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      Welcome!   03/05/2016

      Welcome, everyone, to the new 910CMX Community Forums. I'm still working on getting them running, so things may change.  If you're a 910 Comic creator and need your forum recreated, let me know and I'll get on it right away.  I'll do my best to make this new place as fun as the last one!

CritterKeeper

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  1. Like
    CritterKeeper got a reaction from ijuin in This Day In History   
    Check around for any prominent graffiti that translates to "Hello, Sweetie!"
    What many people don't understand, or don't want to believe, is that the Founding Fathers were afraid of too much democracy.  It's the old saw about three wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for lunch.  The Tyrrany of the Majority.  The Electoral College was meant to make the choice one step removed from the popular vote.  Instead of voting directly for a candidate, we are supposed to vote for someone we admire and trust and think will make a good choice, and then let them decide who to actually vote for.  The whole idea of a delegate promising to vote for one specific candidate and no one else is bringing the system back to the popular vote pretty much electing the winner directly, with a little bit of a slant in a couple of ways.  Far too much power in the hands of the uneducated masses.
    I'm not sure how they would want things done if they were magically transported to the modern age, with its near-instant communication and fairly accurate polls, its sound-bite advertising and short attention spans.  The current literacy rate is so close to 100% that they probably would consider it universal, and television, radio, and internet enable everyone to have access to vast amounts of information, but also exposes everyone to vast amounts of misinformation, with very little education in how to judge which of it is accurate, whose arguments are full of fallacies and whose are to the point and logical, how to tell if claims are backed up by truth or were pulled from someone's nether regions.  There are plenty of books and videos out there about such things, but they get lost in the sea of crap.
    Maybe they would think there should be no pledged delegates, and candidates should be forbidden from promising to vote for someone in particular.  Or maybe they would say, get rid of the Electoral College, the masses are smart enough and educated enough to make a much better decision than our masses would have been.  Maybe they'd think that low voter turn-out was a good thing, people who didn't care enough or feel they knew enough to vote selecting themselves out of the process (quite likely with the mindset and attitudes of their day and age), or maybe they'd say the countries with mandatory voting have the right idea and everyone should vote in every election (which would also require everyone having the chance to vote, with either guaranteed time off of work, or a wide variety of ways to vote available over a long enough period of time that everyone really would be guaranteed a chance.
    It's an interesting intellectual exercise, but there's no real way to know, as scholars who have spent their whole careers studying the writings of the Founding Fathers disagree about what they would have thought or intended.
    I'm now picturing a Scandinavia and the World comic with UK having a bunch of foster/adopted kids running around, some of them teenagers wanting their own car and telling England "You're not my real father!!!"
  2. Haha
    CritterKeeper reacted to Scotty in Story, Wednesday January 30, 2019   
    You know, I actually wanted to use the laughing emote for my reaction, but I think it's more humorous like this.
     
  3. Like
    CritterKeeper got a reaction from Scotty in Story, Wednesday January 30, 2019   
    So every post on this message board has a little bent-over butt in its lower right corner, and if you like what you see you express your approval by tapping that?
  4. Like
    CritterKeeper got a reaction from Scotty in Story, Wednesday January 30, 2019   
    So every post on this message board has a little bent-over butt in its lower right corner, and if you like what you see you express your approval by tapping that?
  5. Like
    CritterKeeper got a reaction from Scotty in Story, Wednesday January 30, 2019   
    So every post on this message board has a little bent-over butt in its lower right corner, and if you like what you see you express your approval by tapping that?
  6. Like
    CritterKeeper got a reaction from Scotty in Story, Wednesday January 30, 2019   
    So every post on this message board has a little bent-over butt in its lower right corner, and if you like what you see you express your approval by tapping that?
  7. Haha
    CritterKeeper reacted to The Old Hack in Things You Find Amusing   
    I am so juvenile. I can't stop snickering at this.

  8. Like
    CritterKeeper reacted to ProfessorTomoe in Things that make you worried.   
    Baker asleep with his feeding tube visible:

  9. Thanks
    CritterKeeper reacted to The Old Hack in This Day In History   
    I popped into my PANTARDIS to find out who ruled Denmark at the time. Turns out it was me. I arrived just before the coronation and accidentally squashed the about-to-be-King flat. Seems like nobody liked the guy that much anyway so they drafted me as a replacement. That turned into a big mess and it took me months before I could find a better replacement so I could make my escape.
  10. Haha
    CritterKeeper reacted to Pharaoh RutinTutin in NP Wednesday January 30, 2019   
     
    Actually, we had a GREAT waterpark.  What you now call the Second and Third Cataracts of The Nile were specifically designed to be white water rafting facilities.  We probably would have enjoyed far more repeat customers if we also included helmets, life vests, and other safety gear with the ticket.
    As for the hippo rides?  We tried.  We REALLY tried!  But the hippos simply refused to wait in long lines.
  11. Haha
    CritterKeeper reacted to The Old Hack in Story Friday February 1, 2019   
    It is almost as if the label attached to a person can't be relied on to accurately define them.
  12. Like
    CritterKeeper got a reaction from The Old Hack in This Day In History   
    Yeah, I'd much rather see politicians attacked for their policies and prejudices, rather than for silly mistakes like believing a card handed to him by a teacher must have the correct spelling on it.  Their actual policies, mind you, not sound-bite strawmen.
  13. Haha
    CritterKeeper reacted to The Old Hack in OT14 as an actual tetrakaidecagon   
    I would greatly appreciate it if those with suggestions of how to improve it attempted to implement them!
  14. Thanks
    CritterKeeper got a reaction from The Old Hack in The Weather.   
    It was probably in someone's cupholder in their car.  I know I've forgotten drinks there.  But pointing that out kinda steps on the joke in an unfriendly way.
  15. Sad
    CritterKeeper got a reaction from The Old Hack in This Day In History   
     
    Indeed.  From the time women started having to wear skirts and cook over fires, to the time women no longer had to wear skirts around fireplaces, candles, wood-burning ovens, gas lamps, etc., burning to death was in a close race with childbirth for number one cause of death for women -- and given that it continued to be a hazard both before and after childbearing years, I think I believe the source that gave it the number one spot.
     
    Thank you for your discretion.  I remember getting the news, during Language Arts (English) class in the South Attic classroom.  Our desks were in a circle, only maybe a dozen subfreshmen in the class.  Everyone not teaching or being taught had been in the library watching the launch of the much-hyped first teacher in space.  One of those teachers came up to our class to tell us what had happened.  I whispered "Oh my God" about a second before our teacher said the exact same thing, so that we overlapped.  Everything else was silence.  In hindsight, I feel for that poor teacher, having to spread such tragic news.
    Our parents knew exactly where they were when they heard Kennedy had been assassinated.  This is what we remembered, indelibly burned into our brains.  Think 9/11 if you're too young to remember the Challenger.  And if you're too young to remember 9/11, I hope sincerely that you get to go a good long while before fate gives you a similar memory.
     
    Well, what a cheery Day In History....hope only happy things happened on 1/29!
  16. Haha
    CritterKeeper reacted to hkmaly in NP Monday January 28, 2019   
    But hips don't lie!
  17. Thanks
    CritterKeeper reacted to ProfessorTomoe in Changing Medications (Level of Trust Required)   
    The tightness in my back is almost gone, which is nice. Another nice thing is the fact that I can once again lift my left leg more than about 4 inches off the ground. Before, I couldn't lift it onto a chair or other raised surface to help with putting on shoes, getting into a car, or drying off after a shower. This was due to pain linked to one of my spinal nerves. Now that those nerves have been ablated, I no longer feel the pain and can once again lift my leg. It's like someone hit a light switch and turned off the pain - a wonderful sensation.
  18. Like
    CritterKeeper reacted to ProfessorTomoe in Changing Medications (Level of Trust Required)   
    Update: the burning sensation has gone, leaving only the tightness, which is fading. Problem areas remain just above my hip, with continued sensations of tightness there. The hospital called to check up on me - they said this was more or less a common reaction that I should be done with in no more than a week or two, if that long.
    I've been sleeping with my head on a pair of stacked pillows to keep my spine straight. Seems to be helping, since I wake up from each oxycodone-induced nap with a little bit less tightness.
  19. Like
    CritterKeeper reacted to ProfessorTomoe in Things that make you worried.   
    Note: overall, we're both glad we have very good pet insurance. Mrs. Prof took the prudent step to call and confirm Baker's coverage this morning. The agent on the phone said we are covered, thankfully. There's a $250 deductible, then everything is covered at 90%. We're already approaching (if not exceeding) $5,000 in real world charges for Baker, so this takes the sting out of that and makes decisions about his care much easier. We haven't had to say no to a procedure yet.
  20. Like
    CritterKeeper got a reaction from The Old Hack in Things that make you worried.   
    Glad he's stable enough to send him home, even if it is for home nursing care!  Those esophagostomy tubes are very popular these days, they seem to help a lot of cats especially.  When I was in vet school, I saw a cat on my Oncology rotation with a tube through the abdominal wall that went right into the stomach, but apparently they don't do that nearly as much any more.  That cat was an odd case; usually the tube is taken out as soon as they're eating reliably on their own again, but that particular cat decided it meant he didn't have to bother eating any more, and he never wanted to eat more than a nibble or two since -- he'd had it in a full year!  Meds were very easy to give, just suspend them in water and squirt them in, then a bit of plain water to make sure it's all in the stomach.
    (It's funny, you'd think cancer would be horrible to have to deal with every day, but I think the Oncology rotation was one of the happiest!  The staff werre great people, the clients were all devoted loving owners, and the pets were usually getting some extra time of a good quality of life being with their humans.)
  21. Like
    CritterKeeper got a reaction from ProfessorTomoe in Things that make you worried.   
    Eek!  My heartfelt sympathies.  My Pippin got into dark chocolate twice, xylitol gum once, and oatmeal raisin cookies once.  Oh, and an entire pound of turkey once, and this was the dog with the shunt on a low-protein diet.  A vet I know, her newly adopted dog ran out the front door and got hit by a car right in front of her.  It can happen to anyone!  The important thing is that she took good care of him and is taking steps to make sure it doesn't happen again.
    Pancreases are funny things, sometimes they go through bad stuff directly and are fine, sometimes you just look at them funny during surgery and they get inflamed.  The section of gut where the pancreas is may have gotten folded up and pinched the wrong way, or they may have needed to make an incision in a place they couldn't help but handle it.  I'm glad he's at a place he can get such good care, with ultrasound and 24-hour staff and all that.  I'll be sending good wishes his way in hopes it's not too bad and he recovers soon!
  22. Like
    CritterKeeper got a reaction from ProfessorTomoe in Things that make you worried.   
    Eek!  My heartfelt sympathies.  My Pippin got into dark chocolate twice, xylitol gum once, and oatmeal raisin cookies once.  Oh, and an entire pound of turkey once, and this was the dog with the shunt on a low-protein diet.  A vet I know, her newly adopted dog ran out the front door and got hit by a car right in front of her.  It can happen to anyone!  The important thing is that she took good care of him and is taking steps to make sure it doesn't happen again.
    Pancreases are funny things, sometimes they go through bad stuff directly and are fine, sometimes you just look at them funny during surgery and they get inflamed.  The section of gut where the pancreas is may have gotten folded up and pinched the wrong way, or they may have needed to make an incision in a place they couldn't help but handle it.  I'm glad he's at a place he can get such good care, with ultrasound and 24-hour staff and all that.  I'll be sending good wishes his way in hopes it's not too bad and he recovers soon!
  23. Like
    CritterKeeper reacted to ProfessorTomoe in Changing Medications (Level of Trust Required)   
    I'm having a back procedure done today (radio ablation of the spinal nerves, L2-S5, left side) to help alleviate my chronic, severe back pain. I'll be in the hospital at about 8:00 a.m. CST and for a few hours afterward, if things go well. I'm hoping for no adverse side effects from this procedure, because there is at least one (a nasty, prolonged burning sensation of the affected area) that I definitely do not want.
    Please wish me health and luck through the procedure - I need all of both that I can get.
  24. Like
    CritterKeeper got a reaction from The Old Hack in Changing Medications (Level of Trust Required)   
    Medical Update of the Day:
    Cramps suck.
    Thank you, modern medicine, for the variety of analgesics available today!
    If only they took effect instantly instead of taking up to an hour.  Still, bless them and their inventors.
    That is all.
  25. Haha
    CritterKeeper reacted to TamarTree in EGS Strip Slaying