Glibertarians.com 2018 Archive

Author: SP

  • Coming Attractions & Saturday Night Open Post

    The weather here sucks, I’m sleep deprived, and grumpy. You’ve been warned. I better just stick to the business at hand.

    Next week right here at Glib Central, we’ve got Links served up by OMWC, Sloopy, Brett L and perhaps others of varying human form and non human form. You’ll get a poll that might actually be more useful than usual. You’re not getting a Vegan School, but you are getting a food post from CPRM in that time slot.

    Not Adahn will warn you apprise you of that which is going on with the stars, and Nephilium continues his series on Enslaving Yeast. Gadianton is back with part 3 of his sub-series on the Plan of Salvation. Tuesday, Suthenboy muses and Swiss updates. Later in the week, trshmnstr tries something new, banginglc1 tells us what else the government screws up (this could be a neverending series!), and Animal brings us a history lesson. I suspect mexican sharpshooter will be along on Saturday with a review/not a review.

    And perhaps, if everyone says nice things to SugarFree in the comments, we’ll get a story on Wednesday!

    As always, we are actively seeking articles from the community. Join your fellow Glibs on the Contributing Writers page.

     
     
    Please indulge a short personal off topic comment. It’s the gifting time of year for many folks. I’ve spoken before about my love of microfinance platform Kiva.org. One of my favorite gifts to give (and receive) is a Kiva Card. (How many reindeer sweaters does anyone really need?) Your recipient gets the joy of choosing an entrepreneur to whom to make a loan, and the loan recipient gets a shot at realizing a goal. After the loan is repaid, your Kiva Card recipient can then re-loan that $25 again and again impacting many people around the world.

    I love that it’s not a donation, it’s a loan that can really change the world one person at a time. Under my Super Secret Real Life Identity, I’ve made nearly 100 loans since joining way back when Kiva was brand spanking new.

    We’ve set up a Glibertarians Kiva Lending Team. We’d love to have you join and invest in a person of your choosing. Joining a Lending Team isn’t necessary, but it’s fun to see the extra impact a group of people can have. There is a link to acquire and send a Gift Card right at the top of the Lending Team page.

    (If you already lend on Kiva, here’s a tip to mask your Glibness: set up a new Kiva account and fund it with gift cards from your Real Life account.)

     
     
    We now return you to your regularly scheduled Saturday Night Open Post! Have a great rest of your weekend!

  • Poll: Siblings

    I’ve mentioned before that I come from a large family. How large? I’m one of nine siblings. Five male, four female. In three groups.

    I am the oldest daughter, and the middle child of the first group.  We have kids born in the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s, and 1980s. My youngest sibling is just two months older than Web Dom.

    There are whole, half, and step siblings in my family, but none of us use the modifier when describing the others. We all get along, there are no factions. One sister died as an infant; one brother died at 43. The rest of us persist.

    It’s really a pretty typical 19th century family structure…except my Mom just died a few years ago, and not in childbirth at age 30. My parents, though divorced, continued to get along very well, which was good since they worked at the same place and lived about ten miles apart in a very rural area. It would have been impossible to avoid each other. My Mom undertook fund raising for my step-brother’s medical bills when he was dying.  My step- and half-brothers helped my Mom with various “guy” projects. Mom was a guest at Dad’s new home for Thanksgiving on the occasions her side of the family wasn’t gathering.

    I’ve never really believed in the birth order stuff (make sure you read the section about sexual orientation). However, I will say that the “baby” of each group of siblings is very much like the stereotype. I, of course, am nothing like a middle child.

    Also, birth order has absolutely nothing to do with the success of romantic relationships. Most of my relationships have been with oldest male children. A couple of my husbands were middle children. The marriage that was is the best match was is with an oldest child.

    Tonight’s questions:

    1. Do you have siblings? (Side note: progressives are the only children of the political world.)
    2. If so, where are you in the birth order?
    3. How many sisters and how many brothers do you have?
    4. Do you get along with your siblings?
    5. Do you have a particularly strong bond with one sibling?
    6. Do you think birth order has had an impact on your personality and life?
    7. Have you had any inappropriate sexual contact with any of your siblings?
    8. Do you have photos?

    Discuss!

     

  • Saturday Night Open Post & Coming Attractions

    Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone, and now we are hard into the shopping festive season. I hate shopping forced consumerism festivities so much. Online shopping was a gift, invented for me alone. But, I don’t mind if the rest of you partake. And, apparently, you are.

    Yesterday, I had to go to a CVS Minute Clinic (a topic for another time) for the next injections in two series of immunizations. (Some of you may recall the healthcare program in which I’m trying to enroll. Still trying.) This particular Minute Clinic happens to be housed in a Target near-ish our place. My appointment was (stupidly) scheduled (by me) for Black Friday. At 1500. At Target.

    I left the house super early, figuring I might need to park 5 miles away and walk in. I arrived super early. To an empty parking lot. I parked in the center section. Directly in front of the doors. In the second space.

    THANK YOU, JEFF BEZOS.

    Wait, what? What’s happening on the website next week? Oh, right.

    After catching you up on the minutiae of my life, I’m pressed for time this evening, so I’m afraid you’re just getting writers’ names, not attached to days. You’re going to be here every day anyway, amirite?

    Links by: Sloopy, OMWC, Brett L. Assorted rap…scallions and badly formed stone sculpture. Perhaps others. Not necessarily in that order.

    Regular features by: Not Adahn (even when he’s traveling, he’s a professional!); mexicansharpshooter; Web Dom; SP; SugarFree, if you’re very, very good. And also, What Are We Reading.

    Special features from: Nephilium; PieInTheSky; Jarflax; banginglc1; Yusef Drives a Kia; Kinnath; and trshmnstr.

    Another great week!

     
    There are a bunch of posts languishing in draft stage. If you are the writer of one of the orphaned posts, do your fellow Glibs a solid and finish them up! We want to hear from you.

    Also, if you think you might want to be on the Contributing Writers page, here’s how. The Glibertarians community relies on Glib-sourced posts, for which we are grateful. After all, there needs to be some post to ignore to provide you with a comment section.

     
    And, speaking of comments… take it away, Saturday Night Open Post!

  • Thanksgiving Night Open Post

    Thanksgiving Night Open Post

    Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Gathering for the day with my large extended family at my paternal grandparents’ home was always one of the best days of the year for me while growing up. And I wish it were still possible.

    I realize that I–unlike many–won the parent and family lottery. There was, and is, no acrimony in my family, no factions setting up against each other. No history of abuse or addiction. I had adult role models that I grew to respect and love even more as I matured. I know this is all too rare, and I am filled with gratitude that I had such a happy and solid start in life.

    Because of this, holidays without my grandparents and my Mom are always bittersweet. Today, while my heart aches for my departed loved ones and for those among the living with whom I can’t spend the day, I feel immensely grateful to have had so many people in my life worth missing.

    Nobody can replace those I cherish who have moved on in one way or another, but I’m thankful for the new friends I’ve found here among the Founders and the Glibertariat.

    Now, enjoy yourselves (yes, I am the boss of you!) in this Thanksgiving Night Open Post.

    Happy Thanksgiving!

  • SP’s Vegan Pumpkin Chia Pudding

    Sadly, the weekend site issues stomped on Web Dom’s free time to create a post, so I’m offering my vegan pumpkin dessert in her honor.

    (The Thanksgiving recipes will be back online sometime this evening.)
     
     

    SP’s Vegan Pumpkin Chia Pudding

    Even Web Dom can have a seasonal Thanksgiving dessert.

    • 1/4 c chia seeds
    • 1 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • 2 tsp sugar (or 10-15 drops liquid stevia, or to taste)
    • 1/4 c pumpkin puree
    • 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or equivalent components)
    • pinch salt
    • 2 tbsp pecans (toasted and chopped)

    1. Combine chia seeds with almond milk in a medium bowl. Set aside for one hour.

    2. Add vanilla extract, sweetener of choice, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and salt to the bowl with chia seeds and almond milk. 

    3. Process with an immersion blender until smooth. Adjust sweetener to taste.

    4. Pour into a dessert dish and top with pecans.

    We prefer less-sweet foods, so you may want to adjust the sweetness to your preference.

  • Send in Your Thanksgiving Recipes!

    Just a small reminder: if you have any Thanksgiving recipes you’d like to share with the community this Sunday, please email them to me ASAP!

    sp@ this website.

    Thank you!

  • Poll: Carbonated soft drinks

    This evening I’ve got several related questions for you.

    I know there are some among us who do not drink carbonated beverages, but for the rest of us, they can be a refreshing drink. Some here might even be what one could call psychologically addicted to them, perhaps even physically addicted to various components of them.

    1. Where you grew up, what did folks call carbonated soft drinks as a general type of beverage? Soda? Pop? Soda pop? Coke? Soft drinks? Something else?
    2. Were you allowed to drink it?
    3. Do you prefer diet or regular?
    4. What’s your favorite cola?
    5. What’s your overall favorite?

     

    I’ll start.

    1. We grew up calling it pop. (Upstate NY) When I went off to college, I learned to call it soda, and I still do.
    2. We were only allowed to have it for special occasions when we were small, but by the time we were teenagers, my Mom was buying 2 liter bottles of (mostly) house brand sodas, and we could have it anytime we wanted. However, she would say, “Remember, that’s all we have until payday. You might want to make it last.”
    3. I find regular sodas to be way too sweet, so stick to diet.
    4. My favorite cola was Diet Cherry Coke. However, they discontinued it so they could switch in their new “millennial” flavors. Which all suck. (Millennials are ruining everything! And they need to get off my lawn while doing so!) So, now I drink Coca-Cola Cherry Zero. And I absolutely will not drink Pepsi. It’s disgusting. Fight me!
    5. Favorite soda of all time: my grandfather’s homemade root beer.

     

    Your turn!

     

     

     

     

  • Coming Attractions (and Saturday Night Open Post)

    We’ve got another full week of great community contributed posts queued.

    Of course, we’ve got you covered with links from Sloopy, Brett L, and OMWC.  The astrological forecast by Not Adahn arrives at the usual time tomorrow, then, in the afternoon, Nephilium begins a series on home brewing.

    Monday brings some fiction by UnCivilServant, and get schooled in the mysterious ways of veganhood by Web Dom. Tuesday, Evan from Evansville continues his travelogue from Kazakhstan and CPRM has a piece in the evening.

    Wednesday, we expect new satire/sadly-not-so-much-satire from SugarFree, a Glibfit check in with trshmnstr and Mrs tshmnstr, and I’ve got a question for you Wednesday night. Thursday Tonio continues the tale of The Glibening and Dbl Eagle has his second outdoor recreation suggestion for you.

    Friday, Animal drops in with something a little out of his ordinary. Mexican sharpshooter wraps up the week for us on Saturday.

    You, too, can be among the illustrious writers mentioned here. Find out how and get to submitting!

     

    And now it’s time for Saturday Night Open Post! Have a great rest of your weekend.

     

  • Poll: Most Influential Book(s) You’ve Read

    A while back, somewhere in comments, a Glib remarked this would be a great poll topic. I’d give a H/T, but I can’t remember who it was. Thank you, anyway!

    But, how about it? What book (or books) have you read that influenced your life direction, thoughts about liberty, or had some other profound effect on you?

  • Election Day 2018

    Sadly, my darkest fears for poor SugarFree have come to pass. He’s walled himself into a cave to escape the horror of this election cycle. Not even he can indefinitely maintain his peace against it all.

    Hopefully, he’ll emerge and return to us soon.

    In the meantime, I’ve got a few questions for all my dear US citizen Glibs.

    1. Did you vote (or are you planning to)?

    2. Mind sharing for what parties and/or candidates you pulled the lever?

    3. Have any rationale that goes along with your choices?

    I plan on heading over to our polling station mid-afternoon. Try as they may to convince me, I definitely do not trust voting by mail AT ALL. The postal service routinely misplaces more important documents, so how can I trust them to actually deliver my ballot? Not to mention how simplistic it would be to “lose” a few hundred thousand of them. (I know, I know, it’s also easy to lose them when recorded any other way.)

    And…now that the day is finally here, can we move past this crap?

    HAHAHAHA, I crack myself up.