Random Thoughts

[Boone]

About 10 years ago, someone abandoned a female cat in our neighborhood. You could tell she had been someone’s pet. We took her in and it turned out she was pregnant. She managed to get into our bricked in crawl space under our front porch and gave birth there. I had to kick out a vent screen, lure them one by one with food, and scrap them up with a net I made with a clothes hanger and stocking. To this day I don’t k ow how I got them out. Unfortunately the mama cat died a few weeks after giving birth. We lost one kitten to a hawk, kept 2 (including my fav cat ever, an all black one) and found the other two homes.

 

[heisenberg]

About 10 years ago, someone abandoned a female cat in our neighborhood. You could tell she had been someone’s pet. We took her in and it turned out she was pregnant. She managed to get into our bricked in crawl space under our front porch and gave birth there. I had to kick out a vent screen, lure them one by one with food, and scrap them up with a net I made with a clothes hanger and stocking. To this day I don’t k ow how I got them out. Unfortunately the mama cat died a few weeks after giving birth. We lost one kitten to a hawk, kept 2 (including my fav cat ever, an all black one) and found the other two homes.

Our queen did the opposite of what you'd expect.
We (being brand new at this) had heard that momma cats like to hide somewhere and were very concerned that she would go somewhere we couldn't monitor her.
Nope she climbed up in our bed and gave birth to 5 kittens in my wife's lap, both an incredible experience and a hell of a mess, lol.

Incredible how much she has trusted us through all this, we have been handling the kittens since day one.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

I seriously doubt that. We had a very aggressive group of right wingers here that doomed it because I guess they didn’t think we were serious about expecting them to play well in the sandbox. None of them are members as a result. I’m not saying there weren’t problematic posters on the other side of the arguments, but that’s how I remember it (and I am far from liberal in my own beliefs on many topics)

I for one am shocked that it was that group that was the problem.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

Our queen did the opposite of what you'd expect.
We (being brand new at this) had heard that momma cats like to hide somewhere and were very concerned that she would go somewhere we couldn't monitor her.
Nope she climbed up in our bed and gave birth to 5 kittens in my wife's lap, both an incredible experience and a hell of a mess, lol.

Incredible how much she has trusted us through all this, we have been handling the kittens since day one.

We have 4 cats, all ferals. The first one was found when our dogs had it treed, it was a scared kitten. Wife took it upon herself to get it so she spent evenings trying to coax this terrified little kitten. The neighbor trapped it and we brought Lisa home. She spent the first 3 years upstairs as the dogs are never allowed upstairs. I started calling her Anne Frank.

The other 3 appeared, starving and scared. We think a neighbor who had moved had been feeding them. We'd seen the mom before and fed her on occasion but now she was bringing the entire family. I built a house and they live on the front porch, one has since died. But they are ferals and in 5 years I still can't get close to them, or the inside cat after a decade.

I get nothing out of these cats, I simply service them.

 

[heisenberg]

I seriously doubt that. We had a very aggressive group of right wingers here that doomed it because I guess they didn’t think we were serious about expecting them to play well in the sandbox. None of them are members as a result. I’m not saying there weren’t problematic posters on the other side of the arguments, but that’s how I remember it (and I am far from liberal in my own beliefs on many topics)

Politics on E.S had become less of a problem because it was 99 percent left or leaning left and the few conservatives who stuck around walked constantly on egg shells in fear of Jumbo.

It's a shitty way to have a civil conversation on Politics but it worked.

Unfortunately it did become a left wing echo chamber but it wasn't ignorant it was almost always intelligent discourse but it did lack opinions from both sides.

 

[heisenberg]

I started calling her Anne Frank

We've been calling the runt of the litter tyrion so I can definitely relate to the dark humor.

 

[SkinsOrlando]

I'll tell ya, girl scout cookie Samoas really fucking up my diet.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

I'll tell ya, girl scout cookie Samoas really fucking up my diet.

I have to avoid anyone selling cookies. My love of sweets and my soft heart to want to help support is a dangerous combination for my diet.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

I have to avoid anyone selling cookies. My love of sweets and my soft heart to want to help support is a dangerous combination for my diet.

Gaucho cookies were my favorite. I don't eat cookies anymore but the peanut butter Girl Scout cookies tastes just like a Gaucho. So I make an exception when those little crack dealers show up at the Safeway every year. Besides there's like 6 cookies in a box of Girl Scout cookies so that helps.

 

[skinsmarydu]

 

[Boone]

Politics on E.S had become less of a problem because it was 99 percent left or leaning left and the few conservatives who stuck around walked constantly on egg shells in fear of Jumbo.

It's a shitty way to have a civil conversation on Politics but it worked.

Unfortunately it did become a left wing echo chamber but it wasn't ignorant it was almost always intelligent discourse but it did lack opinions from both sides.

In other words, they didn't allow political conversation either I watched how they rolled over there for years. I think the worst part was, although it was clear that folks with right wing beliefs were attacked by the mob and generally run off, they vehemently denied that was the intent or even factual. It's ironic that the nastiness of the Tailgate forum is probably exactly what the team felt was an embarrasment and got the place shut down. That, and the constant 'ban threats' (even to the extent of putting the threats in thread titles) and out of control moderators.

If that rubs anyone here the wrong way, sorry. Just the way I see it. It is possible to discuss politics in a friendly respectful manner. My politics are far different from the other two guys who started BGO - but we have managed to respect each other in spite of that and even occasionally talk politics in real life without civil war ensuing. But most can't do it, or won't try.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

In other words, they didn't allow political conversation either I watched how they rolled over there for years. I think the worst part was, although it was clear that folks with right wing beliefs were attacked by the mob and generally run off, they vehemently denied that was the intent or even factual. It's ironic that the nastiness of the Tailgate forum is probably exactly what the team felt was an embarrasment and got the place shut down. That, and the constant 'ban threats' (even to the extent of putting the threats in thread titles) and out of control moderators.

If that rubs anyone here the wrong way, sorry. Just the way I see it. It is possible to discuss politics in a friendly respectful manner. My politics are far different from the other two guys who started BGO - but we have managed to respect each other in spite of that and even occasionally talk politics in real life without civil war ensuing. But most can't do it, or won't try.

Honest question as I skirt the no politics rule? Was it that way before 2016? Because I certainly noticed a huge difference.

 

[Boone]

Websites are reflections of the general times and I don't think there's any question the political environment has gotten nastier as time has gone on. I would suggest that it is the advent of social media (as much as any particular political trends in the US) and algorithms encouraging one-sided entrenchment of opinion and open warfare are as responsible for a hatred-based mindset towards opposing views as much as anything.

And we are not talking politics. We are talking the management of political strife by websites.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

I for one don't miss the political talk. I have been heavily involved from 2016 until election day. After that day I decided I can't do this anymore. Such a shame we became so divided after 2016, civil conversations are no longer possible.

 

[Boone]

100% agreed. I know people who no longer talk to family members because of 'politics'. I'm sorry, but that's just insanity.

 

[skinsmarydu]

The way I remember 2012 here on BGO was the right-leaning folks just so sure (and absolutely delusional) that Mittens could win. And I was just a little more than abrasive at their stance. I got combative, and again...my apologies.
I can deal with ignorance (ignoring things and not being informed).
What I cannot deal with is people who claim to be informed and still not know what the fuck is happening.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

The way I remember 2012 here on BGO was the right-leaning folks just so sure (and absolutely delusional) that Mittens could win. And I was just a little more than abrasive at their stance. I got combative, and again...my apologies.
I can deal with ignorance (ignoring things and not being informed).
What I cannot deal with is people who claim to be informed and still not know what the fuck is happening.

You were a poster here in 2012? I just learned about this site in November.

 

[Boone]

The bottom line for us (with owners who had mixed political beliefs) was we just didn't want the negativity and bad blood it created amongst members. At some point, it doesn't even matter who is right. Had folks been able to keep the animosity in that forum, it might've survived. But it bled over into everything.

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

The bottom line for us (with owners who had mixed political beliefs) was we just didn't want to negativity and bad blood it created amongst members. At some point, it doesn't even matter who is right. Had folks been able to keep the animosity in that forum, it might've survived. But it bled over into everything.

I play a little game in my head. If a poster carried a political grudge over to another sports thread I dismissed this person and no longer engaged with him/her on any topic.

 

[skinsmarydu]

You were a poster here in 2012? I just learned about this site in November.

Oh yeah, my handle here then was DiamondSkin or something like that.