A Lie Is A Lie

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by Lisa

A friend of mine started a thread on Facebook about why the media doesn’t call out Trump’s lies, using the example of his claim that the Lincoln Memorial is never/rarely used for inauguration events. And how his representatives can call these lies “alternative facts” with any seriousness. Trump lies so often and about so many ridiculous things (DC is sold out of dresses, really??). The thing is, media outlets do call him out(https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/donald-trump-says…/… or http://time.com/4640346/donald-trump-lincoln-memorial/ for the Lincoln Memorial example).

Why don’t these become big stories? Why is the constant flood of lies not a big story?

Trump supporters that I know tell me it’s hyperbole (what *is* the difference between hyperbole and lying?) and negotiating positions (I remember being a sixteen year old kid asking for a tattoo as a negotiating position when I wanted Manic Panic hair coloring … not sure what it says that our new President’s negotiating tactics and teenage kids differ only in scale) and I shouldn’t take everything he says so seriously.

I’m still not sure how to take that argument. I use rhetorical hyperbole too. I haven’t literally told Anya a million times to clean up her toys – that would be 650 times a day each day of her life. I try to be careful to say “It *SEEMS* like I’ve told you a million times to get the books on the bookshelf”. But it doesn’t seem harmful when I say “dude, I’ve told you a million times. Seriously, pick up the books!”.

I am willing to believe that people don’t mind being lied to by Trump … what I cannot figure out, then, is why they considered Clinton to be offensively dishonest. It’s a different type of lying — using technicalities. When I would do it, my mother called it lying by omission — you make a statement that is technically true because of some technically valid meaning of a word  and/or some incorrect assumption the other party makes about your statement. Consider Bill Clinton’s “It depends upon what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is” statement — there is a difference between present and past tenses. If you ask me if I’m driving a Jetta, I can accurately say no because *right this second* I am sitting on the sofa typing … you assume I sold my Jetta, which from the perspective of a legal proceeding really is the interrogating attorney’s fault, but when you’re fifteen … you don’t get far telling your mom it’s her fault for not being specific enough or making erroneous assumptions 🙂

And maybe this is why I get so offended by Trump’s lies but don’t mind Clinton’s — I enjoy studying law and the challenge language adds to legal proceedings. To me, someone answering a present tense question ignoring past facts is clever (and highlights a flaw in the line of questioning). Essentially I don’t feel like I was lied to, I feel like someone outmaneuvered me. On the other hand, someone making an outright stupid provably untrue statement insults me.

I could see someone making an inverse conclusion, though. That uppity lawyer thinks he’s smarter than me, the LIAR! But is any amount of hyperbolic lying acceptable just because it’s a rhetorical technique most use occasionally. Do people condone it because they do it? Or the liar is seen as a ‘real’ person because he engages in the same rhetorical techniques they use?

Anya’s Easter Dress (2017) – Getting Started

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by Lisa

I started making Anya’s Easter dress using the Kinley Cascading Flounce Dress pattern from Simple Life Sewing Company. I’m using a bright-ish blue main fabric with white Fairy Frost (glittery silver on white) as the underskirt. I have a navy blue Bemberg lining on the bodice – it’s a little dark, but it was something I already owned 🙂

I’ve got the pieces cut and am ready to start assembling the dress tomorrow.

Serger (American Home AH100) Review

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by Lisa

It’s been a little over a year since I bought my serger. I vacillated between a really expensive Juki with all sorts of features and not buying a serger … 800$, the cheapest price I found for the Juki — and that was from someone on eBay so may not have included a valid warranty, is a LOT of money. Especially for something you don’t know that you are going to use. And, honestly, I don’t know enough about sergers to say if the whole list of features is useful ‘stuff’ or just for such niche uses that I’d never encounter a use for them.

As I researched sergers, I came across an old list of serger recommendations for different user types. The Juki that I’d been considering was on there, but I was drawn to #5 on their list: American Home’s AH100. I didn’t find a lot of reviews for the product. I still wasn’t sure I’d use a serger at all. But I found one on Overstock for under 200$. That was a good enough deal to try it out.

I don’t sew enough to say I use the serger weekly, but I’ve gotten a good bit of use from the serger. Starting with Easter dresses last year – probably not the best project to learn on. When you get the machine, there’s a little bit of thread pulled through it. There is a sample and the tension settings used for the sample.

The machine isn’t too difficult to thread – I wouldn’t have paid 500$ to get an automatically threading machine! I’d read a technique where you clip the already-threaded threads off at the cone. You put the new cones on & tie each one to the old threads that are run through the machine. You set the tensions to the loosest setting and manually advance the machine to pull the new threads through. When the knots get to the needles, you need to clip the knot & thread the needle. I’d also read,, though, that threads can snap in the machine … so you should know how to thread your machine. I’ve fully re-threaded the AH100 three times — it takes a few minutes, but it gets done. I usually do the cut/tie/pull/cut through method of re-threading the machine, and that only takes a few seconds. The thread path is color coded, though, so it isn’t a problem if you have to re-thread the machine from nothing.

The base of the machine, on the left hand side, has a door that swings out so you can fit sleeves/trouser legs onto the machine. I’ve used that to assemble Anya’s circle skirts.

I’ve used the normal 4-thread stitch – quite a few different materials, and it certainly improves the look of the finished seam if you test the tension on some spare scraps. I’ve also changed over to the other plate and done a 3-thread rolled hem. I need to figure out how to use the flat-lock stitch to repair one of Anya’s pajamas. I haven’t encountered any situation where a more expensive serger would have been able to do something, and I am quite happy with my purchase.

The manual is sufficient – haven’t come across anything I had to Google yet. That’s the one down side to this machine – I see forums all over the place with Babylock, Janome, and Juki users talking about how to do XYZ on their machine. Supposedly the AH100 is the same thing as a Babylock Lauren (BL450A). The manuals seem to line up, so I believe this to be true. Anyway, it is possible I’d be able to find some Lauren users to help out … but I don’t see a lot of AH100 users discussing the intricacies of their machines online.

Fabric Panels

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by Lisa

Since I started sewing, I have seen “fabric panels” which are basically a large picture printed on fabric. Never ‘got’ it … for what purpose does one get a picture on a piece of fabric? After Christmas, I was shopping clearance sales and found a quilt kit that used the fabric panel. Oooooh! That is how you use a fabric panel.

I’ve now got two new blanket projects for Anya (tied quilts) — one with construction trucks that I know she is going to love with a minky yellow fabric for the back. And gravel print fabric for the binding

The second is a Northcott print with woodland animals looking up at a star. I’ve got a minky ice blue backing for this one.

I made Anya’s sleeping bag with two layers of Quilter’s Dream Puff batting – that’s almost too warm (but good for sleeping outdoors). I’m thinking a single layer of the Dream Puff batting should give us a couple of cozy blankets.

Easter Dress – Fabric Acquisition

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by Lisa

I purchased a pattern for Anya’s Easter dress almost a year ago. I wanted the bodice and outer skirt to be blue with a sparkly white fabric as the inner skirt. I am going to make a booster cushion for Anya, and I needed to add about ten dollars to my order to get free shipping. Fabric keeps 🙂

We have a bright-ish dark blue for the main fabric, and one of the Michael Miller Fairy Frost glittery fabrics for the inner circle skirt (which will also be used for the sash and bow).

Ethics, or the lack thereof

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by Lisa

So Trump businesses are going to donate the profits from foreign governments directly to the Treasury to avoid the appearance of impropriety. And they release this information to the public – the receipts, the cost analysis to determine profit, and a copy of the transfer so donations can be verified? But let’s assume that becomes part of their public accounting processes – that the Trump Organization now has a web page with this accounting, along with an image of the cancelled donation cheque. How does this avoid the appearance (and the fact) of corruption??

Buying influence is not limited to foreign governments, and to imply otherwise is insulting. Boeing wants a lucrative contract, so they book all of their corporate conferences at Trump properties. Hell, Syria wants the US to leave them alone so the second cousin of every high-ranking official rent out a floor and a ballroom for the year.

 

Ingredient Delivery Services

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by Lisa

I keep getting promotions from companies that offer fresh meal ingredients delivered – Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, Home Chef, and Plated. Each provides recipes and ingredients that show up on your doorstep – some services offer a selection of meals, others give you what they give you. I’ve been curious to try one of these services, but it’s not something I want to pay to test. I finally got an offer of free. I’ve tried it  – and, honestly, if the other services offer up free food … I’ll take those offers too. But I wouldn’t pay for this service.

(1) Convenience – Their advertising is centered around how terrible grocery shopping is and how you can avoid such drudgery with their service. Problem is, there’s no plan that provides anything like the groceries you’d need for a week. Even if you got seven dinners (which may require purchasing multiple plans, quite a few of these services are the 3-4 meal a week type) … what are you eating for breakfast or lunch? Maybe for someone who eats out a LOT, these services eliminate grocery shopping (or more likely reduce it to a once-a-month trip). But for me to feed three people three meals a day … didn’t eliminate a thing.

(2) Cost – This is meant to be cheaper than grocery shopping because you aren’t overbuying. But I usually make enough food for dinner to allow leftovers for lunch the next day. Larger packages are cheaper – a savings that is only realized if the food isn’t allowed to spoil. I’m still learning to preserve everything we buy. I buy a large package of something, and break it into smaller portions and freeze most of it. I buy things to use in multiple meals. I am trying to cook food into something preservable before it spoils – turn bananas into banana bread, milk into yogurt, blanch and freeze veggies. I am certain that buying just the quantity you need for one meal is cheaper than overbuying for one meal, but their cost estimates don’t include *using* the rest of the stuff to make a second and third meal. If I pay 15$ for one meal or 18$ for three, there’s a big difference.

(3) Logistics – I don’t know why I expect companies who are shipping something perishable in unfriendly weather to have come up with some great solution to the problem. I’ve bought plants online and had them arrive dead because of this incorrect assumption. Had the same problem with fresh produce. It is Winter. It is WELL below freezing (lows around 0 degrees F kind of cold). My “fresh” veggies arrived frozen solid – and the ‘cold’ stuff was packed between two ice packs … during a week where the high’s were in the low 20’s, this seemed a bit wasteful. Freezing fresh produce is OK for some things (a lemon that is going to be juiced), but other veggies are only useful for making stock. I don’t want to have to track the long term weather forecast to decide if the weekly meal subscription should be put on hold or not. And it certainly isn’t convenient to be missing ingredients (back to #1, I had to go shopping to replace the things that froze).

(4) Effort – As I mentioned, I usually make a large dinner that is used for lunch the next day. Bonus if some portion of it can be used for breakfast too. Since they have single portion meals, that’s a no go. So I had to make dinner last night, then make something completely different for lunch today.

(5) Meal composition and portion – They quite simply didn’t provide enough food for two people. I’d have had hungry cranky people if I served JUST what was in the planned meal. I serve a lot more vegetables. I supplemented their meals with a salad course, or you can add an additional vegetable side dish … but you’re shopping again. And having to come up with something.

Meal ingredient delivery services are certainly not for me. There’s some convenience to allowing someone else to decide what we’re eating a few nights each week, and there were a few interesting recipes that I’d not seen before. Their promotional e-mails, random cooking blogs, Food TV’s page, cooking magazine web sites all provide new recipes that someone else has selected too.

I know a time when I could have used a service like this (couldn’t have afforded it, but eh): When I left University and lived on my own for the first time. I didn’t have any staples (and it’s expensive to stock a kitchen with spices, flours, and such). I didn’t really have any idea what to buy at the grocery store. Or what to make.

I have had a lot of friends who literally eat every meal from a restaurant – I could see someone like that who wanted to cook a few times a week using a service like this. Sure there are other ways to figure out a few meals and get the ingredients … but this requires you to put about as little effort into cooking as possible.

Web-Accessible History From OpenHAB MySQL Persistence Database

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by Lisa

My husband has wanted a quick/easy way to see the data stored in OpenHAB’s MySQL persistence database, so I put together a very quick (and ugly) PHP page that provides a list of all Items. If you click on an item, you can page through the item’s records. The index.php from the page is available here. You need a web server (I am using Apache on Fedora), PHP (I am using 5.6) and MySQLi (php-mysqlnd package).

This is a bit of paranoia on my part, but even on a page that is ONLY available internally … I don’t like to use an account with read/write access to display data. I create a new user and assign read access:

CREATE USER 'YourUserName'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'P#ssw0rdH3r3';
GRANT SELECT ON openhabdb.* to 'YourUserName'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Then use *that* user in the php code. This example has a web server running on the database server – and you connect to the MySQL server via localhost. If your web server is located on a different host, you’ll need to create and grant ‘YourUserName’@ the web server hostname.

How Running A Country Is Nothing Like Running A Business: #1

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by Lisa

Well, Trump hasn’t even been sworn in yet and I’ve got my first entry for this list: http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/06/us/politics/trump-wall-mexico.html?_r=0 in which he says we’re going to float the debt to build this massive wall (hopefully finding the least environmentally damaging route, eminent domaining the fewest people, and so on). Then we’ll get Mexico to pay for it. Umm … so in business, this was basically the 2008 crash. We find a pool of people who aren’t going to pay, create debt on that not-a-payment, build a heap of stuff, and then act surprised when they fail to pay. Now, in the business world, you turn to the government to bail out your bad debt.

When you do this as a government … I don’t think the IMF is going to pay in Mexico’s stead for debt to which they’ve never consented. And if you look at the IMF requirements in Greece or Ireland, I sincerely hope that isn’t the direction the US goes.

The Monkey’s Paw

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by Lisa

a.k.a ‘be careful what you wish for”

There is a short story written by W. W. Jacobs called “The Monkey’s Paw” which centers around an enchanted paw that grants wishes but in horrifying ways. A family wishes for two hundred pounds, and receives the sum as a sympathy payment when their son is killed in a machine accident at his place of employment.

I think of this story a lot in politics — it’s a little like the law of unintended consequences (consequences which can be beneficial, negative, or harmful which arise from ignorance of the impact of your change). The monkey’s paw has individuals who well know of the possible tragic effects (the first owner wished for his own death, the next owner threw it into the fire to avoid its curse) but decide to use the object anyway.

So you’ll get the Affordable Care Act overturned. Good for you. Now you no longer have coverage for pre-existing conditions … which means you’re stuck in your job until the condition is cured because you cannot afford to pay for the treatments (hope it is curable!). You have a lifetime coverage limit of a million or two – which sounds like a lot until you talk to someone who had premature babies and incurred a quarter mill in a couple of months. Oh, and once the kids are born their lifetime limit kicks in — so your one year old miracle baby has used up a quarter of their lifetime limit. I don’t have a 25 year old in college still on my plan … hope you don’t either. Bonus, there’s no limit on how much overhead and profit the insurance company can include in their rates. I’m sure that will lower the plan cost.

And that just assumes things go back to the bad state they were in before — Republicans advocate allowing inter-state competition for insurance plans. I see that going the way of credit cards — there’s no federal usury rate. A state could ensure themselves a couple thousand jobs and a some corporate income tax money by setting their usury rate higher than any other state. And then the banks would locate there, issue cards using the local jurisdiction usury rate, and there are a load of 23% interest cards. So now states will compete to have the lowest standards for insurance – and all of the insurance companies will go there. If we’re lucky, there will be the equivalent of a credit union — a company HQ’d locally that follows YOUR state laws that you’ve got a little chance of changing (i.e. I write the state congresspeople in ND and ask them to lower the usury rate, they don’t care. I write my local representatives about Ohio’s rate … well, at least I’m a constituent).