Open Bar: We hacked the DNC and all we got are these lousy emails

[Cain]

Applied to go back to Switzerland, for a doctoral program.

I think my Australian passport may give me an edge over other British applicants, in that if we do do something stupid re: Brexit, arrangements with Australia will remain unaffected and so shouldn't pose a problem for an academic or work visa.  Since these programs are all 4+ years long, and who knows what idiocy we will see in the meantime.

It's not as good as an EU second nationality would be...but I'll work with what I have.

[Freeky]

Good luck, Cain!



A professional cosplayer has apparently made the ballot for AZ state rep for region 26.  I hope to god I'm in region 26 so I can vote for her, because holy shit, a cosplayer would drive the conservatives UP THE WALL.  Also, her stances on a number of issues are completely reasonable and I'm on board with her platforms.  https://azpowergirl4u.com/

[Suu]

Anyway, hi there PD. I'm here because I'm miserable, cranky, and tired, and according to the newsfeed I'm in the perfect mood for PD.com.

Since getting my thyroid disease treated in August, my range of emotions has expended past "vague sense of dying" that defined the previous six months. I have added feeling sad, stupid, and lonely to the mix.

This too shall pass and all that, but fuck it. I feel like whuppin' on some motherfucker.

Hashimoto's or Grave's?

Welcome to the "My immune system is so fucking badass it's eating my thyroid alive" club.

Grave's. My mom had Hashimoto's, so it figures. My 4-hour iodine uptake rate was 89%, which I understand to be in the "really fucking high, how are you alive" range.

Jesus Christ. You're lucky you haven't wasted away to nothing. My uncle has Grave's, he has to eat 6000-9000 calories a day, and he's still super thin. IF ONLY I HAD THAT KIND OF POWER.

But no, my thyroid decided it was best to sit in a puddle of her own drool and make me dizzy, and fall asleep every day at 2pm, and then wake up hangry, and wanting to murder my husband when he looked at me funny. I still don't think I'm balanced out, but my last blood pull showed a TSH of 0.9, so I'm on the money in that regard. Watch your vitamins, and have your doc test your B12 and D3 panels next time you go in for bloodwork. Synthetic thyroid hormones nuke them, and I know if I don't take mine daily, I will go back to crashing. On the bright side, they made my weight stabilize, finally. Last year was rough, really rough.

Hang in there, it's totally fixable, it's just a bumpy ride on the way.

[Cain]

So, I don't know if I mentioned this, but apparently my preliminary security report for the building I work in (the A4 page I put together as a taster and freebie as my offer for a more thorough site analysis) has been kept in an office for the past year and repeatedly looked at and referenced, all while no-one has actually bothered to come and ask me anything about it or for a more exhaustive follow up.

These people are hopeless.  Literally hopeless. 

[LMNO]

I truly admire your ethics in not taking this place down for a massive profit, already. 

[Bruno]

I'm having a Super Fun Time at the fall-of-society dress rehearsals here at this gas station in Tennessee.

Can't wait for the Really Big Show when it finally comes.

So excited!

[minuspace]

Applied to go back to Switzerland, for a doctoral program.

I think my Australian passport may give me an edge over other British applicants, in that if we do do something stupid re: Brexit, arrangements with Australia will remain unaffected and so shouldn't pose a problem for an academic or work visa.  Since these programs are all 4+ years long, and who knows what idiocy we will see in the meantime.

It's not as good as an EU second nationality would be...but I'll work with what I have.

Viel Erfolg!  I may still have some connects in Freiburg, if whatever.

[Eater of Clowns]

I want to tell everyone about the best that I have been trolled in a long, long time. Bear with me folks, it's story time:

Last week my sister asked if I could come along with her to a show. She bought the tickets on impulse and my brother-in-law had no interest. The band I only vaguely recognized, a few hits, and I was along for the fun of it. I checked with the bosses and they said sure, I can just come in early that day and not use any time off. The show was Thursday in downtown New Bedford at our local theater, so it was a pretty simple plan. I got out of work, had a beer at home, and met her and my brother-in-law downtown for a burrito and a beer and the show.

As soon as I get there I can see she's a little worn out. She's still rocking a hangover after sucking down martinis with Oktoberfest chasers at the Adele show the night before. She starts trying to weasel her way out of the show. "Would you be mad if I bailed?" "Do you know anyone that can grab my ticket," etc. Well I remain blank, because she tries this kind of crap of getting people to give her an out all the time, so I just don't say anything at all. I figure if I can get a beer and a burrito in her, she'll dive into it and start feeling better. We go to another bar, sit on the deck in a nice evening, sip on a Coffee Porter, and she's perking up. Cool - evening saved. We walk to the venue, get a block away from the doors, and she bails. At the time the opener goes on, where she either has to go to the show and sit through it, or go to her car and go home, she bails. At the last possible second. And I'm mad - I don't give a fuck about this band, and I rearranged my schedule, and I just turn around and drive home.

Cut to two days later. We're on Martha's Vineyard with our whole family at a house they rented for the weekend for my stepmother's birthday. All she wanted was our family together at one of her favorite spots, and for the sake of keeping transportation simple, I coordinated with my sister to catch the ferry together over to the island. She'd apologized and made up for the whole thing by driving us to the ferry, making us coffee in the morning to make the ride easier, all that. We spent the day in the popular tourist towns, and we commiserated that, as LMNO can attest, everything the Vineyard does, Provincetown does better:  you can shop, cheaper, and barhop, cheaper, but with drag queens. We get out of an overpriced bland seafood dinner and walk along the docks where the bars and restaurants abut yacht tie-ups, just the whole group of us ambling along on a beautiful night.

One of the bars starts playing a song. After the first few notes, my sister says "Oh I love this song," and starts getting into it. "I don't really recognize it," I said. The lyrics start, she's singing along, and both my stepsisters and a lot of the bar patrons are singing along. My sister is nudging me and hamming up the singing:

Rock me mama like a wagon wheel,
Rock me mama any way I feel,
He-ey mama rock me.

Alright, I recognize this but it's not exactly my jam. The three of them continue the song well after we pass the bar, well after we can hear it all. One of the yacht parties looks at our group and says "What, that's it?" and they burst back into the chorus.

He-ey mama rock me.

The singing fades, and we run out of dock to walk down. The big group of us all start having our own conversations again and my sister sidles up next to me. "So no recognition of that song" she asks. And I think about it. Yeah I've heard it, everyone has, but it's-

And it hits me. It's Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show. It's the band we were going to see two days previous.

And her grin, I swear to you, was the color of the blood moon.


Edits: spelling, mild phrasing

[Junkenstein]

That's top tier work. I'm pretty impressed.

[Junkenstein]

I truly admire your ethics in not taking this place down for a massive profit, already.

I must admit I do question why this hasn't occurred yet though. It's more than justified at this point.

You could even make a strong argument that it's getting to a point where it's unethical not to do so.

[Junkenstein]

I'm having a Super Fun Time at the fall-of-society dress rehearsals here at this gas station in Tennessee.

Can't wait for the Really Big Show when it finally comes.

So excited!

What the hell is going on there?

[Cain]

I truly admire your ethics in not taking this place down for a massive profit, already.

I must admit I do question why this hasn't occurred yet though. It's more than justified at this point.

You could even make a strong argument that it's getting to a point where it's unethical not to do so.

Honestly it just sounds like too much work.

Plus it would mean looking for a new job and a new place to live, which is not something I want to rush into given the renting situation in London.

Once I'm out, I do intend to send an extremely long letter to the board though.  And maybe the Times Educational Supplement....TES loves to hate on international boarding schools (too expensive for their main demographic now).

[Junkenstein]

Fair enough, as long as there's some kind of plan that leaves them south of fucked, eventually, I'll rest easy.

[Cain]

I have two years of backed up emails in an encrypted thumb drive with an online backup.  All it needs is to be told in a narrative fashion.

[Junkenstein]

Have you considered contacting Chuck Tingle for assistance?