The General Chat Thread (2023)

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rascal said:
Your politics are quite confusing, not you personally but your country.
I kinda get most of it, the Senate does confuse me though??

Russ
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The House of Representatives for each state are determined by population. So, some states have a lot of Representatives, and others have much fewer. On the other hand, each state has two Senators. That helps balance power between big and small states (population wise).

All House Representatives are elected every two years. Senators serve 6 year terms, with one third of them elected every two years, so there is overlap of terms.

Because of those things, the House tends to be more volatile and reactionary, while the Senate is more stable, and deliberative. To put it a different way, historically the House has tended to start fires, and the Senate has tended to put the fires out.

CD
 
caseydog said:
I got a call from my sister from her car. She, and 180,000 other homes and businesses in Houston have lost electricity due to storms with 60+ MPH winds. That part of Texas is heavily wooded, with lots of tall pine trees. I'm sure a lot of power lines were taken down by falling trees.

CD
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The weather in NYC made the news here. Smoke from Canadian fires. You couldn't see the sun?

Russ
 
Ook
caseydog said:
The House of Representatives for each state are determined by population. So, some states have a lot of Representatives, and others have much fewer. On the other hand, each state has two Senators. That helps balance power between big and small states (population wise).

All House Representatives are elected every two years. Senators serve 6 year terms, with one third of them elected every two years, so there is overlap of terms.

Because of those things, the House tends to be more volatile and reactionary, while the Senate is more stable, and deliberative. To put it a different way, historically the House has tended to start fires, and the Senate has tended to put the fires out.

CD
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Ok I'm a bit clearer now. My wife hates the news especially CNN and fox. I watch both during the day when shes at work.
Greg gutfeld and tyrus are my faves

Russ
 
It’s finally raining here! Yaaaaay!

For those not in the know, large parts of Canada are currently on fire. It’s been a really bad wildfire season. I’m in the city so not really in any danger from the fires themselves, but the smoke has been an issue these past few days. Air quality has been really poor. It feels very weird putting on a mask to go outside - we’re used to all doing the opposite!

Hoping that the rain washes some of this crap out of the air so we can all breathe better.
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
It’s bad enough to be on the front page of the broadsheets here for two days in a row so it must be bad.
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It’s bad enough that I’ve noticed some nose and throat irritation the past few days - and I’ve mostly stayed inside, worn a mask when I do go out (unless I’m just taking out the compost), and have no pre-existing health conditions.

You can smell it in the air when you go outside too - step out the front door and it smells like a campfire.
 
Herbaceous said:
It’s bad enough that I’ve noticed some nose and throat irritation the past few days - and I’ve mostly stayed inside, worn a mask when I do go out (unless I’m just taking out the compost), and have no pre-existing health conditions.

You can smell it in the air when you go outside too - step out the front door and it smells like a campfire.
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That smell is carcinogenic. If it was me I’d order an air purifier.
 
Herbaceous said:
You can smell it in the air when you go outside too - step out the front door and it smells like a campfire.
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That’s how it’s been here the last few days - sort of greenish-yellowish haze, smells slightly like a campfire outside, and waking up with a sore throat every morning.

It’s improving here, though - today’s the first day the weather app on my phone doesn’t show the AQI.
 
Herbaceous said:
It’s bad enough that I’ve noticed some nose and throat irritation the past few days - and I’ve mostly stayed inside, worn a mask when I do go out (unless I’m just taking out the compost), and have no pre-existing health conditions.

You can smell it in the air when you go outside too - step out the front door and it smells like a campfire.
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We're getting haze here, too, and there's been an air quality alert past few days. Not as bad as the northeastern coastal states, but I've been staying inside mostly. I ran errands yesterday and have a scratchy throat this morning.

Glad you're getting rain. I hope for more of it in the areas where the fires are.
 
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The tree guys showed up bright and early. I went out to talk to them, and there was a guest outside my front door.

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A tarantula. Looks like a female, due to its overall grey/black color. The males have a lot more brown. It is rare to see a female out in the open.

CD
 
caseydog said:
The tree guys showed up bright and early. I went out to talk to them, and there was a guest outside my front door.

View attachment 101038


A tarantula. Looks like a female, due to its overall grey/black color. The males have a lot more brown. It is rare to see a female out in the open.

CD
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I heard they taste good fried.
 
caseydog said:
The tree guys showed up bright and early. I went out to talk to them, and there was a guest outside my front door.

View attachment 101038


A tarantula. Looks like a female, due to its overall grey/black color. The males have a lot more brown. It is rare to see a female out in the open.

CD
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Adding Texas to my list of places never to visit, right next to Australia. Shudder. I could not deal if I came across something like that!
 
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