LGF Mobile Updates: Upload Photos Directly From Your Phone

And much more

Charles Johnson

LGFApril 2014 • Views: 16,860

I got some good work done on the mobile version today:

The popup Image Library that lets you search, view, insert, and tweet your previously uploaded images is now fully mobile-friendly.
You can now upload images directly from your smart phone, by tapping the "Upload Image" button. You can choose to take a photo and immediately upload it, or pick a photo from your phone's camera roll.
There's now a button at the top of the screen that lets you switch to the full-size "Desktop Version," and a button to let you switch back as well.
If you tap an author's name in the Featured or Recent Pages lists, it now pops up the list of their last 5 Pages; on mobile devices this popup dialog has a big red X to let you close it.
The "live updating" features of LGF are now enabled on mobile phones, so you can see the count of new comments in a thread and other little things that update continuously for signed-in users.
Lots and lots of little tweaks to make things look better.

Jump to bottom

84 comments

lawhawk Apr 6, 2014 5:18:47pm

Oh myyyy… This is definitely going to make posting photos here a whole lot easier. Outstanding work Charles. And thanks!

Decatur Deb Apr 6, 2014 5:20:32pm

Mobile apps are all well and good, but what about people on the other side of Baja Alabama?

Iwouldprefernotto Apr 6, 2014 5:21:29pm

Thanks Obama.

freetoken Apr 6, 2014 5:26:36pm

Shaking off the vestiges of colonialism:

Poll shows majority of young New Zealanders want to ditch British monarch as head of state

Killgore Trout Apr 6, 2014 5:32:20pm

re: #4 freetoken

Shaking off the vestiges of colonialism:

Poll shows majority of young New Zealanders want to ditch British monarch as head of state

Why the Brits haven’t done the same is beyond me.

b.d. Apr 6, 2014 5:33:40pm

[old school] WHEN IS THE PRINT VERSION COMING OUT! ? [/old school]

PhillyPretzel Apr 6, 2014 5:34:19pm

Thank you Charles for more improvements to this web log. When I get a bit more proficient with my iPhone I will try them.

freetoken Apr 6, 2014 5:37:56pm

re: #5 Killgore Trout

Why the Brits haven’t done the same is beyond me.

Well, if the Scots vote for independence they at least might just do that.

b.d. Apr 6, 2014 5:40:37pm

re: #4 freetoken

Shaking off the vestiges of colonialism:

Poll shows majority of young New Zealanders want to ditch British monarch as head of state

[LaRouchie] I HOPE THEY FREE THEMSELVES FROM THAT DRUG DEALING THUG! [/LaRouchie]

Charles Johnson Apr 6, 2014 5:41:12pm

Oh yes - forgot to mention one more improvement: the “live updating” features of LGF are now enabled on mobile phones, so you can see the count of new comments in a thread and other little things that update continuously for signed-in users.

William Barnett-Lewis Apr 6, 2014 5:45:40pm

re: #5 Killgore Trout

Why the Brits haven’t done the same is beyond me.

Oh, I dunno. 1500 years of history is pretty meaningless. I’m sure they’re happy you’re concerned about them, though.

FemNaziBitch Apr 6, 2014 5:48:07pm

Lemur Beebee KISSES!

freetoken Apr 6, 2014 5:51:10pm

Papyrology I find interesting, all sorts of stuff comes up.

Here’s one:

Public Lecture: Fred Donner ─ An Enigmatic Arabic Papyrus from Early Islam

[…]

Donner’s interests then shifted to the intellectual or ideological factors that were at play in the early expansion of Islam, and to an effort to understand just what the movement was all about. The significance of militant piety, possibly rooted in an apocalyptic outlook, had already been suggested in Narratives of Islamic Origins. However, he also concluded that Islam’s roots lay in what can most properly be called the “Believers’ movement,” begun by Muhammad (d. 632 CE), which was a stringently monotheistic and pietistic reform movement that also included righteous Jews and Christians. It was only after about two generations, beginning about 680 CE, that the Qur’anic Believers (who came to call themselves “Muslims”) separated themselves from Christians and Jews as a separate confession, effectively defining Christians and Jews out of the movement, which now became the distinct confession we know as Islam. These ideas he developed in his article “From Believers to Muslims: Confessional Self-Identity in the Early Islamic Community,” Al-Abhath 50-51 (2002-2003), 9-53 (a pdf of this article is found below), and more fully in his monograph Muhammad and the Believers: at the origins of Islam (Harvard University Press, 2010).

[…]

Watch the lecture here:

mediacapture.brown.edu

I have asserted before that the reason the tea partiers and the Gellers of the world so hate Islam is that they don’t like the competition, and that the belief systems of these American fundamentalists are much more similar to Islamic fundamentalists than different.

sattv4u2 Apr 6, 2014 5:53:50pm

re: #2 Decatur Deb

Mobile apps are all well and good, but what about people on the other side of Baja Alabama?

ouch

Skip Intro Apr 6, 2014 5:59:20pm

Can someone explain to me why people on eBay are bidding more than face value for gift cards/gift certificates?

For example, why would someone pay $20 for a $10 Amazon gift card? What am I missing here?

Decatur Deb Apr 6, 2014 6:02:56pm

re: #13 freetoken

Papyrology I find interesting, all sorts of stuff comes up.

Here’s one:

Public Lecture: Fred Donner ─ An Enigmatic Arabic Papyrus from Early Islam

Watch the lecture here:

mediacapture.brown.edu

I have asserted before that the reason the tea partiers and the Gellers of the world so hate Islam is that they don’t like the competition, and that the belief systems of these American fundamentalists are much more similar to Islamic fundamentalists than different.

Flipside of that: Through the Middle Ages, Mohammedanism was viewed by European Christians as a Christian heresy. Dante (1300) puts Mohamed in the heretics’ wing of the Inferno.

sattv4u2 Apr 6, 2014 6:03:16pm

re: #15 Skip Intro

Can someone explain to me why people on eBay are bidding more than face value for gift cards/gift certificates?

For example, why would someone pay $20 for a $10 Amazon gift card? What am I missing here?

umm,,, you’re missing losing $10 on the deal!!!

Skip Intro Apr 6, 2014 6:05:07pm

re: #17 sattv4u2

It’s just weird. $110 for a $100 Apple iTunes card.

Why? It just doesn’t make any sense.

goddamnedfrank Apr 6, 2014 6:05:56pm

re: #5 Killgore Trout

Why the Brits haven’t done the same is beyond me.

Probably because they aren’t Americans.

The Royal Family is a huge net plus for the British economy, the fairly small amount the UK Treasury pays to the queen every year is dwarfed by the amount of tourist income the monarchy generates.

sattv4u2 Apr 6, 2014 6:06:35pm

re: #18 Skip Intro

It’s just weird. $110 for a $100 Apple iTunes card.

Why? It just doesn’t make any sense.

tax write off on the “business transaction” loss??
too much disposable income and they got tired of buying OTHER stuff??

uummm,,,, I got nuffin

bratwurst Apr 6, 2014 6:08:00pm

…

Well this is embarrassing…first time I have attempted to post a deleted tweet since the one where Newt Gingrich was going to be on a talk show with Snooki and wanted to make sure she shared his love of zoo animals. Still kicking myself for not doing a screen grab on that baby.

goddamnedfrank Apr 6, 2014 6:10:25pm

re: #18 Skip Intro

It’s just weird. $110 for a $100 Apple iTunes card.

Why? It just doesn’t make any sense.

Money laundering?

sattv4u2 Apr 6, 2014 6:12:38pm

re: #22 goddamnedfrank

Money laundering?

It’s E-Bay

For the same $100 they could have gotten this to do that

ebay.com

goddamnedfrank Apr 6, 2014 6:12:49pm

re: #21 bratwurst

…

Well this is embarrassing…first time I have attempted to post a deleted tweet since the one where Newt Gingrich was going to be on a talk show with Snooki and wanted to make sure she shared his love of zoo animals. Still kicking myself for not doing a screen grab on that baby.

One of my tweets got favorited by Goldie Taylor today. I’m kind of stoked.

Amory Blaine Apr 6, 2014 6:13:29pm

RBS Steve’s worst nightmare come true!! (You know what I’m talking about).
:P

Seriously though nice work and I’m going to try it on my day off. Thanks Charles.

Charles Johnson Apr 6, 2014 6:13:37pm

One of the real headaches of mobile touch-screen programming is that there’s no “hover” event, for obvious reasons.

Amory Blaine Apr 6, 2014 6:15:10pm

Quick question, still 500k limit?

Charles Johnson Apr 6, 2014 6:19:05pm

re: #27 Amory Blaine

Quick question, still 500k limit?

Yeah, I’m probably going to have to change that. Looking into it - maybe there’s a way to tell the phone to upload a lower res image.

Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut Apr 6, 2014 6:19:30pm

re: #19 goddamnedfrank

Probably because they aren’t Americans.

The Royal Family is a huge net plus for the British economy, the fairly small amount the UK Treasury pays to the queen every year is dwarfed by the amount of tourist income the monarchy generates.

Also, as a family, they’re incredibly wealthy. They own lots and lots of stuff. If they were removed as the monarchy, a few things would happen:

They’d lose tourism money.

A lot of people would still call them the king and the queen, and if they wanted to call themselves that nobody could stop them, and they probably would.

They would become more politically powerful, because right now they’re very rich people who are heavily under the spotlight and actually legally enjoined from some kinds of politics. As private citizens, they’d be able to influence politics a lot more, as well as seeking office.

I think the monarchy is dumb as shit, but that doesn’t mean if you go “okay you’re not royalty any more” then it just vanishes, that’s magical thinking.

Eclectic Cyborg Apr 6, 2014 6:21:54pm

OT, I don’t usually get this personal on LGF but I need to get this out:

I’ve been feeling a bit distraught lately over being childless. I’m 33, my wife is 31. We have struggled with infertility. Late last year, she suffered a miscarriage.

She was planning on having gastric bypass surgery once my benefits at work kick in next month, but I got my enrollment packet last week and it turns out that surgery is not covered, even if deemed “medically necessary.”

The benefits do offer help towards adoption and that is something she and I have discussed.

It’s difficult because we are the only couple among our social group who is currently childless. Our friends support us and I appreciate that but I can’t expect them to understand exactly how I feel because they haven’t been in this place I’m in.

I come from a small family, I have one brother who is 30 and also does not have kids (he’s unmarried but in a relationship currently). I have only two cousins. They’ve both had children but that’s it. I’d hate for the family line to end with me. My grandmother is 87 and in decent health. I’d love for her to see a great grandbaby before she passes.

I know my wife and I aren’t yet “too old” to have kids but the clock is ticking.

There are definite advantages to being childless, but there are drawbacks too, especially when you, like us, really want kids.

At this point I guess I have no choice but to leave it in the hands of greater powers than I. I still hold hope that someday, one way or another, I’ll have a child.

To all who made it this far, thanks for reading and to everyone on LGF: Thanks for making this a place where I can feel comfortable enough to bare my soul like this. I honestly can’t think of anywhere else online I’d be willing to be this open.

Killgore Trout Apr 6, 2014 6:21:59pm

Monarchist outrage!

Eclectic Cyborg Apr 6, 2014 6:23:06pm

There’s been a “ditch the Monarchy” movement in Canada for years now. I have my doubts that will happen anytime soon though.

Killgore Trout Apr 6, 2014 6:23:31pm

re: #30 Eclectic Cyborg

Sorry to hear that. Hang in there.

Eclectic Cyborg Apr 6, 2014 6:24:44pm

re: #33 Killgore Trout

Sorry to hear that. Hang in there.

I’m trying to stay focused on the bright side of things as much as possible.

Amory Blaine Apr 6, 2014 6:26:54pm

Gilead offers Egypt new hepatitis C drug at 99 pct discount

Gilead Sciences, facing mounting criticism over the high price of its new hepatitis C pill Sovaldi, has offered to supply the medicine to Egypt at a 99 percent discount to the U.S. price.

While the drug will still cost $900 for a 12-week course of treatment, that is a fraction of the $84,000 charged for a course of treatment in the United States.

sattv4u2 Apr 6, 2014 6:27:17pm

re: #30 Eclectic Cyborg

I’m 33, my wife is 31

I was 40, wifey had just turned 39 when we had our one and only

We have struggled with infertility

As did we. Both of us got tested several times

It’s difficult because we are the only couple among our social group who is currently childless.

Again, as were we. In fact, by the time our child was a toddler many of my friends were empty nesters

I know my wife and aren’t yet “too old” to have kids but the clock is ticking.

Again, see above re: age !!!! :)

Killgore Trout Apr 6, 2014 6:28:04pm

re: #34 Eclectic Cyborg

I’m trying to stay focused on the bright side of things as much as possible.

Maybe refocus on the adoption option might be helpful, at least it’s something to work towards.

Eclectic Cyborg Apr 6, 2014 6:30:44pm

re: #37 Killgore Trout

Maybe refocus on the adoption option might be helpful, at least it’s something to work towards.

I agree, but I really don’t want to abandon all hope of having biological kids.

FemNaziBitch Apr 6, 2014 6:30:51pm

re: #13 freetoken

Papyrology I find interesting, all sorts of stuff comes up.

Here’s one:

Public Lecture: Fred Donner ─ An Enigmatic Arabic Papyrus from Early Islam

Watch the lecture here:

mediacapture.brown.edu

I have asserted before that the reason the tea partiers and the Gellers of the world so hate Islam is that they don’t like the competition, and that the belief systems of these American fundamentalists are much more similar to Islamic fundamentalists than different.

If one thinks in terms of a zero-sum game, then competition is a dangerous thing.

If one thinks in terms of the capitalism (as I was taught capitalism) then competition is a good thing.

*sigh*

First As Tragedy, Then As Farce Apr 6, 2014 6:31:05pm

re: #30 Eclectic Cyborg

There are eleventy zillion children in every country in the world who are eligible for adoption.

FemNaziBitch Apr 6, 2014 6:31:09pm

re: #15 Skip Intro

Can someone explain to me why people on eBay are bidding more than face value for gift cards/gift certificates?

For example, why would someone pay $20 for a $10 Amazon gift card? What am I missing here?

the need to win?

Amory Blaine Apr 6, 2014 6:33:00pm

re: #41 FemNaziBitch

Youtube Video

FemNaziBitch Apr 6, 2014 6:33:04pm

re: #30 Eclectic Cyborg

OT, I don’t usually get this personal on LGF but I need to get this out:

I’ve been feeling a bit distraught lately over being childless. I’m 33, my wife is 31. We have struggled with infertility. Late last year, she suffered a miscarriage.

She was planning on having gastric bypass surgery once my benefits at work kick in next month, but I got my enrollment packet last week and it turns out that surgery is not covered, even if deemed “medically necessary.”

The benefits do offer help towards adoption and that is something she and I have discussed.

It’s difficult because we are the only couple among our social group who is currently childless. Our friends support us and I appreciate that but I can’t expect them to understand exactly how I feel because they haven’t been in this place I’m in.

I come from a small family, I have one brother who is 30 and also does not have kids (he’s unmarried but in a relationship currently). I have only two cousins. They’ve both had children but that’s it. I’d hate for the family line to end with me. My grandmother is 87 and in decent health. I’d love for her to see a great grandbaby before she passes.

I know my wife and I aren’t yet “too old” to have kids but the clock is ticking.

There are definite advantages to being childless, but there are drawbacks too, especially when you, like us, really want kids.

At this point I guess I have no choice but to leave it in the hands of greater powers than I. I still hold hope that someday, one way or another, I’ll have a child.

To all who made it this far, thanks for reading and to everyone on LGF: Thanks for making this a place where I can feel comfortable enough to bare my soul like this. I honestly can’t think of anywhere else online I’d be willing to be this open.

(((((Electic Cyborg & Mrs))))))))))

Charles Johnson Apr 6, 2014 6:34:23pm

When you email a photo from the iPhone you can choose from 3 resolutions, but it looks like there’s no public API for this.

Stanley Sea Apr 6, 2014 6:36:52pm

re: #30 Eclectic Cyborg

((EC))

Political Atheist Apr 6, 2014 6:37:31pm

re: #38 Eclectic Cyborg

I agree, but I really don’t want to abandon all hope of having biological kids.

That’s a hard one to share. Hugs and prayers for you two. I’ll share this-My parents tried for ten years, went on vacation in Brussels and well,… an early nickname I bore with childish indignity was Brussel Sprout.

Don’t give up, and be happy. D_L and I have none of our own but a foster kid from years ago. Family means you two first.

Pie-onist Overlord Apr 6, 2014 6:37:45pm

When I take a photo on my Android, upload it to Dropbox and then open in Photoshop, it is HUGE. Very high res, I have to shrink down before I can post to Twitter, Facebook or LGF.

Sionainn Apr 6, 2014 6:38:57pm

re: #30 Eclectic Cyborg

OT, I don’t usually get this personal on LGF but I need to get this out:

I’ve been feeling a bit distraught lately over being childless. I’m 33, my wife is 31. We have struggled with infertility. Late last year, she suffered a miscarriage.

She was planning on having gastric bypass surgery once my benefits at work kick in next month, but I got my enrollment packet last week and it turns out that surgery is not covered, even if deemed “medically necessary.”

The benefits do offer help towards adoption and that is something she and I have discussed.

It’s difficult because we are the only couple among our social group who is currently childless. Our friends support us and I appreciate that but I can’t expect them to understand exactly how I feel because they haven’t been in this place I’m in.

I come from a small family, I have one brother who is 30 and also does not have kids (he’s unmarried but in a relationship currently). I have only two cousins. They’ve both had children but that’s it. I’d hate for the family line to end with me. My grandmother is 87 and in decent health. I’d love for her to see a great grandbaby before she passes.

I know my wife and I aren’t yet “too old” to have kids but the clock is ticking.

There are definite advantages to being childless, but there are drawbacks too, especially when you, like us, really want kids.

At this point I guess I have no choice but to leave it in the hands of greater powers than I. I still hold hope that someday, one way or another, I’ll have a child.

To all who made it this far, thanks for reading and to everyone on LGF: Thanks for making this a place where I can feel comfortable enough to bare my soul like this. I honestly can’t think of anywhere else online I’d be willing to be this open.

((((Hugs))))

It’s really hard. My husband and I got married when I was 29 and he was 28. Our plan was to immediately start a family. After a year, my OB/GYN put me on Clomid for six months. Nothing happened. A few years later, we saw an infertility specialist and I got all the shots and we tried intrauterine insemination five times. I couldn’t handle any more after that. At one point, we took classes to become foster parents with the intent to adopt, but some friends of ours who had done the same thing were having serious issues with Child Services, and I knew I’d lose my shit with them if I had to deal with the ineptitude. So, we finally gave up.

A few years later, I had a positive pregnancy test and immediately went to the infertility specialist because I knew I could get an immediate blood test and know that day. Sure enough, it was positive. They decided to monitor me with blood work every other day to make sure the HCG levels were rising. They didn’t and said I was going to have a miscarriage, which happened. I was heartbroken.

A year and a half later, I was pregnant again, at age 38. I had a beautiful and healthy baby girl just two weeks before my 39th birthday. We thought we were lucky and decided to be happy with one when we always wanted two. Two years later, I ended up pregnant with my second, born when I was 41.

It’s really rough, I know. People who haven’t ever been through infertility have no clue what a difficult thing it is to deal with. I wish you and your wife the very best and hope your dreams will come true.

Eclectic Cyborg Apr 6, 2014 6:40:39pm

Thanks for the good wishes guys. One great thing is our marriage is strong as a rock. Makes coping with these kinds of issues much easier.

freetoken Apr 6, 2014 6:41:44pm

Party of God, indeed:

Republican Senate Contender Matt Bevin “Called of God” Says Glenn Beck

[…]

Beck was the keynote speaker at FreePAC Kentucky on Saturday afternoon.

The event that was organized by FreedomWorks and featured a number of tea party activists and candidates from across the country and state, including Bevin, who spoke on a variety of issues.

Holding up historic relics to pinpoint certain fights against Nazism, socialism and radical Islam, Beck praised Bevin as the alternative that Kentucky conservatives have prayed for.

“I will tell you I met the guys you had speaking. Some of them I’ve met several times,” he said. “Matt Bevin, I have not met. I’ve talked to him several times and I had a good feeling. But I am telling you, I believe that man was called of God.”

[…]

Relics, indeed.

RealityBasedSteve Apr 6, 2014 6:42:24pm

re: #15 Skip Intro

Can someone explain to me why people on eBay are bidding more than face value for gift cards/gift certificates?

For example, why would someone pay $20 for a $10 Amazon gift card? What am I missing here?

You make up the losses by volume?

RBS

FemNaziBitch Apr 6, 2014 6:43:13pm

bbl

sagehen Apr 6, 2014 6:44:37pm

re: #5 Killgore Trout

Why the Brits haven’t done the same is beyond me.

Because they’re the embodiment of 500 years of history, the personification of national character, because they draw a ton of tourist income, because they promote exports, because they generate diplomatic goodwill in nations the foreign office sometimes needs favors from, because they take all the ceremonial duties an actual governing official shouldn’t be forced to spend time and energy on, because the nationalist/patriotic feeling the citizenry pours onto them doesn’t get put onto a political party….

sattv4u2 Apr 6, 2014 6:44:39pm

And on that note, the long quiet drive home beckons

Charles Johnson Apr 6, 2014 6:46:24pm

re: #47 Pie-onist Overlord

When I take a photo on my Android, upload it to Dropbox and then open in Photoshop, it is HUGE. Very high res, I have to shrink down before I can post to Twitter, Facebook or LGF.

Yeah, it looks like you’re going to have to first email it to yourself at a lower resolution, then add it to your photos, before you can upload it.

Looking into possible solutions.

Amory Blaine Apr 6, 2014 6:47:39pm

I’m childless by choice but I helped raise my wifes son. So in a sense I adopted him. Keep trying and I hope you can get what you want. We’re pulling for you guys!!

BongCrodny Apr 6, 2014 6:50:24pm

re: #15 Skip Intro

Can someone explain to me why people on eBay are bidding more than face value for gift cards/gift certificates?

For example, why would someone pay $20 for a $10 Amazon gift card? What am I missing here?

There was a thread on Freakonomics that discussed this. Some of the comments were interesting:

Fraudsters commonly overbid because they will never actually pay. The instrument of payment will be fake, or they will simply receive the goods and not send payment in return. Perhaps that is what happened here?

Freakonomics

— Always Helpful Bong

freetoken Apr 6, 2014 6:51:12pm

Circular firing squad in action:

Debate over long-shot GOP gubernatorial challenger leads to comments about ‘whisper campaign’

[…]

After a conservative blogger wrote about Branstad “refusing” to debate Republican challenger Tom Hoefling, a top party leader scolded the blogger for giving Hoefling any attention. The scolding triggered a grassroots outcry against the “orchestrated whisper campaign within the GOP to squelch dissent.”

It’s not the first time a party has struggled with the issue of how to deal with candidates who have questionable chances for success. But some activists say this case is about “a broader, deeper, systemic issue.”

[…]

Hoefling is an Alan Keyes companion and typical wingnut.

Political Atheist Apr 6, 2014 6:52:30pm

re: #55 Charles Johnson

The list of photo edit apps is growing on Android.

Lifehacker has an article…

Killgore Trout Apr 6, 2014 6:54:20pm

re: #53 sagehen

Because they’re the embodiment of 500 years of history, the personification of national character, because they draw a ton of tourist income, because they promote exports, because they generate diplomatic goodwill in nations the foreign office sometimes needs favors from, because they take all the ceremonial duties an actual governing official shouldn’t be forced to spend time and energy on, because the nationalist/patriotic feeling the citizenry pours onto them doesn’t get put onto a political party….

Hmmm. I had no idea monarchy was so fantastic. Thanks for enlightening me.

Dark_Falcon Apr 6, 2014 6:56:14pm

re: #58 freetoken

Circular firing squad in action:

Debate over long-shot GOP gubernatorial challenger leads to comments about ‘whisper campaign’

Hoefling is an Alan Keyes companion and typical wingnut.

It’s not a ‘circular firing squad’, its dealing with a crazy insurgent candidate. Sometimes the methods used to squelch such nuts aren’t very pretty.

Feline Fearless Leader Apr 6, 2014 6:56:45pm

re: #18 Skip Intro

It’s just weird. $110 for a $100 Apple iTunes card.

Why? It just doesn’t make any sense.

Unless you’re trying to clean your money?

GlutenFreeJesus Apr 6, 2014 6:58:26pm

Awesome. Many infinite thanks for all the work you put I to this little corner of the web!

Skip Intro Apr 6, 2014 7:00:32pm

re: #62 Feline Fearless Leader

Unless you’re trying to clean your money?

You’d make a better return counterfeiting $1.00 bills.

One vendor actually has a $10.00 Amazon card at the Buy It Now price of $19.95.

sagehen Apr 6, 2014 7:02:42pm

re: #60 Killgore Trout

Hmmm. I had no idea monarchy was so fantastic. Thanks for enlightening me.

Not most monarchies.

But that one, and the way they do it. The Queen has spent her entire life stepping back from ruling/governing, turning “the family business” into being useful figureheads who contribute to the nation without in any way interfering with grassroots democracy.

Feline Fearless Leader Apr 6, 2014 7:02:53pm

re: #55 Charles Johnson

Yeah, it looks like you’re going to have to first email it to yourself at a lower resolution, then add it to your photos, before you can upload it.

Looking into possible solutions.

Size is going to be an issue. The iPhone photos I post here are downloaded to my laptop, cropped, and then image shrunk to under 500K before I post them. Roughly same process with the stuff from my camera.

And I prefer that to a mail process/selection that will auto-shrink since I prefer to do the cropping/editing work before I post them in any case.

Lidane Apr 6, 2014 7:03:54pm

So I’m just getting back after going to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier. WOW. Best Marvel film so far. Loved it. Random thoughts, under a spoiler cut:

Spoiler

Bucky Barnes broke my heart. At one point you see him remembering Steve and remembering who he was, but he’s tortured back into submission. At the end when Steve is falling, the look on the Winter Soldier’s face says to me that he was starting to break through his conditioning. His scene in the Smithsonian confirms it, IMO.

SHIELD being fully infiltrated by HYDRA from the very beginning will have massive implications for the Agents of SHIELD show, especially Cap’s speech exposing everything and Black Widow exposing both SHIELD and HYDRA to the world. Can’t wait to see where things go there.

For those watching Agents of SHIELD, my new theory is The Clairvoyant = Zola. He had access to everything and could manipulate people from a distance.

HYDRA killed Howard Stark and made it look like an accident. I can’t wait to see how that plays out in the next Avengers film, especially now that Maria Hill is at Stark Industries.

Nick Fury’s headstone has the famous Sam Jackson quote from Pulp Fiction on it. Awesome.

All in all, great film. Loved it.

jaunte Apr 6, 2014 7:06:12pm

re: #30 Eclectic Cyborg

My wife and I were about your age when we decided to adopt; we wound up with three girls and a boy. It worked pretty well. We’re now up to three grandchildren too!

freetoken Apr 6, 2014 7:07:20pm

re: #65 sagehen

…. The Queen has spent her entire life stepping back from ruling/governing, turning “the family business” into being useful figureheads who contribute to the nation without in any way interfering with grassroots democracy.

However, what I wonder is if there is not a subtle form of unity being put forward as something more important than would be otherwise.

Which is why I brought up Scotland.

I wonder, if there were no monarchy, ceremonial figurehead that it is, if both Scotland and Northern Ireland residents would think of themselves as more independent of England?

William Barnett-Lewis Apr 6, 2014 7:08:03pm

re: #30 Eclectic Cyborg

Been there. We adopted from Vietnam as a result. I give great thanks to that higher power every single day that we chose that path.

You’ll find what’s right for you, I believe.

Skip Intro Apr 6, 2014 7:08:20pm

re: #61 Dark_Falcon

It’s not a ‘circular firing squad’, its dealing with a crazy insurgent candidate. Sometimes the methods used to squelch such nuts aren’t very pretty.

OK, so does anybody know Hoefling’s Free Republic handle? I know he has one there, but I’ve forgotten what it is.

Dark_Falcon Apr 6, 2014 7:09:26pm

re: #67 Lidane

So I’m just getting back after going to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier. WOW. Best Marvel film so far. Loved it. Random thoughts, under a spoiler cut:

[Embedded content]

All in all, great film. Loved it.

Spoiler

Seems a bit too Julian Assange in that “No More Secrets” ending. Rather unrealistic.

Killgore Trout Apr 6, 2014 7:09:29pm

re: #65 sagehen

Not most monarchies.

But that one, and the way they do it. The Queen has spent her entire life stepping back from ruling/governing, turning “the family business” into being useful figureheads who contribute to the nation without in any way interfering with grassroots democracy.

Youtube Video

William Barnett-Lewis Apr 6, 2014 7:11:56pm

re: #72 Dark_Falcon

[Embedded content]

It is a comic book. Even the best of them are simplistic in the end.

freetoken Apr 6, 2014 7:12:53pm

re: #61 Dark_Falcon

Oh, brother. It’s not a ‘circular firing squad’, its dealing with a crazy insurgent candidate. Sometimes the methods used to squelch such nuts aren’t very pretty.

The news story made is sound as if the Iowa GOP blogosphere is firing at itself. The governor himself looks to be taking the not-with-a-10-foot-pole approach, but what of the foot soldiers in the trenches?

Brandstad was fought by wingnuts in the state GOP, but his name-brand kept him ahead of them all.

Killgore Trout Apr 6, 2014 7:15:05pm

Youtube Video

Lidane Apr 6, 2014 7:20:50pm

re: #72 Dark_Falcon

Spoiler

I don’t think it was Assange-like at all. It’s more along the lines of an extra-judicial Nuremberg Trial, quite literally releasing a rogue Nazi group’s internal records to the public.

I’ll forgive it for two reasons: First, it’s Marvel and they’ve had a good track record so far. And second, exposing everything sets up some serious drama later on.

Think about it — not only does the world know that HYDRA is still around and has been causing every major crisis in the world for decades, BUT all of the heroes that were targeted by HYDRA now know that they were targets. Also, the prospect of seeing Tony Stark open some serious whoop ass on HYDRA for his parents has me looking forward to the next Avengers film.

Dark_Falcon Apr 6, 2014 7:21:48pm

re: #75 freetoken

The news story made is sound as if the Iowa GOP blogosphere is firing at itself. The governor himself looks to be taking the not-with-a-10-foot-pole approach, but what of the foot soldiers in the trenches?

Brandstad was fought by wingnuts in the state GOP, but his name-brand kept him ahead of them all.

That’s not a firing squad, just minor intra-party skirmishing. Both parties have had a good bit of that in Illinois over the past year. and its not a cause for alarm.

Dark_Falcon Apr 6, 2014 7:25:57pm

re: #77 Lidane

[Embedded content]

Spoiler

Very fitting then that the next David Weber ‘Honorverse’ novel comes out on Tuesday. HYDRA is much like the Mesan Alignment.

And it will be interesting to see what sort of thing Tony Stark comes up with as the modern-day version of the Flaming Brand of Hercules. (Hercules used that to cauterize the necks of the Hydra after severing its heads, to ensure that the heads couldn’t grow back.)

Mentis Fugit Apr 6, 2014 7:28:46pm

re: #76 Killgore Trout

[Embedded content]

Youtube Video

freetoken Apr 6, 2014 7:31:45pm

It’s BigPharma all the way down:

How to Handle FDA Rejection

Women’s groups are calling the FDA sexist for not approving female Viagra. They are so wrong.

joe90 Apr 6, 2014 7:58:15pm

re: #65 sagehen

Not most monarchies.

But that one, and the way they do it. The Queen has spent her entire life stepping back from ruling/governing, turning “the family business” into being useful figureheads who contribute to the nation without in any way interfering with grassroots democracy.

The corporate welfare recipients known as the house of Windsor have spent years interfering.

telegraph.co.uk

abc.net.au

en.wikipedia.org

wheat-doggha -- oo bird outside my window Apr 6, 2014 8:15:10pm

re: #30 Eclectic Cyborg

If y’all are in your 30s still, you have time. My mom gave birth to me at age 41. I was shall we say a bit of a surprise after at least two miscarriages. (My folks rarely shared that kind of info with me, even as an adult.)

Here’s another anecdote.

There are a lot of orphaned kids around the world who dream of having parents one day. A former colleague of mine and her husband adopted a baby boy about 20-odd years ago, because they had had trouble conceiving. Within a few months of the adoption being finalized, she got pregnant, and it stuck. So, they adopted one baby, and got one extra!

Mr and Mrs EC, good luck.