to keep you looking young and feminine. I've been in menopause for 16 years and only took HRT for five years. My body has changed, but I really see the change in my face in the last five years. It's falling and can't get up. If I had unlimited funds, I'd do something about my forehead wrinkles, 11s, disappearing jawline, and developing festoons. But I don't have unlimited funds and I'd rather spend my money on other things. When comes to priorities in my life, how I look has always come in at the bottom of the list. I've created a nice life with family and friends despite having average looks. People have their own priorities, but holding on to your youth is a losing proposition. Everyone gets old, and all the plastic surgery in the world isn't going to make you 30 again. Unless you were blessed with the beauty gene that holds up as you age, it's hell for women who lose their pretty privilege after having it their entire lives. It does seem that actresses that were not considered beauties in their youth age much better than the classically beautiful ones. Good point about pretty privilege - those who never had it don’t feel the loss as they (we) age. |
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Post by Merge on Sept 28, 2024 3:58:10 GMT
So these men can’t understand caring about other people? So we can’t care about issues that affect others but only if they affect us? Explains a lot. That's pretty much the difference between the two parties and has been for a long time. Trump was on stage tonight lauding the greatness of the Gilded Age, when most working class Americans lived in grinding poverty, but dammit those robber barons were raking in the cash. Never think that the America he wants to go "back" to is good for anyone but rich, white men. |
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Post by Merge on Sept 27, 2024 2:10:19 GMT
Thinking of all of you. If you live where there will be a direct hit and storm surge, please don't try to ride it out!
I was just texting with my brother in Atlanta and they are expecting tropical storm conditions, which is not good given all the trees they have.
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Post by Merge on Sept 26, 2024 22:33:48 GMT
I love her. I think she'll end up playing a big part in the future of Texas politics. |
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Post by Merge on Sept 26, 2024 22:32:18 GMT
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Post by Merge on Sept 26, 2024 19:13:51 GMT
Mmmm, my mom's chokecherry and elderberry jellies.
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Post by Merge on Sept 26, 2024 19:10:08 GMT
A question about how TFG made such an issue about what ever auto company building a new plant in Mexico. Yes, jobs here first! But as noted above with having American companies in Columbia, why is it so very wrong to build and employ Mexicans in Mexico?... Making it easier for them to stay at home and work? Certainly not my area of expertise!!! It's a double-edged sword, right? Put the car plants back in Ohio and Michigan and pay what US workers expect to make, and the price of the cars goes up beyond what most Americans can afford or are willing to pay. But put the car plant in Mexico and you're taking American jobs. Fortunately, unemployment here is at record lows. I think the mark of a strong economy is being flexible and nimble enough to change with the times. Where manufacturing jobs have been lost, knowledge-based jobs skills training needs to start *before* the jobs are gone. Colombia, for example, saw that in order to keep young people from leaving the country in droves, their universities needed to educate students for the kinds of knowledge-based jobs that can be done online, and that's what they're doing. |
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Post by Merge on Sept 26, 2024 19:05:13 GMT
My parents' 1978 Buick station wagon, complete with faux wood panels. You know you're jealous!
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Post by Merge on Sept 26, 2024 18:40:09 GMT
Colin Allred is on my donation list! We need that seat more then ever before. He fits it well! Personable, articulate, smart, athletic and a nice guy.. Thanks for helping out! Literally all Cruz has to attack him on is lies about supporting open borders and and boys in girls' restrooms. (Cruz has been running ads here in Houston, which doesn't usually happen.) I'm hoping most Texans see through that. Cruz is unpopular even here. |
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Post by Merge on Sept 26, 2024 18:27:45 GMT
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Post by Merge on Sept 26, 2024 17:54:38 GMT
Illegal crossings are down all along the border. This was from a website that tracks migrants. Last month, Border Patrol apprehended 58,038 people at the border. That is up slightly from July (56,399), but still the second-fewest migrant apprehensions since September 2020. Border Patrol’s fiscal year 2024 migrant apprehensions are on track to be 21 percent fewer than last year’s.
Of the nine sectors into which Border Patrol divides the border, San Diego, California (14,436) measured the most migrant apprehensions. El Paso, Texas-New Mexico (13,282) was in second place; it was last in the “top two” in April 2023. Tucson, Arizona (11,922) was third.www.wola.org/2024/09/weekly-u-s-mexico-border-update-august-migration-2024-campaign-and-the-border-border-patrol-oversight-texas/It was also interesting that up until about 2010 or so, most of the migrants came from Mexico. Now, they are coming from all over Central and South America. Yup. Relative to Central and South America, Mexico is downright stable and prosperous. Those folks don't need to come here. Kind of puts paid to the idea that people come up here just for "free stuff" and no other reason. People leave unstable places where their families are in great danger and/or there is no economic opportunity and just grinding poverty. That's why it was so important for VP Harris to visit those countries and find ways to keep people in their own countries, mostly through private investment. On a side note about private investment - I've read that many migrants are coming from Colombia. We visit Colombia frequently because my husband's company has several employees there - they are an example of a private company investing in that area by providing good jobs. Others are doing that as well - last time we were there, there were buildings for Microsoft and other US companies visible near our hotel. The urban population there is well educated and many speak excellent English. They get professional jobs that, in turn, allow them to buy goods and services that provide jobs to those without that education. The country has come a long way from the drug-fueled violence of the last century. I would speculate that those coming from Colombia are from the rural regions, which have less opportunity, don't have the education to take advantage of most opportunities, or actually originated from another country like Venezuela and couldn't get by in Colombia. |
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Post by Merge on Sept 26, 2024 17:42:30 GMT
I'm fortunate that, at 51, I don't have lines or wrinkles of any kind and the skin above my eyes is not drooping or crepey - so it's easy for me to say, oh, women should age naturally. If that's not the case for others, who am I to tell them to put down the Botox? Please do as you like. Life is hard enough for women already. On the flip side, if you do have lines and wrinkles and don't want to do anything to mitigate that, I support that as well.
I have colored my hair for decades and don't see that stopping any time soon. My skin tone is warm (oddly it gets warmer as I get older) and gray hair or any cool tone is not a good look. More likely to go more and more blonde through highlights as I get older.
I just started with a new dermatologist and, like most these days, they offer cosmetic dermatology in addition to medical stuff. Generally I have avoided dermatologist that advertise a lot of cosmetic stuff (as I avoid gynecologists who operate a "med spa" in their offices and PCPs who push supplements) but these folks came highly recommended. I was a little afraid of getting the hard sell on anti-aging potions, but all she did was note the mild rosacea around my nose and ask if it bothered me. I said no and that was that. It's easily covered with a little concealer. She froze off a couple of keratoses that did bother me and took a shave biopsy of a mole that had changed (no cancer!) and I'm very happy with that.
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Post by Merge on Sept 26, 2024 16:48:17 GMT
Congratulations. It is a very pretty car. I am still driving my Subaru and probably will be for the rest of my life. They are 300,000 mile engines and although I have had mine for many years, I haven’t hit my first 100,000 mile in this car yet! I just don’t drive much anymore. I am quite happy hanging around the house, crafting and puttering in my yards. And I can walk to the clubhouse easily for socializing if I want to. They also have a library and restaurant, pool, and several clubs I will eventually join. This is my second Forester and although it is quite old, I still love it. Living where you can walk to places sounds lovely. |
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Post by Merge on Sept 26, 2024 16:35:15 GMT
Congrats! We are looking now to downsize our SUV. We currently have a 2008 Chevy Trailblazer and are looking at Subaru Forester. We do road trips so trunk space is important. I take my elderly Mom places and it's getting harder for her to get into the Trailblazer. Many of the smaller SUVs seem to have such small trunk space. We recently took a road trip with my brother in his Ford Bronco. We were impressed with both the ride and the trunk space - both of their 60-lbs dogs plus luggage for four people fit in the back. Four adults rode comfortably in the seats. I wasn't able to find a Bronco in our price range but that might be another option for you to look at. We also have friends who love their Subarus, though - you can't go wrong with that! |
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Post by Merge on Sept 26, 2024 16:20:54 GMT
We've been in the market for a larger SUV than the compact one we had for a while, and were waiting for the right car to come along as we only buy used. Finally I found a 2023 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited with only 16K miles on it. It has ALL the bells and whistles that I wanted - leather seats, sunroof, driver 1 and 2 seat settings (DH and I share a car so this is important), lots of exterior sensors and safety features, smooth suspension, remote start and park assist, A/C vents in the back (and seats large and comfy enough for friends or our adult children), wireless phone charging, quiet interior, good sound system, power everything. Zippy engine and good mileage. It's a pretty metallic dark blue color with retro-style chrome trim, which I love. They've changed the body style with the 2024 model so we got a really good deal on it relative to the MSRP if we had bought it new. I prefer the 2023 body style to the new one anyway. Super happy with this purchase. If anyone else is looking for a mid-size SUV, I highly recommend the Santa Fe, and particularly the Limited package. In this video comparing the SE and Limited packages, the Limited one looks exactly like ours. www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLeeYzVP0BU |
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Post by Merge on Sept 26, 2024 15:35:46 GMT
RE: Biden waiting too long. Yes to the explanation of the politics and processes above. Despite what Trump claims, he can't just "close the border" with an executive order. Readers may recall the giant line of trucks when Abbott tried that in 2022. Billions of dollars were lost. www.npr.org/2022/04/20/1093729789/texas-border-bridge-order-cost-billionsAnd as the measures Biden has put in place have stemmed the tide and made things more manageable, notice that the Trump/Vance rhetoric has changed from the border to now deporting all the immigrants currently here - even those here legally. It's never been about the border. It's always been about removing poor brown and black people from other countries from our communities, even if they're here legally and are model citizens. Far from walking back their ignorant and incorrect statements, the right is doubling down on their racist rhetoric. Clay Higgins, for example: www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/clay-higgins-rips-haitian-immigrants-rcna172738 |
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Post by Merge on Sept 26, 2024 15:26:26 GMT
Never. We only buy used, about two model years old with low mileage. Let the first owner take the depreciation.
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Post by Merge on Sept 26, 2024 2:57:54 GMT
A 1981 Mercury Lynx.
ETA: That was the first car my dad fixed up for me when I turned 16 in 1989. At other points I had a Chevy Citation and a Chevy Corsica. Buying cars with issues and fixing them up was my dad's hobby, so I was lucky with that.
The first car DH and I bought after we were married and moved to Texas was a red Chevy Beretta. I was so proud of it. I drove that to work and DH drove the Corsica I still had because it had no A/C and his commute was about 10 minutes vs. my 40 minutes commute.
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Post by Merge on Sept 26, 2024 0:05:39 GMT
I don't know that "we" all do this. Many of us do challenge people and ask for proof, but it doesn't really seem to make a difference. Yeah, asking for credible sources around here makes some people mad. |
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Post by Merge on Sept 25, 2024 21:11:33 GMT
My son was on the border for 65 days this time last year with his National Guard unit. Unless things have changed that drastically in just 1 year, based on what I heard from him, this article glosses it over a bit in my opinion. I think that was the point of the article - things have changed drastically. Measures put in place to stem immigration from the source and to limit the number of asylum seekers are doing their job. |
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Post by Merge on Sept 25, 2024 17:05:40 GMT
Another vote for Penzey's mix.
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Post by Merge on Sept 25, 2024 15:43:26 GMT
Both of my kids can swim and ride a bike (though the youngest learned the bike a bit late).
They have a strong work ethic and are reflective and coachable, which will benefit both of them in their different careers.
They know how to empathize with others and consider the needs and viewpoints of people who aren't as privileged as they are. They're willing to stand up for others.
They won't starve on their own, though the oldest has put a lot more effort into learning to cook than the younger one has.
They both started doing their own laundry as soon as they were old enough to reach the machines.
They know how to make their own medical appointments and advocate for themselves with medical providers. The oldest also knows how to dispute a bill.
The oldest is good with budgeting and can manage her money. The youngest has a ways to go on that one.
They know how to be happy with just their own company but also how to make others feel comfortable and welcome, and are far more aware of and knowledgeable about relationship skills than I was at their age.
They know how and where to vote.
They're both decent drivers though the oldest was not so much as a teen.
They love each other and have really become close friends in the past couple of years, which makes my mom heart super happy.
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