Branded, but not for life
In just a couple of hours, a number of cattle brands–some in the same families for over a century–are set to expire:
Cattle branding’s still the way to mark ownership of livestock in the West. But July 1st is the last hurrah for several thousand Colorado brands. It’s the final deadline for Coloradans to pay the fee that gives them the rights to their brand, so we figured it would be a good time to check in with Rick Wahlert. He’s the director of Brand Inspection for the Department of Agriculture. Wahlert spoke to Zachary Barr, and he began by talking about his memories of branding cattle on his family’s ranch in northeastern Colorado.
From Hazel Green
“The caffeine in my coffee must have been dead. I was sittin’ out there in the chair asleep and didn’t even know it until a plane flew over and woke me up.” — Miss Nell, 90
And now, to honor America
Try whipping up some of these for the Fourth. Can’t say I didn’t give you enough time to prepare. And look! There’s one for every state!
50 Fattiest Foods in the States – Health.com.
Gentlemen, start your shopping lists.
Can’t Take the Shakes
Every now and then you just can’t take the shakes. It’s bad enough having to use the jackhammer all day. You just don’t want to keep feeling the vibration after work and through the night! Try the DeWalt DPG25 Goatskin Anti-Vibration Work Gloves and experience some better, less intense, vibrations.
“A Tattooing ‘Artist’.”
The craze for tattooing grew worse, and each morning saw new additions to the ranks of the disfigured. One morning the climax was reached when a dozen little boys and several little girls appeared with beetles, shrimps, lobsters and butterflies crawling over their faces.
New York Tribune. Illustrated Supplement. Sunday, October 26, 1902.
Stay Crazy, America
The Psychological Value of Gun Ownership. From Fox News, of course.
There are times, much as I love both the USA and Americans, both individually and as a whole, that I really, really, don’t understand the mindset of some of the people.
For Your Information
I ran over a pink brassiere on my way to work this morning.
Say whiskey
I just got back from two weeks in the Dominican Republic, and one humorous thing I noticed there was that people would say “Whiskey” instead of “Cheese” when smiling for a photo (makes sense since queso makes the wrong mouth shape for a smile). You can consult the Wikipedia list for more phrases used around the world, but this one’s clearly the best:
In Russia, “Ska’zhite Siski” meaning “Say: boobs.” The phonetic production of this word makes a human’s mouth take a shape of a smile and also sounds very funny for the Russians.
quote out of context
“Move the door jamb up and make the passage wider,” read an inscription on a decorative false door in the passage. It was written in hieratic, a simplified cursive version of hieroglyphics.
Update: from the article’s comments:
The men that built the tomb got a negative review on Angie’s list. I wouldn’t use them.
RE: best weed in town RMF (idiotville)
Idiotville. To which I say, touché, mon ami.
Sorry but rocky mountain farmacy does not have the best weed in denver, its the worst weed in denver, all strains look and smell the same, and dont get you high. they use a automated trimmer barrel, and tummble the fuck out of there already shitty weed, so if you like brown hay smellin schwag with all the trichomes tummbled off listed as top shelf this is the place for you, but if you like real meds dont go here. just a warning if you go you will leave empty handed.
Ahhh Craigslist. I love you. Sometimes too much.
-Ronya
A drug-free Parliament by 2020
Comedian Jon Gnarr ran for the mayor of Reykjavik as the self-created Best Party candidate and won with 34.7 percent of the vote.
In his acceptance speech he tried to calm the fears of the other 65.3 percent. “No one has to be afraid of the Best Party,” he said, “because it is the best party. If it wasn’t, it would be called the Worst Party or the Bad Party. We would never work with a party like that.”
spam name
Janelle Root.
The spy who swayed me
Possibly treasonous, but I believe I have a better understanding of what might persuade me to provide information.
and it was in this capacity that they wished to prevent any misunderstanding
Larsson’s first name originally was Stig which is the standard spelling. In his early twenties, he changed it to avoid confusion with his friend Stig Larsson, who would go on to become a well-known author well before Stieg did. At the time, they were amateur photographers and it was in this capacity that they wished to prevent any misunderstanding; neither had yet published a book. Stieg Larsson, in later years, would tell the story that the two men had tossed a coin to decide who was to change his name, but this is disputed by Stig Larsson. The pronunciation is the same regardless of spelling.
(via kottke, sort of)
from the comments
Pam:
For months after my little brother died I remember wanting to carry around just this sort of sign that I was grieving. It was perpetually amazing to me that when I went out in public, strangers would have no idea that I had suffered a loss. I was being treated as a normal person by grocery clerks, telemarketers, panhandlers. This was almost obscene to me. The pain I was in seemed to me to be warping the walls of my house. It was just amazing to me that it was possible for someone not to know.
from the comments
I lost my father when I was 20 and in some ways I’m not sure I ever experienced the mourning process in a way that would’ve been appropriately therapeutic. This is partly because, at least in my own cultural context (which was overwhelmingly evangelical with a small element of catholicism), everyone seemed to feel that they should be involved in my mourning process. This came in the form of dozens of religious self-help books and 5-step programs about how to mourn “properly” as well as the hundreds of incredibly cutting remarks about how my father was in a much better place than his family that was still living. (I even had one family member, in all seriousness, tell me that god told her that he had given my Dad a choice between being returned to life and his family or heaven, and he chose the latter, which was somehow the least selfish option).
from the moderated comments
I want to read a good & nice story. which gives me educational inspiration.
The Cupertino cockblock
Apple’s memo to store employees about iPhone 4 reception problems:
1. Keep all of the positioning statements in the BN handy – your tone when delivering this information is important.
a. The iPhone 4’s wireless performance is the best we have ever shipped. Our testing shows that iPhone 4’s overall antenna performance is better than iPhone 3GS.
b. Gripping almost any mobile phone in certain places will reduce its reception. This is true of the iPhone 4, the iPhone 3GS, and many other phones we have tested. It is a fact of life in the wireless world.
c. If you are experiencing this on your iPhone 3GS, avoid covering the bottom-right side with your hand.
d. If you are experiencing this on your iPhone 4, avoid covering the black strip in the lower-left corner of the metal band.
e. The use of a case or Bumper that is made out of rubber or plastic may improve wireless performance by keeping your hand from directly covering these areas.
2. Do not perform warranty service. Use the positioning above for any customer questions or concerns.
3. Don’t forget YOU STILL NEED to probe and troubleshoot. If a customer calls about their reception while the phone is sitting on a table (not being held) it is not the metal band.
4. ONLY escalate if the issue exists when the phone is not held AND you cannot resolve it.
5. We ARE NOT appeasing customers with free bumpers – DON’T promise a free bumper to customers.
Sounds like tomdouchery to me.
the world’s thirstiest gerbil
For the first month of Ricardo and Felicity’s affair, they greeted one another at every stolen rendezvous with a kiss–a lengthy, ravenous kiss, Ricardo lapping and sucking at Felicity’s mouth as if she were a giant cage-mounted water bottle and he were the world’s thirstiest gerbil.
– Molly Ringle, winner of the latest Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest
Horchata – Vampire Weekend
One of the Summer jams stuck in my head for all time.
I thought I was really slick when I listened to this album and thought, “Wow, this sounds just like what Paul Simon would be doing now… Graceland 2010!” And then proceeded to notice that every single review makes the same astonishing remarks.
Methods of mourning
Dear clusterflock,
Do people mourn publicly anymore? What happened to the days of wearing black armbands and ties after a loved one’s death?
When I was in college, a girl I knew shaved her head after her best friend died. Although that’s an extreme example, there’s something very moving about an individual incorporating visual symbols of mourning into their public life. It commands a pause from people who notice the symbol; almost a moment of silence for that person who has been lost. I respect people’s right to mourn privately, but I think we should bring some of these traditions back and wear our feelings on our sleeves again.
The Super Structure
To give a brief overview, these scientists poured ten tons of cement into these ant hills, let them dry for a month and then excavated the area to discover just what these incredible insects had been building.
The appropriate response, I think, is awe.
(Ebert)
dear clusterflock
When was the last time someone wrote you a letter of recommendation, and if you read it — how did it make you feel?
Currently Under Construction in KC
You know what I said. Now, it is no Bloch Wing. But you have to admit, it is a statement.
the abbreviated Christina Hendricks
- We want you to order Scotch.
- No shorts below the knee.
- No man should be on Facebook.
- Marriage changes very little.
