Friday, April 08, 2016

Idears?

I need idears!  See this bench?  I bought it from Craigslist so I can refinish it for our front entryway in time for Mah*Sweetie's birthday.  I'm trying to decide between black and gray.  Thoughts?  The wall is not light pink as it looks here, but more a dusky rose.  The rug is charcoal heather and the Snowflake Bentley print is black and white.   So it feels like a toss up.  I'd appreciate your thoughts on which might look better and why.  I might be leaning toward the gray…at least today.

17 comments:

  1. We have the power!

    Gray rather than black, definitely. Although the existing finish is nice. I suppose you would have to strip it to get paint to stick well, then cover it with a clear coat.

    And thinking of finish, just google this search string:

    "hillary clinton" "panama papers"

    This is not just US news, it is world news.

    Alan

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  2. From zerohedge.com:

    Beyond just exposing her unwillingness to understand how modern free trade agreements benefit the rich and punish impoverished countries, Clinton may have a more nefarious connection to the Panama Papers.

    In lobbying for the Panama-United States Trade Promotion Agreement, Clinton paved the way for major banks and corporations, most notably the Deutsche Bank, to skirt national laws and regulations. After she resigned as Secretary of State, the Deutsche Bank paid her $485,000 for a speech. While criminality can’t yet be definitively established, this may change when the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” publishes its comprehensive list at the end of the month. In addition to the aforementioned connection, Clinton’s name has already surfaced in connection to a billionaire and a Russian-controlled bank named in the files.

    The fallout from the Panama Papers is being felt around the world. On Tuesday, Iceland’s Prime Minister resigned after it was revealed his family had used a shell company to hold millions of dollars worth of bonds in a collapsed bank. After an interview in which Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson had a meltdown when asked about the company’s assets, over 20,000 citizens of Iceland protested.

    How does this lead to Bernie Sanders defeating Hillary Clinton? The Sanders campaign has been run on the premise that Clinton is inextricably linked to political corruption, disastrous military interventions, and collusion with Wall Street. If it can be shown that Clinton was involved in criminal improprieties exposed by the Panama Papers, this will constitute yet another major line of attack for Sanders headed into the April 14th debate in New York. If Sanders wins the New York primary a few days later and scoops up a proportion of its 247 delegates, the narrative of the election will dramatically shift.

    When added to the myriad other Clinton scandals and political vulnerabilities, the Democratic party’s gatekeeper superdelegates could decide that Clinton is too big of a liability going into the general election. It all comes down to New York, though — Sanders must win New York. If he does, you will see historic chaos unleashed upon the American electorate. And if the Panama Papers leak sets off an unstoppable domino effect, the DNC may soon find its fractured party looking just as ghoulish as the clown’s autopsy being conducted on the Republican Party.

    --Alan

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  3. This [Click] is a good exposition of the [Clinton]-Podesta-Sberbank connections.
    --Alan

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  4. Editor of Süddeutsche Zeitung responded to the lack of U.S. individuals in the [Panama Papers] documents, saying "Just wait for what is coming next."

    Alan

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    Replies
    1. I really wish they'd hurry up. This delay makes me wonder just who is being protected!

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  5. Hillary's claim that guns from VT cause deaths in NY is fact-checked:
    http://vetsforbernie.org/2016/04/hillarys-vermont-gun-lie/

    VT's Governor (who is pledged as a Hillary superdelegate…grrr) says that Hillary lied about Bernie and Guns
    http://usuncut.com/politics/clinton-superdelegate-lie/

    Joan Baez endorses Bernie!
    http://usuncut.com/politics/bernie-sanders-joan-baez-endorsement/

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  6. Thanks, Alan!! Both for the helpful links and for the paint colour vote. :-) I need to refinish the bench as the current finish is a little messed up and and it doesn't match our stuff. I have everything I need (including primer) except the paint colour.

    Today I refinished the top of my butcher block art cart by sanding it and coating it (twice so far) in food-grade oil gel. Then I painted part of two baskets deep red as an accent. The baskets will go on shelves in the art cart. I can hardly wait to get the room painted and put the art cart to work! :-D

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  7. You're a busy bee, listener!

    This just in from California, where there has been almost no campaigning yet: the Field Poll (the most highly regarded poll in California for decades) released a new poll, and Hillary Clinton now leads Bernie by only 47% to 41%. Did anyone say "Bernmentum?"

    --Alan

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  8. This is copied from the latest Bernie email. " Last night Hillary Clinton hosted an outdoor fundraiser in Colorado (a state that already caucused) where "Event Chairs" could bundle $27,000 and "Champions" contributed $2,700.

    But a crazy thing happened when she got ready to speak. Her campaign actually "turned on a static noise machine" pointed at the press so they couldn’t hear what she was saying to the financial elite in attendance."

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    1. Hmmmm....might the reporters equip themselves with hats that include parabolic reflectors, so that the noise generator's output is directed back at HRC so no one can understand her? Or...do they need to record the total sound and extricate her speech? The technology used for SETI should do the trick.

      Alan

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    2. Or...get a directional parabolic listening device and aim it at the speaker, maybe with another to pick up the noise for further signal processing? I remember one could purchase such things at Radio Shack back in the day. OR....figure out a way to redirect the noise so it is picked up by HRC's microphone to produce a feedback loop? There are various ways to render such silly exploits ineffective. Including publicizing them. That stunt should be featured prominently on every newscast and on every political talk show. And....how about deploying the same technique to make HRC incomprehensible when she wants to be heard? I can understand some young fool on staff coming up with the idea, but senior staff and HRC herself must have approved it, which makes me doubt their sanity, not to mention their intelligence.

      Alan

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  9. Here [Click] is the complete Field [California] poll for Bernie vs. HRC. Bottom line: the relative turnouts of various voter subgroups is going to determine the outcome. There are some interesting nuggets to be found.

    —Alan

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  10. Mmmmmmm….Yummy! [Click] Lionfish for dinner and the environment! Creates jobs, too.

    --Alan

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  11. Wow, Alan! What's up with that static noise machine? I'm betting the press would be angry enough to ferret out the story. Perhaps a press aide was away from the press section with a recorder or taking notes? Maybe some guest with ties to a news outlet will spill?

    The truth always comes out.

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    Replies
    1. I should think they ought to be all over that, although it doesn't fit the horserace coverage pattern.

      Last night we saw three (!) possums simultaneously drawn to the food we put out. (The mommy wasn't among them.) Interestingly they didn't fight over it. One was dominant, though. A second pushed the first away for a bit, but then gave way.

      We are having some very light rain, which may continue for several days if the weather prediction is to be believed.

      The local strawberry harvest started about a week ago. The Hmong farmers extended the season quite a bit, and produce a far better product than the big farms over on the coast.

      This is my weekend to work at the hospital. I plan to cut back from every other weekend to every fourth weekend come November. (My first Social Security check should arrive near the end of October.) That will be nice. Nicer would be to quit altogether, but that seems too risky.

      I will look around the news for HRC's noise machine, then hit the sack.

      --Alan

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    2. I find lots of mentions of the noise machine online, but none at major US news media.

      Alan

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