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Violating The Dress Code — Why Now?
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Violating The Dress Code

I’m sorry, but I don’t wear pajamas, don’t eat Cheetos, and don’t have a basement. I, nonetheless, still blog.

If I’m traveling, or it’s cold, I wear sweats to bed. I started doing that decades ago when I spent a lot of time in Europe. In Britain it was the IRA, and on the Continent it was various groups who were constantly interrupting a good night’s sleep with their bombs. Sweats were a lot warmer and better fitting than most pajamas, so I stayed with them. That’s when I started using a small pouch that I hung on the door knob of my hotel room, so I wouldn’t leave the key, wallet, passport, etc. in the room when I evacuated.

I realize that Washington is populated with shallow people, but they should consider that they had to study the words of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle who wore sheets, Thomas Aquinas and William of Ockham who wore bathrobes, and William Shakespeare wore woolen pantyhose. I don’t think that William Wallace or Robert the Bruce would have taken kindly to cracks about them wearing nightshirts and blankets. Clothes only make the man when there is no substance to fill them.

As for “the base” being happy – yeah, right, that’s why individual contributions to the DNCC and DSCC are off by a third, because the base is so thrilled by what’s been accomplished.

On a not very related note, the Agonist keeps telling me that I’m not authorized to read it. What’s with that? It’s not like I called Sean-Paul a grom for his recent surfing attempts, I know better. Grom refers to age, not ability.

Update: The Agonist is back after resolving some issues with a corrupted table. Databases are like that – they occasionally get scrambled, which is why you back them up to restore a good copy.

If you still seem to have issues, clear your cache and try again.

24 comments

1 Badtux { 10.13.09 at 7:02 pm }

The Agonist has either had a database crash, or has gone completely paywall, because I’m getting the same message.

I don’t own pajamas (seriously, I grew up in the Deep South, you wore as few clothes as possible while sleeping there in the years before air conditioning!), don’t have a basement (not done here, the water table is too shallow), and am typically wearing a button-up shirt and dark-colored pants with black leather shoes while blogging. And while I eat Cheetos sometimes, not while blogging, puh-leeze, what a mess that would make on my keyboard! Sweats and a t-shirt are by my bed if the Big One hits, or I might wear them if it’s actually cold outside (rare here), but pajamas? Puh-leeze!

As for the Democratic base being happy, they got my maximum contribution for the election simply because the notion of President Moosalini was not to be countenanced, and then… uh guys. Where’s the hope’n’change you promised me? Not one dime more until I see some of that, yo!

2 Badtux { 10.13.09 at 7:04 pm }

Ah. Just logged into The Agonist with my three-year-old username and password and there it is. Apparently he’s gone semi-paywall, i.e., have to be a member to view it.
.-= last blog ..Too Big To Fail =-.

3 Bryan { 10.13.09 at 9:18 pm }

Jeans, a T-shirt, and deck shoes – it’s the only way to go. Down in San Diego it was chinos, and a button-down with the deck shoes. Ditto on the un-air conditioned South.

Fritos in the summer when I need the extra salt, but anything eaten at the keyboard would just attracts the cats.

They might have said something before they did it, because there was no indication yesterday that anything was pending.

4 hipparchia { 10.13.09 at 9:24 pm }

must have been a glitch of some kind at the agonist. i can read it just fine.

i blog in my clothes. sleep in them too, so i guess in a way that makes it equivalent to blogging in pajamas, but i’ve been through just enough fires, burglaries, roommates bringing home strangers from bars, police at the wrong house, and dogs about to throw up on the carpet to find pajamas inconvenient.
.-= last blog ..Who needs expensive, store-bought =-.

5 hipparchia { 10.13.09 at 9:32 pm }
6 Kryten42 { 10.13.09 at 9:42 pm }

For the record… I don’t wear PJ’s either (and not since I was a kid, and hated them then). 😉

I spent over a year sleeping in fatigues (complete with boots and finger on the trigger — safety on, of course… usually) or gillies suit (try doing that for a couple weeks at a time!) In the ME, either shorts & T or a sleepshirt (and pistol or knife, or both)… etc, etc. I don’t mind cheeto’s (a bad habit I picked up in the USA, which proves the USA can corrupt anyone!) 😉 😆 I prefer burger rings though (or my fave… Kettle Chips, or Red Rock Deli chips!!! Mmmmmmmmmm… I feel a craving coming on right now! In Cambodia & ME, we carried a lot of salted port and/or jerky (usually kangaroo, low fat & very high protein, or sometimes beef), nuts and dried fruit (and at LEAST 2 full insulated canteens of water).

It’s rare to find a place with a basement here, I have seen them here, but only used when the home owner wants secure storage or a cellar etc. Up North, most places are built on stilts or the floor level is at least a couple meters above ground level. Floods are common, but also for good air circulation in summer.

Dunno from the Agonist… Haven’t been there in years, have no plans to. 🙂

7 Bryan { 10.13.09 at 10:28 pm }

Truth be told, the only difference between a flight suit and the pajamas that little kids and babies wear is the lack of the integrated socks, and I logged some sleep in those on 40-hour missions. The cold weather version even had the flap in the back.

We use to toss the fatigues that spent a couple of weeks in the jungle because they generally fell apart when you attempted to wash them. They were held together with muck after the first week. You went through a lot of socks in the woods, if you wanted to walk out, because dry feet were important. The rest was optional, but I always carried spare socks.

8 cookie jill { 10.13.09 at 10:36 pm }

Mostly sweats. Sometimes vintage men’s jammies. Basic thought is anything comfy, generally warm and can be worn outside should “the Big One” hit.
.-= last blog ..Whole Foods is finally open in Santa Barbara =-.

9 Kryten42 { 10.13.09 at 11:08 pm }

@ Bryan: Yup! We were issued 4 pairs of a special wool blend sox too keep in our pack when in the field that had been anti-bacterial/fungal treated and told to ALWAYS wear them clean and dry! We had some powder for our feet too (for blisters, abrasions, infections).

After 2 years training, then a year in combat… We had callouses so hard we almost didn’t need boots! LOL

10 Bryan { 10.13.09 at 11:16 pm }

There is obviously something wrong with us, as we all seem to be preparing for disasters based on our experiences. That doesn’t seem to fit the profile of bloggers, so it must be an error on our part for not adhering to their stereotype.

11 Bryan { 10.13.09 at 11:22 pm }

They were also handy, after they developed holes for straining the big chunks out of the water you were going to purify, and as an emergency tea bag.

Natural fibers only, because they wick, and the plastic doesn’t.

12 LadyMin { 10.13.09 at 11:33 pm }

I figure why go out and buy clothes to sleep in when a big old t-shirt will do just fine. Probably not too good for a disaster, but it’s fairly quiet here in midwest suburbia so I’ll chance it.

No basement in my house either. And I prefer pretzels, neater than cheetos. Darn, we seem to be violating all the stereotypes.
.-= last blog ..White-crowned Sparrow =-.

13 Bryan { 10.13.09 at 11:58 pm }

This is probably why they consider us the fringe, because we just refuse to stay in their pigeon holes.

14 Kryten42 { 10.14.09 at 12:27 am }

Don’t mention pigeon holes around ladymin! She has birdhouses all over her place! She has pic’s at her blog. 😉 Hmmm. Is that classed as a ‘Wildlife Sanctuary’ in the USA? She feeds bunnies, squirrels, even has ‘coons and a deer! (oh, and skunks occasionally.. pheee-eww!) 😉 The Govmint will be after money!! You mark my words! 😆

Oh… is this OT? Sorry ’bout dat. 😉

15 Bryan { 10.14.09 at 12:47 am }

No one who lives or works in a city likes the feathered rats, AKA pigeons, and she is selective in the birds she encourages.

People who think they love all birds have never encountered a Muscovy duck.

OT? Around here? Never happen in an environment as tightly controlled as this. 😉

16 Kryten42 { 10.14.09 at 1:03 am }

LOL @ OT… Yeah! 😀

I must say that I for one are truly happy and proud to know so many who don’t fit in the chicken-shit morons *pigeon holes*. Then again, even if I wanted to fit in one, I’d have to shed a lot of kg’s first! 😉 😆

Ladymin keeps hinting for me to ship her some of the birds we have that she saw here. 😉 We have really pretty birds here. Very noisy and mostly cheeky to us humans, but pretty. LadyMin got laughed and yelled at by some Rosella’s in our almond tree when she visited a few years ago. And almost attacked by huge blackbirds at lunch who wanted her lunch! (I think she took some pic’s) 😆 The birds here are cautious, but not very afraid of us. 🙂

People who like to put groups of others into little boxes show a distinct lack of intelligence, experience and are purely lazy. Sometimes, we can generalize to a degree, but there are *always* exceptions. And it’s those exceptions that will cause you much pain and anguish when ignorant fools build little boxes to put them all in. 😉

The only generalization (pigeon hole to stay with the vernacular) that, from all I have seen, can be accurately applied for the most part, is that in the USA, the majority of GOP-loving wingnuts are cowardly, unintelligent, bigoted, racist and amazingly noisy and stupid. (I could add a lot more, but that will serve to make the point). 🙂 They may as well be clones (and who knows… Maybe they *are* the result of some hideous experiment gone wrong (or possibly, gone right)! Wouldn’t surprise me a bit! 😉

17 hipparchia { 10.14.09 at 2:26 am }

Never happen in an environment as tightly controlled as this.

😀
.-= last blog ..Once more unto the breach, single payer advocates, once more =-.

18 Steve Bates { 10.14.09 at 12:13 pm }

“Muscovy duck” … now there’s a term that would lend itself to good doggerel, if I were younger and still given to rhymes. Just don’t think too hard about those rhymes…

Whatever I sleep in, you may be sure it’s warm, especially in the summer, when Stella insists on wasting, um, using electricity to create icy conditions indoors. T-shirt and jogging shorts are my typical garb for sleeping or blogging. If I own any actual pajamas, they are more than four decades old and have been stored in a box all that time.

19 Bryan { 10.14.09 at 2:49 pm }

It never occurs to people who live in self-imposed sameness that others might be individuals. When you depend on others to do your thinking, the concept of actually making up your own mind about something is an impossibility.

The rhetoric is comic and their signs are absurd because they are the results of decisions made by others, filtered, and then stamped on the minds of the followers with no logical process involved.

Some are naturally herd creatures and don’t think they can exist outside of the herd. They are offended by people acting independently. They seek protection in the herd, because they are afraid of the world. All change is bad, anything different is bad, everything must remain the same or we will all die. Rather sad, really. If they weren’t such a murderous bunch of cretins you could feel bad for them. The mob doesn’t tolerate the other.

The problem with real progressives is they aren’t buying the propaganda. They have developed spin/agitprop/bullshit detectors, and they aren’t going to accept the party line. They know what they want and expect, and aren’t going to be swayed by appeals for “party unity”.

The Dems can either produce or go into exile. They received everything that was needed in 2008 to actually produce results, and if they don’t, what’s the point in working for their re-election?

20 LadyMin { 10.14.09 at 7:30 pm }

There are no pigeons in my yard. Nor do I want them. Pigeons are all over the city, pooping, roosting, getting underfoot and in general creating a nuisance. Raccoons are also not encouraged here… they are extremely mischievious. They were trying to climb the pole that the bird feeders are on and made a mess last week. I had to get a large baffle to stop them.

My yard has mostly song birds, woodpeckers, nuthatches, native sparrows. I discourage the house sparrows from nesting by using nestboxes with small openings, but they still come to the feeders. I had an owl fly by tonight. And sometimes I’ll see a hawk. The winter migrants are showing up here this week from Canada. That means our robins should be arriving at Bryan’s place soon! Just don’t let them eat the berries. 😆

I’d never heard of a muscovy duck. And after looking it up … I don’t think I’d want to meet one.
.-= last blog ..White-crowned Sparrow =-.

21 hipparchia { 10.14.09 at 8:07 pm }

there’s a flock of muscovies that hangs out in my neighborhood. we are [mostly] not elitists here. besides, it’s always depressing when the local fauna is prettier than the local people. hmmm… on that note… i may have to start a crusade for introducing some corresponding pets and livestock.
.-= last blog ..Once more unto the breach, single payer advocates, once more =-.

22 Bryan { 10.14.09 at 10:03 pm }

An adult Muscovy drake can break your arm with a wing hit. They roost in trees or on the roof of your car and make pigeons seem like pikers.

They are a domesticated species from Brazil, and, as a result, no one will take responsibility for them, not the Feds, not the state, not local animal control. They will put you in a circular game of phone tag and claim that some other group is responsible.

They have clutches of over a dozen eggs at a time, and are omnivores, eating anything and everything that comes their way, including gold fish and koi in water gardens.

They are raised for their breast meat which is considered a gourmet delicacy, but lily-livered restaurant owners [including the Asians, I might add] want you to be a certified food processor who delivers only the meat.

They terrorize feral dogs and cats, and domesticated species through and including pit bulls, as a former neighbor with a couple of hundred dollars in vet’s charges to sew his dog back together can testify after an incident involving a drake.

You can probably be effective with O buckshot, but OO is safer, and bird shot would just be annoying [12 gauge, of course].

If you are really lucky, you can locate some delusional PETA person to take them away to their private property in another part of the state. The rules are not clear on interstate transport, but a sane state would make it a bigger offense than cocaine transportation.

23 hipparchia { 10.14.09 at 11:53 pm }

omnivores, eating anything and everything that comes their way
kudzu and/or hydrilla by any chance?

They terrorize feral dogs and cats, and domesticated species through and including pit bulls
you would be amazed at how many pit bulls are marshmallow dogs. their reputation for viciousness is vastly undeserved.

those characters fit right into this neighborhood. and yeah they do make pigeons look like pikers.
.-= last blog ..Once more unto the breach, single payer advocates, once more =-.

24 Bryan { 10.15.09 at 12:42 am }

I can only directly attest to all varieties of plant life in water and flower garden, including ivy, so I don’t know why they wouldn’t.

I used pit bull as an example of size. She was the biggest dog in the neighborhood, and was actually sweet when she wasn’t chained. She had to be chained because she learned to climb the chain link fence. I suspect the cats showed her how to do it.

Cleaning my Mother’s sidewalk was like shoveling out a dairy barn. What a mess.