*Yawn*😂😂. Between you and Utee I am learning some great new “phrases”.
2,975 pages locked down over one shit stirring, knob gobbler.
*Yawn*Now, now, you are under crediting some of our other shit stirrers, sir!
2,975 pages locked down over one shit stirring, knob gobbler.
Who knew echo chambers had snowflakes?What part of
Any post mods deem political will be summarily deleted.did you not understand?
I was critical of his name-calling.I, too, thought his name calling was uncouth.
I was critical of his name-calling.so, you called him a snowflake?
I, too, thought his name calling was uncouth.So because I'm not a politician, it's cool? Brilliant.
But he wasn't being political. You brought that in.
so, you called him a snowflake?The snowflake post wasn't deleted. The one that was, was political.
So because I'm not a politician, it's cool? Brilliant.Nobody said it's cool. You're a big boy. Defend yourself.
Any post mods deem political will be summarily deleted.
Saw the movie “Nickel Boys.” A little extra artsy style and really sad but overall a pretty good flick.I always watch as many of the Oscar nominees as I can. frequently they actually know what they are talking about, and there are a couple of movies that I otherwise have little interest in watching that I really enjoy. but their whole thing in doubling the nominees was about at least acknowledging some more mainstream movies. That lasted like 2 years, and now we just have 10 art house flicks. And I like a good indie movie, but let's also acknowledge that there are some good big budget movies. This might be the most let down ive been.
I always watch as many of the Oscar nominees as I can. frequently they actually know what they are talking about, and there are a couple of movies that I otherwise have little interest in watching that I really enjoy. but their whole thing in doubling the nominees was about at least acknowledging some more mainstream movies. That lasted like 2 years, and now we just have 10 art house flicks. And I like a good indie movie, but let's also acknowledge that there are some good big budget movies. This might be the most let down ive been.I was thinking about that and to a degree, I wonder how much of that is reliant on certain higher end films hitting.
I enjoyed A Real Pain. But thats a lot of Jesse Eisenberg. He wrote, driected and starred in it. it's hard to escape into that much neuroses. But whichever Culken was in it was brilliant. Conclave was well set up, but couldnt stick the landing. Emilia Perez shouldnt have been a musical. The music is terrible in my opinion, and every time seemed a scene turned into a song, it lost me. And I am all in on a good musical. I Saw Wicked with my family in the theater, and I really enjoyed it, but I have a hard time viewing it as anything other than an adaptation of a musical I already liked
I was thinking about that and to a degree, I wonder how much of that is reliant on certain higher end films hitting.Yeah, in general the bigger box office movies being existing IP sequels aka comic book moves, is certainly an issue.
Like I looked at the top box office movies. You’re talking Twisters, Beatlejuice Beatlejuice, Gladiator II, Bob Marley: One Love, Civil War, Furiosa, Challengers and Nosferatu as the top 40 movies that could maybe be considered. And the last one was moderately arthouse, anyway.
Not a lot of there there. Three sequels that range from fine to not great at the top. A biopic no one saw. An alternate history that is simultaneously political and anti-political. Another decent sequel. Challengers and then an artsy movie.
(The Conclave thing is weird because it’s apparently Based on a book that was written in the mid 2010s. So they were boxed in a little to that whatever twist ending).
Yeah, in general the bigger box office movies being existing IP sequels aka comic book moves, is certainly an issue.
I had enough of the superhero BS by the mid-2000's.I saw an article (or something) about movies a long while ago. The rise of action movies is largely due to the fact that they play REALLY well internationally, because action movies translate cross-culturally very easily. There's no nuance.
People need to grow up.
I saw an article (or something) about movies a long while ago. The rise of action movies is largely due to the fact that they play REALLY well internationally, because action movies translate cross-culturally very easily. There's no nuance.
Compared to comedies, which translate VERY poorly. Especially anything involving any sense of wordplay, which might not come through at all.
China+India is a combined market of over 2.5B people, far larger than the US and Europe combined.
So shitty action (and superhero) movies keep getting made because they make the studios LOTS of money, and a huge portion of that pie comes from the international audience.
I get that, and it makes perfect sense.I think it kind of clears out the middle. You either have big bets that you hope have big payoffs or small stuff that you can make cheaply. Or out and out award plays that can be hit or miss.
But, I also don't remember the movie studios struggling when they made quality films, either. Can they do both? Give the thinking man a bone to chew on. Sheesh.
Are we just full go money grab now? I suppose I shouldn't be shocked.
I get that, and it makes perfect sense.Eh. I think they're still making those. As you said yourself, a few of those nominated films are "outstanding". Clearly even if you think Hollywood perhaps doesn't match your sensibilities with some of the artsy / statement movies they make, they're still making SOME good ones.
But, I also don't remember the movie studios struggling when they made quality films, either. Can they do both? Give the thinking man a bone to chew on. Sheesh.
Are we just full go money grab now? I suppose I shouldn't be shocked.
Eh. I think they're still making those. As you said yourself, a few of those nominated films are "outstanding". Clearly even if you think Hollywood perhaps doesn't match your sensibilities with some of the artsy / statement movies they make, they're still making SOME good ones.
The other aspect is that we have a tendency to fetishize the past because we only remember the good movies. Let me pick a number out of a hat--1978, when I was born. These were the top grossing movies of 1978 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_in_film):
(https://i.imgur.com/ocnZrnm.png)
#1 is a pop bubble gum musical. #2 is an action superhero movie. #3 is a crass comedy. I don't recall #4-6. #7 is an action sequel. #10 is a action horror movie.
And then look at the awards. Only two of the movies on this list really show up anywhere on the awards:
(https://i.imgur.com/mYiR3Y8.png)
So I won't sit here and say that the past was just SO much better... Our tastes as movie consumers haven't really changed much... We still reward superhero, action, horror, etc.
Dune was great, Deadpool and Wolverine was extremely well-made and a lot of fun, and Wicked was a very good adaptation of a very entertaining musical.
I saw a handful of the others and they ranged from okay, to not so great, but 3/10 of the top-grossing movies were very good, even if they might not be your cup of tea.
r.e. --- Oscar nominated movies (Best Picture)This is similar to me. Having kids running around the house makes watching a lot of movies difficult, and it constrains what kinds of movies one watches (at least it does for me). That changes as they get older, but it's still true. But Hollywood is still making great movies.
I love movies, though obviously not a professional critic ---
I used try to watch most of the yearly nominated films, and my take is ---- a few are outstanding, a few are predictable noms of some virtue signaling cause (that are not very good, and not my taste), and a few that are shockingly bad, to the point of being unwatchable.
But, I'm just a caveman, so.....
This is similar to me. Having kids running around the house makes watching a lot of movies difficult, and it constrains what kinds of movies one watches (at least it does for me). That changes as they get older, but it's still true. But Hollywood is still making great movies.
I have tired of the superhero epics (including Star Wars), but there were some really good movies mixed in there for a while. There are other really good movies being made. I thought Conclave was solid. Dune was very good. Everything Everywhere All At Once is one of my favorite movies ever. It hit a lot of really high points for me.
And I agree that not all movies have to be art house fare. I really liked Inception, but even more blockbuster-y, I enoyed the Mad Max reboot, and the first two John Wicks (I haven't seen the next two). I really liked La La Land. I know it wasn't all that groundbreaking, but it was a fun night at the movies. Was it the best picture that year? I have no idea, but I enjoyed it. And the Death of Stalin? Gold. There are plenty of really good movies in lots of different genres that have come out in the last year, five years, ten years, etc.
There are lots of others. You just have to sift the wheat from the chaff, and good lord Disney and Warner Brothers are pouring a lot of chaff into the superhero mill. (And, damn it, I want to see Deadpool and Wolverine, I just haven't yet.)
I'm probably more open to the virtue signaling--or I likely have a different perspective on what virtue signaling is--than you do (based on my perception of our political differences), but I agree that ham-handed virtue signaling is off-putting, regardless of whether it supports my world view. That said, art--definitely including movies--has always pushed societal norms. Is that virtue signaling? You say potato (I also say potato, because no one says poh-tah-toh). Two movies from the recent past that stand out to me: Do the Right Thing and Brokeback Mountain. They were really important movies, the latter probably more so than the former as far as its social reach. Have I gone back to watch either again? No. I didn't think they were ham-handed, but they definitely pushed a perspective. I'm ok with that. Art, even popcorn art, influenes culture. It always has.
You are my favorite dipstick liberal that I've never met.Out of curiosity, and maybe if it can stay somewhat removed from politics, which of the current crop do/did you find to be virtue signaling?
Great post, and I can't find much to disagree about here. My opposition to the virtue signaling movies, are those of the overt, transparent variety. The making of the movie, just for the sake of pushing a narrative --- and that can go either way politically. Both are ick for me.
You listed a couple of good ones there that are culturally relevant and informative, without the 'in your face', condescension. The ones that don't make you feel like Hitler, if you have a different perspective. Just tell the story, without dehumanizing one side, or the other. Those are effective, and I can get down with it.
I am a particular fan of the historical pieces on the marginalized. Glory, Dances with Wolves, Men of Honor, etc ---those types, even if some of them are fictional, or take creative license. Feel good films, that hit the ole ticker.
Out of curiosity, and maybe if it can stay somewhat removed from politics, which of the current crop do/did you find to be virtue signaling?
I haven't seen a single one this year.I could see that.
But what I've read of "Conclave", I'd certainly include it.
I haven't seen a single one this year.I think Emilia Perez certainly is.
But what I've read of "Conclave", I'd certainly include it.
I could see that.
That’s an interesting one because the part I think you’re taking about is a real twist at the end. Unless that’s more a commentary on the larger treatment of the church.
Of the set of movies, I think two could probably fall into that space (Emilia Perez, which is not that good, and Conclave, which is mostly good, though the twist is whatever), and if you stretched, maybe a third (Nickel Boys is set in the Jim Crow south in a pretty grotesque setting). The Substance could be read that way, but it’s also probably too gross to draw much flack there.
The other six I’ve seen feel like they’re just movies. Anora was probably my favorite. I think 20 years ago, Complete Unknown would be more of a consensus movie.
I assume A Complete Unknown will be fine.Obviously I haven't seen it, but it seems like we're now in a copycat "biopic of an iconic / quirky musician" genre... I mean, we had Elvis, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Rocketman in the last few years. I saw the first two, but not the last. I thought Elvis was terrible and yet it was nominated for Best Picture.
Is it sad that I've only seen 4 out of all the Best Picture nominees of the last 5 years?Not sad unless you feel that way about it.
Not sad unless you feel that way about it.LOL good point. I guess I really don't care...
Obviously I haven't seen it, but it seems like we're now in a copycat "biopic of an iconic / quirky musician" genre... I mean, we had Elvis, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Rocketman in the last few years. I saw the first two, but not the last. I thought Elvis was terrible and yet it was nominated for Best Picture.I would say it was considerably better than Elvis, and have heard it was better than the other two.
Dune was great, Deadpool and Wolverine was extremely well-made and a lot of fun, and Wicked was a very good adaptation of a very entertaining musical.
And I agree that not all movies have to be art house fare. I really liked Inception, but even more blockbuster-y, I enoyed the Mad Max reboot, and the first two John Wicks (I haven't seen the next two). I really liked La La Land. I know it wasn't all that groundbreaking, but it was a fun night at the movies. Was it the best picture that year? I have no idea, but I enjoyed it. And the Death of Stalin? Gold.
Out of curiosity, and maybe if it can stay somewhat removed from politics, which of the current crop do/did you find to be virtue signaling?Barbie. Overall, I thought it was a fine movie. It did a great job of taking a toyland and turning into a live action universe. Technically, it was really well done.
Obviously I haven't seen it, but it seems like we're now in a copycat "biopic of an iconic / quirky musician" genre... I mean, we had Elvis, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Rocketman in the last few years. I saw the first two, but not the last. I thought Elvis was terrible and yet it was nominated for Best Picture.I liked Elvis more than most people did. I thought Bohemian was awful and I am a HUGE Queen fan. Rocketman was easily the best of those 3 IMO, but it also was different. It wasn't a strict biopic, as it was a musical about Elton John, set to Elton John music. So it wasn't about where he was when he wrote various songs, it was finding songs to fit scenes, while still telling a story. Also, because of that, it had more music than the other 2
I liked Elvis more than most people did. I thought Bohemian was awful and I am a HUGE Queen fan. Rocketman was easily the best of those 3 IMO, but it also was different. It wasn't a strict biopic, as it was a musical about Elton John, set to Elton John music. So it wasn't about where he was when he wrote various songs, it was finding songs to fit scenes, while still telling a story. Also, because of that, it had more music than the other 2
In other news...I'm reading about Stalin right now. Dude was charming. And a really bad guy. But also a true believer. Humans are weird.
Barbie. Overall, I thought it was a fine movie. It did a great job of taking a toyland and turning into a live action universe. Technically, it was really well done.Yeah, I was thinking about bringing that one up.
But the women's liberation story arc was ridiculous. SFIrish, who has worn pink hats and gone to DC for the Women's March, was put off by it. It was just soooo over the top.
I liked Elvis more than most people did.To me Elvis was just so overly stylized that I never really felt like I was actually watching something real.
Barbie. Overall, I thought it was a fine movie. It did a great job of taking a toyland and turning into a live action universe. Technically, it was really well done.I’m more meant this year.
But the women's liberation story arc was ridiculous. SFIrish, who has worn pink hats and gone to DC for the Women's March, was put off by it. It was just soooo over the top.
Because they are attached at the hip, I would say that Oppenheimer may have pushed the virtue signaling more than it needed to, but I don't think it was so overtly over the top as to make me shake my head about it.
I would love to see a film about the 442 Regimental Combat Team (consistent with Jgvol's comment above), but the parts of Masters of the Air that included the Red Tails were just silly. (In general, I thougth Masters of the Air was a ham-handed, by the numbers war epic, with really cool visuals of air combat, but nothing else.)
I thought Deadpool and Wolverine was enjoyable, but not that "good." What I mean by that is, I think it got most of its mileage out of the fun cameos and finding yet another way for the multiverse to abuse meaningful story-telling and bring Hugh Jackman back, rather than tell an interesting story with an interesting plot or theme.Eh, I thought it was very well-made, and funny, and entertaining.
But, I suppose Deadpool movies are more about Ryan Reynolds playing Ryan Reynolds again, and enjoying the moment, moreso than they're meant to be classes in plot or character development.
Apparently, Lenin could also be quite charming. Must be all the Vodka they probably impounded from the Czars.I would bet the majority of really effective leaders are shockingly charming when they need to be. in some ways, It’s just a different kind of sales
I'm a huge Chalamet fan but I loathe Bob Dylan's music with the flaming hatred of a thousand suns.I dont think many realy liked Dylans voice. To understand his popularity you would need to experience the times he lived in. It wasnt his voice but his message that appealed to his fans.
I saw Chalamet sing the Dylan songs on Saturday Night Live last week. He did an incredible job of sounding like Bob Dylan, and so consequently I despised his renditions as well.
just full go money grab seems to be working well for college footballunlike
I dont think many realy liked Dylans voice. To understand his popularity you would need to experience the times he lived in. It wasnt his voice but his message that appealed to his fans.
I'm a huge Chalamet fan but I loathe Bob Dylan's music with the flaming hatred of a thousand suns.You should not see that (pretty good) movie.
I saw Chalamet sing the Dylan songs on Saturday Night Live last week. He did an incredible job of sounding like Bob Dylan, and so consequently I despised his renditions as well.
I'm a huge Chalamet fan but I loathe Bob Dylan's music with the flaming hatred of a thousand suns.(https://media1.tenor.com/m/u7rM2wDdYwcAAAAd/clue-flames.gif)
You should not see that (pretty good) movie.No worries, it's not on the list.
So shitty action (and superhero) movies keep getting made because they make the studios LOTS of money, and a huge portion of that pie comes from the international audience.Good Post,I kept wondering who watches these bad skits that keep getting produced,never realizing why :017: . Just another segment of American Society that throws the US public to the dogs. I wouldn't have gotten fond of master pieces like Kelly's Heroes/Python's Holy Grail/Caddyshack/Animal House/Stripes/Young Frankenstein/ Planes, Trains & Automobiles/Cheech and Chong/Kingpin......
Eh, I thought it was very well-made, and funny, and entertaining.
I mean, it's a Deadpool movie. It's not arthouse or fine literature.
I think Ryan Reynolds is the perfect Deadpool and it's obviously a pet project for him and he puts a hell of a lot into it.
So I guess what I'm saying is you are entitled to your own opinion, but you're also wrong. Ole~. Whatever.
I thought Deadpool and Wolverine was enjoyable, but not that "good." What I mean by that is, I think it got most of its mileage out of the fun cameos and finding yet another way for the multiverse to abuse meaningful story-telling and bring Hugh Jackman back, rather than tell an interesting story with an interesting plot or theme.Personally I love movies that break the 4th wall and D&W does it very well
But, I suppose Deadpool movies are more about Ryan Reynolds playing Ryan Reynolds again, and enjoying the moment, moreso than they're meant to be classes in plot or character development.
No worries, it's not on the list.Herbert's books just don't lend themselves to film. While they did a much better version this time than the previous attempt, it just doesn't do the book justice. Too much has to be left out to understand what is going on.
But Dune Messiah or whatever they're going to call it, definitely is.
I dont think many realy liked Dylans voice. To understand his popularity you would need to experience the times he lived in. It wasnt his voice but his message that appealed to his fans.While I dont share your anti Dylan feelings I can understand it. I feel the same way about all the "hiphop" performers out there. A thousand burning suns describes my hate feeling towards that type of music.
1995 was a good yearOk boomer
for college football
Ok boomernot so good for the Sooners
95, I'd have the grunge and industrial down, but the rap would trip me up.I remember that song!
I do remember Coolio
not so good for the SoonersThink baby boomer...
0-37 in Lincoln
95, I'd have the grunge and industrial down, but the rap would trip me up.
I do remember Coolio
Personally I love movies that break the 4th wall and D&W does it very well
Listening to boomer radioBarry Switzer at the local watering hole?
Saw utee post in the books thread about how his library wing is also the "Vinyl Lounge"...Exactly. I'm unsure how one simply listens to a Pink Floyd song. You really need to listen to the album.
One of the things when he posted about that in the now-closed thread is that it inspired me to build a couple of Spotify playlists that are just single albums start to finish. There are just some albums that need to be listened to straight through... I can't go from Rage Against The Machine to pretty much any Pink Floyd song and then out of that to Dr Dre and have any flow as I sometimes do when Spotify is on random. A lot of Pink Floyd really lends itself to just listening straight through lol...
So just wanted to give a thumbs-up for that idea, even if I don't quite have the space for a dedicated listening lounge.
Which brings up another topic for discussion-- what do you consider to be the best albums all time, side A and side B, from beginning to end, with no bad songs? The kind you just want to sit down and listen to the whole thing, never wanting to hit that skip button or lift the tone arm to the next track.So obviously the album as an art form has been dead for a while. I think Dave Matthews and Oasis did the best job among "modern" artists of keeping the album as an art form.
I'll throw out The Cars The Cars as a starting point, I love that whole album. There are many others.
Which brings up another topic for discussion-- what do you consider to be the best albums all time, side A and side B, from beginning to end, with no bad songs? The kind you just want to sit down and listen to the whole thing, never wanting to hit that skip button or lift the tone arm to the next track.There are a good number on my list. I'll start with Van Halen I and Boston. Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell has merit.
I'll throw out The Cars The Cars as a starting point, I love that whole album. There are many others.
So obviously the album as an art form has been dead for a while. I think Dave Matthews and Oasis did the best job among "modern" artists of keeping the album as an art form.
I think Abbey Road is the best constructed album. But I don't think it necessarily has the best songs. It just works together better than anything I've ever heard.
If we are just talking banger after banger, these are some of my favorites. Not saying they are the best crafted album, just albums where I can listen start to finish, these are the ones that come to mind
- Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon & Garfunkel
- Tapestry - Carole King
- Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen
- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
- Rumours - Fleetwood Mac
- Songs In The Key Of Life - Stevie Wonder
- Who's Next - The Who
- Band on the Run - Paul McCartney & the Wings
- Thriller - Michael Jackson
- Joshua Tree - U2
- No Jacket Required - Phil Collins
- Master of Puppets - Metallica
- Appetite for Destruction - Guns n Roses
- Jagged Little Pill - Alanis Morisette
- Kid A - Radiohead
- Chronic 2001 - Dr. Dre
- Stankonia - OutKast
- Black Album - Jay Z
- College Dropout - Kanye West
- FutureSexLoveSounds - Justin Timberlake
- Come Away With Me - Norah Jones
- White Trash With Money - Toby Keith
- 1989 - Taylor Swift
- 21 - Adele
There are a good number on my list. I'll start with Van Halen I and Boston. Black Sabbath's Heaven and Hell has merit.Absolutely agree. Van Halen I, II, and 1984 are all full listens for me. Same goes for all of the first three Boston albums. And Heaven and Hell is good front to back as well.
I think Abbey Road is the best constructed album. But I don't think it necessarily has the best songs. It just works together better than anything I've ever heard.
Back in high school, a buddy of mine shared an opinion with me that Pearl Jam's singles were progressively better from albums, one, two, and three, but that the albums got progressively worse.
I don't know that I still think that, specifically, but I know what you mean.
Smashing Pumpkins -- Siamese Dream. unskippable.Hell yes.
Counting Crows August and Everything After -- a great call as well.
Nirvana -- Nevermind
Neil Diamond -- The Jazz Singer
"Singles" soundtrack
"Forrest Gump" soundtrack
Any Creedence album basically.
Yeah I don't know if the singles got better, but the albums definitely got worse. Ten is a full listen for me, but although I like several tracks off the next couple of albums, I always found myself skipping multiple songs on them. And I'll still bust out Ten to this day, while I haven't broken out the next two in... decades I guess.Exactly. I feel like Ten is a masterpiece. Vs is a downgrade, but a pretty solid album. Just can't compete with Ten. Vitalogy is a middling album with a few good songs. Everything after that? Unlistenable.
Exactly. I feel like Ten is a masterpiece. Vs is a downgrade, but a pretty solid album. Just can't compete with Ten. Vitalogy is a middling album with a few good songs. Everything after that? Unlistenable.Because it is a masterpiece.
Yeah I don't know if the singles got better, but the albums definitely got worse. Ten is a full listen for me, but although I like several tracks off the next couple of albums, I always found myself skipping multiple songs on them. And I'll still bust out Ten to this day, while I haven't broken out the next two in... decades I guess.
In retrospect, I think the issue must have been that I really liked Better Man back then.
Now I like it no more or less than other good songs of theirs from that time period, so the theory kind of falls apart. Now it just feels like the albums got worse and the good songs stayed about the same.
I was big on Pearl Jam for 15 years.That's me with Nirvana these days.
They just had no staying power with me apart from a few songs, consequently -- none from "Ten".
They are a channel changer for me these days.
I was big on Pearl Jam for 15 years.
They just had no staying power with me apart from a few songs, consequently -- none from "Ten".
They are a channel changer for me these days.
Any Creedence album basically.CCR is one of my all-time favorites, but it's fascinating to me how prolific they were for such a short period of time. Like three albums a year (or something like that) for three years (68-70), and then they burned out. Wild.
You can define it however you like, it's an open ended question. For me it doesn't need to be full of bangers, some of my favorite albums might only have 1 or 2 "hits" on them, the rest were merely album tracks.Yeah, banger after banger was probably overkill. I just meant albums that were no skips, even if they werent necessarily conceived as a collective. I dont think I ever seek out an individual song from Abbey Road, but I dont think anyone has ever topped it as an album as an art form. So I was naming my no skip albums, even if I dont think of them necessarily as one piece of art.
But I will say that for me, my definition is-- it has to be an album with no weak songs, or no dislikable songs, no "immediate skips" or things like that.
I'll illustrate, from one of the albums on your list. I absolutely love U2 The Joshua Tree, it's one of my favorite albums of all time. But I also absolutely hate one song-- "Bullet The Blue Sky." I find it pretentious, annoying, and also just a bad song. It's an instant skip for me. Which, for a vinyl LP record, means I have to stand up, walk over to the turntable, lift the tone arm, move it over manually, and drop it to the next track. So that disqualifies that album for me. In fact, when I dubbed that album to cassette tape, I just omitted that song, and then I never listened to the record or CD again, instead I always listed to the cassette tape.
I used to like RHCP. At some point I completely wore out on them. Almost any RHCP song is a channel changer for me now, and I don't know why.In fairness, I don't think they've had a song in 15 years that I've loved, so I get it. to me, that's the Eagles. and In fairness I didn't hear them until they were done, so it's not like they ever had new music for me to find. But at one point, they would have been in the running for my favorite band, and now I'm just so sick of the same dozen songs. The only song of theirs I still have to listen to is Doolin Dalton. And it's not that I dislike them, I think. I just honestly listened to five albums cover to cover too many times, and now I just can't do it with them anymore. I did it to myself
Golderned thread thief,can't stay on point
Which brings up another topic for discussion-- what do you consider to be the best albums all time, side A and side B, from beginning to end, with no bad songs? The kind you just want to sit down and listen to the whole thing, never wanting to hit that skip button or lift the tone arm to the next track.
I'll throw out The Cars The Cars as a starting point, I love that whole album. There are many others.
But I'll forgive you just this one time and after that album you can put on Red Headed Stranger
Sort of along the same lines, Willie Nelson Stardust is a compilation album, but it's so, so good. Absolutely a full listen for me, and a common one these days since I own the vinyl. My daughter has gotten really into Willie Nelson lately, so I'm a proud papa.
In fairness, I don't think they've had a song in 15 years that I've loved, so I get it. to me, that's the Eagles. and In fairness I didn't hear them until they were done, so it's not like they ever had new music for me to find. But at one point, they would have been in the running for my favorite band, and now I'm just so sick of the same dozen songs. The only song of theirs I still have to listen to is Doolin Dalton. And it's not that I dislike them, I think. I just honestly listened to five albums cover to cover too many times, and now I just can't do it with them anymore. I did it to myselfWe can always spin some Bob Seger/SBB for you ;D
I know it's sacrilege down here, but man, I can't stand Tom Petty. The music is fine, but that voice... ouch.
Steve Perry has an incredible voice.
My wife can't stand him either. Strange --- the both of you.
Had.(https://i.imgur.com/ct8CCYB.jpeg)
Had.I mean, so did Jon Bon Jovi and pretty much every other guy that was a great singer 40 years ago and is just old now. I suspect many of them wrecked their voices smoking cigarettes and other crap.
I mean, so did Jon Bon Jovi and pretty much every other guy that was a great singer 40 years ago and is just old now. I suspect many of them wrecked their voices smoking cigarettes and other crap.Saw Sammy at Cabo Wabo a few years ago. He and Michael Anthony kicked ass on that stage.
Although I'll say that I've recently (within the past 4 years) seen both Sammy Hagar and Simon Le Bon live, and both could still kill it onstage.
Van Hagar > Van Halen (not saying much though :88:)I like 'em both. Sammy is a better singer overall, DLR was a better front man. Early Van Halen was iconic and genre-defining, but the band still rocked out for several albums with Sammy.
Which could spark another discussion-- who's the best front man in rock music history?Ozzy.
I'd put DLR up there. And Mick Jagger. And Freddy Mercury. Who else?
Which could spark another discussion-- who's the best front man in rock music history?
I'd put DLR up there. And Mick Jagger. And Freddy Mercury. Who else?
Jean Simmons probably deserves a nod.Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley?
Seems like the more modern bands are a little more ensemble-focused. They might have lead singers, but do they really have "front men" anymore?
I'd probably list Dave Grohl as a front man, and a pretty good one. Not that Foo Fighters are a particularly "modern" band at this point.
Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley?I guess I tend to think of Gene Simmons as the front man, and Paul Stanley as a secondary lead singer. Offstage Gene was always much more outspoken than Paul, and onstage he was more flamboyant.
They both fronted.
I tend to agree with you. Not a thing anymore.
I saw the Foo Fighters last year, and it was very interesting to see how they had to space out the big songs and then have some random solos to preserve the singing voice.Man you ain't seen nothin' until you've seen Michael Anthony down a liter of Jack Daniels whilst ripping on the bass for 15 minutes.
The base solo was a bit much.
Angus Young?That's a good one.
That's a good one.Didn't know that Dude Looks Like A Lady was supposed to be a prediction about his future... :57:
Steven Tyler.
That's awesome.I look back now, and it's kind of a dick move. But I was a pretty good kid in high school and if that's the worst thing I did, then I think the world got off lucky.
Which could spark another discussion-- who's the best front man in rock music history?
I'd put DLR up there. And Mick Jagger. And Freddy Mercury. Who else?
Man you ain't seen nothin' until you've seen Michael Anthony down a liter of Jack Daniels whilst ripping on the bass for 15 minutes.
Reminds me of a high school ski trip I took with a friend's family in the late 1980s. We were driving up to Red River, NM and stopped to eat at a Pizza Hut in Dalhart, Texas. This is a small town, and it's very redneck/country, especially back then.I once spent $10 playing Take Me Home Country Roads on repeat on a jukebox in Pittsburgh
Like all Pizza Huts of the day, it had a jukebox. It was almost entirely country music, which I liked just fine having been born and raised on it, but I was listening to a lot more hard rock and glam rock at the time. So I played a couple of different country songs, but I also mixed in Dude Looks Like a Lady. When it came on, I could tell that the local patrons weren't too thrilled about it. They started looking around, I guess trying to figure out who had selected it. They probably figured it out, too, but nobody said anything.
As we were walking out, I dropped $2 in that jukebox and selected Dude Looks Like a Lady to play at least 8 times in a row.
I assume somebody eventually went over to unplug the thing and reset it...
Which could spark another discussion-- who's the best front man in rock music history?In my mind, it Freddie Mercury by such a wide margin, and then there is a fantastic conversation about who is #2.
I'd put DLR up there. And Mick Jagger. And Freddy Mercury. Who else?
Pretty good?Yeah sure, for an old broad.
A chick with legs like that who can play guitar and sing is HOT. I don't care how old she is.Ah okay. Wasn't sure where you were going with that. I agree. :)
Yeah sure, for an old broad.
You can't pretend she wasn't hot back in the 80s.
(https://i.imgur.com/S3s5xze.png)
Which could spark another discussion-- who's the best front man in rock music history?Peter Wolf
I'd put DLR up there. And Mick Jagger. And Freddy Mercury. Who else?
Was on a Peloton ride today and the instructor called out a shoutout to a specific leaderboard name for some sort of milestone...mike Hunt
I didn't see the name, but it must have been something like... Mike_Rochurtz
Yeah, she got got good. Took her a second to regain composure after that one :57:
She's 66...She was so hot, it broke up her band. THAT'S hot. The eyes!!!!!
Was on a Peloton ride today and the instructor called out a shoutout to a specific leaderboard name for some sort of milestone...😂😂😂😂
I didn't see the name, but it must have been something like... Mike_Rochurtz
Yeah, she got got good. Took her a second to regain composure after that one :57:
In my mind, it Freddie Mercury by such a wide margin, and then there is a fantastic conversation about who is #2.How about Bruce Dickinson?
How about Bruce Dickinson?
Bruce Springsteen is goodBlech.
There are plenty of good frontmen. I don't think Dickinson is a contender for best frontman.Elvis
ElvisAustin Butler
Elvis ALWAYS stood out front on the stageYes he stood out front. Because he was a solo act. He didn't have a band, he rotated through various musicians for recording and touring.
so, that leaves Michael out too
hah, better than Geddy LeeAt nothing.
Saw Sammy at Cabo Wabo a few years ago. He and Michael Anthony kicked ass on that stage.saw the Who about a year ago and Roger Daltrey's voice was a strong as ever.
Yes he stood out front. Because he was a solo act. He didn't have a band, he rotated through various musicians for recording and touring.not initially. he started out as the frontman of his family band the Jackson 5 of course and hit big as like a 9-10 year old child.
Michael Jackson? Yeah, he was a solo act, too.
Prince was the frontman for the Revolution. A pretty good one, IMO.
Either way, we were discussing frontmen for ROCK bands, and neither the Jackson Five or his solo career were anything like that.Michael Jackson's solo career his music was almost genreless and well he appeared to be genderless
Well, Eddie played the guitar solo for Beat It... but yeah fair point. I brought up Michael Jackson, my bad.I believe he actually did it for free too as a favor to Quincy Jones who I'm sure most hardcore musicians back in that day idolized.
hah, better than Geddy Lee
I know who that is. I bet only a few might.More cowbell?
More cowbell?
I believe he actually did it for free too as a favor to Quincy Jones who I'm sure most hardcore musicians back in that day idolized.
Probably had no idea that song would go on to be one of the biggest of all-time and the album it was on would go on to be the greatest selling album in the history of the world. That album probably has sold in excess of 100 million units worldwide and generated billions of dollars. Eddie probably should've asked for some royalty fees.....probably cost himself millions of dollars there. Not like he needs the money though- he's probably already rich af but still- homie left tons of money on the table there.
Yeah I don't think Eddie was hurting for money. There's something to be said for the goodwill built up when artists help one another. And "the Q" was legendary, I think we might be surprised at how many hardcore rock musicians respected him.Did Eddie Money have a band?
Rod Stewart???
Billy Joel???
Elton John??
The Toto guys did studio work for practically anyone and everyone recording in LA back then. They're the sound behind almost all of the yacht rock music recorded during that era.
Did Eddie Money have a band?
Peter WolfWoofa Goofa Mama Trutha,great live album I dunno '76-'77 somewhere near there. Saw them touring after "Love Stinks" came
Blech.Steve Perry ,ya sure-right-whatever :043:
Elvis ALWAYS stood out front on the stageWell until he crapped out
Woofa Goofa Mama Trutha,great live album I dunno '76-'77 somewhere near there. Saw them touring after "Love Stinks" cameyup, saw em in Omaha in the early 80's
Steve Perry has an incredible voice.
Yep."Oh Sheri" or "Backstreets" Puhleeeze
no super bowl gameday thread???Bastages
I suppose I'd better get my Super Bowl chili in the pot so I can try to enjoy the Husker hoops home game vs the evil Buckeyes at 1pm
no super bowl gameday thread???too political
I suppose I'd better get my Super Bowl chili in the pot so I can try to enjoy the Husker hoops home game vs the evil Buckeyes at 1pm
apparently, like me, you don't have the power to delete political poststoo many snowflakes out there
The Toto guys did studio work for practically anyone and everyone recording in LA back then. They're the sound behind almost all of the yacht rock music recorded during that era.
Perhaps an effort could be made in area 51 to reconstitute it for those interested in partaking.Reconstitute it? In what way? It's currently active, with relatively few participants.
Peter Wolfhttps://youtu.be/QDBoPLCeMKA
Perhaps an effort could be made in area 51 to reconstitute it for those interested in partaking.Yeah, the A51 section is like the political debates we used to have in here, if you removed all civility and about 50 IQ points from everyone participating.
I'm fine with it, but I'm not fine with any personal attacks. Those would be immediately deleted and a time out issued for the offender(s).Let me know when it starts,any bets on who the 1st offender will be? Or how many times the rules of conduct are transgressed by said reprobate :bluegrab:
In other news...This is why women have a longer average lifespan than men.
Alligator handler bitten during feeding show at Gatorama (https://winknews.com/2025/02/11/gatorama-owner-bitten-during-alligator-feeding-show/)
Let me know when it starts,any bets on who the 1st offender will be? Or how many times the rules of conduct are transgressed by said reprobate :bluegrab:One could argue you are, right here, with this post.
Not that my vote counts for much, but I think this particular part of the board is better without the places that thread inevitably seemed to go.The thing I don’t like about Area 51 is there entire CFB 51 existence is all about politics and the like. At least with the threads here we switch back and forth from chilli, football, technology, light politics, and everything else under the sun.
Perhaps an effort could be made in area 51 to reconstitute it for those interested in partaking.
The thing I don’t like about Area 51 is there entire CFB 51 existence is all about politics and the like. At least with the threads here we switch back and forth from chilli, football, technology, light politics, and everything else under the sun.When I read that, I think of a poor metaphor.
The thing I don’t like about Area 51 is there entire CFB 51 existence is all about politics and the like. At least with the threads here we switch back and forth from chilli, football, technology, light politics, and everything else under the sun.then don't go there
then don't go thereThank you, I don't post in Area 51 (or very rarely post). And we have like 2900 pages of very little politics. and just a few with them.
no sense soiling a decent thread of beer, chilli, football, technology, and everything else under the sun with politics
I like this thread better than the otherI'm sorry, did you say something?
but, I can enjoy both for what they are
scrolling by the posts that I don't enjoy helps
here and there
Had a weird moment last week.It just depends. How much trouble would it be to drag it in? Would they do the same for you? Does it rain very often there ( I assume it does). Is it something where it didn't rain for a long while, and stuff got left out and then forgot about? Happens to me sometimes when we go 1-3 months without any rain.
Was watching a friend’s dogs at their house. They had left some stuff outside and it started raining. Am I automatically expected to drag all that stuff in? Or should I assume that if you leave something outside you’re gonna tell me if you want it brought in?
Not an unbelievable amount of trouble, but it would sort of require me going through a bunch of stuff and trying to decide if it mattered.
It just depends. How much trouble would it be to drag it in? Would they do the same for you? Does it rain very often there ( I assume it does). Is it something where it didn't rain for a long while, and stuff got left out and then forgot about? Happens to me sometimes when we go 1-3 months without any rain.
Yep, that's weird history.It wasn’t. It was a bunch of stuff that probably wasn’t gonna get destroyed by the rain, but also probably didn’t need to be out there.
You were there to watch a dog, not keep house.
Now, if there was something electronic or sensitive to water, I'd have probably brought it in for them.
I've lost 60+ pounds since November 2023.60 lbs is tremendous. What were you up to, and how do you feel?
Portion control, no eating after 4PM (generally), no eating unless hungry (but not too hungry - that's bad) and using a timer when eating. Eat for 10 minutes, stop for 5 minutes, continue eating if truly hungry. Healthy exercise.
Try this.
Home - Wondr (https://wondrhealth.com/)
It works.
Since late last year, I've been fasting one day a week. I was pushing 270 (268-272). I am tall, over 6'2, but I'm still pretty heavy even for my size. About to be 50, so I decided to do something about it.I'm with you on the Ozempic/etc. I think there might be some people for whom their weight is at a point where it's necessary just as a triage, but I feel like we're going to find out 10 years from now that there are a lot of terrible side effects we didn't know about...
Anyways, one day a week (usually Tuesday but sometimes Thursday) I will fast from the time I get up until I wake up the next day, so roughly ~30 hours or so. It was working pretty good I think. I didn't really do much the first couple of weeks, but I started weighing myself weekly in January. So I got down to 261, 8-10 lbs down. I was pretty happy about that. So last week, I guess I overdid the superbowl and this week I weighed in at about 265. Not too happy about that. Literally gained 4 lbs in a week just from a little extra chips/cheese/alcohol during the Big Game.
I don't really exercise but at times I have a physically demanding job. I consider myself in pretty decent shape, I often climb very tall stairs at work in an industrial facility, 80-120 feet in height pretty easily. I have days, like today where I will sit in this office all day and do nothing physically, and then this weekend I will be drilling wells and doing actual physical work.
I don't really do any kind of diet other than my one day fast, but some people I know will do the fast after a certain time and had good results. I do eat way to much fast food, but my wife usually cooks dinner and we eat a good amount of green vegetables at each meal.
Just curious about the rest of you and what you've done to drop the pounds. I don't really care to or want any help in the form of ozempic or the rest, I feel like bad stuff may come out of this scheme in the future.
I'm with you on the Ozempic/etc. I think there might be some people for whom their weight is at a point where it's necessary just as a triage, but I feel like we're going to find out 10 years from now that there are a lot of terrible side effects we didn't know about...Explain to me how the Peloton works like I've never seen one before (I haven't ). I just assumed it was a fancy stationary bike that connects to the internet and has some kind of screen where you can cyber-cycle with other people. How do you target daily core etc on the bike? Is there another machine you are using?
For me, I really started working on this about 2 1/2 years ago (Jun 2022). Prior to that, I was pretty sedentary. I had a gym membership, so basically the only real exercise I got was walking the dog or playing golf. I was like you in that I didn't really think I was in terrible shape--it's not like walking 18 holes of golf would cause me trouble, and I had done a lot of hiking prior to 2021 and would do 8-10 mile hikes with decent elevation gain and be fine. But... I wasn't where I was capable of being.
At that point at 6'5" I was hovering between 275-280 lbs. I'm a muscular guy, so I wasn't some fatty at that weight. Going back a few years my PCP had one of those "InBody" body composition scanners, and flat out told me that at my muscle mass, I can just ignore BMI as being useless. But even then, I was definitely bigger than I needed to be, and my body fat % was definitely a lot higher than I'd want it (which he also told me). Nothing had materially improved between that discussion with my doctor and Jun 2022.
So, we bought a Peloton. I mostly only cycled for the first 8 months, which dropped me to 260 lbs. At that point (Feb 2023), I started adding in weight training, and in the 2 years since, I now hover between 255-260 lol. But my body composition has drastically changed, so I know I've added muscle and dropped body fat. I'm nowhere near "six pack" territory yet, but I actually have defined abs... So although the number on the scale sounds really high to most people, I'm actually not THAT far off an ideal weight for my muscle mass.
For me, this is what I do:
- Do something Peloton EVERY day. This is important to me from a habit perspective. Initially when I didn't want to do anything, I would just do a 10 minute stretch. Starting in 2024, I committed to doing daily core. So every day I will do at least a 10 minute core strength workout. For this year, I also committed to stretching daily, since I started neglecting it last year.
- Cycling is generally 3-5 days per week depending on the week. I generally am doing 45- or 60-minute classes, although some days it's a 30, and some days it's 75/90/120. This is to keep my cardio in good shape.
- Strength is the same. I try to work through the body. Lower body strength is typically about three times every two weeks--if I wait too long, i.e. more than a week between workouts, I get horribly sore for 2+ days after working out. Upper body is probably about the same, but it sometimes is more "classes" if I break it up. I.e. Peloton has "upper body" workouts, but they also have "chest & back" and "arms and shoulders". Sometimes I'll do a longer "upper body" if I know I'm not doing anything the next day, or I'll do C&B one day and then A&S the next if I know I've got time.
- Peloton has an annual minute challenge, that I use to keep myself on track. In 2023 and 2024, I committed to an annual goal of 15K minutes, which is averaging about 41 per day. Sometimes I go over, sometimes under, but I keep track of where I am to make sure I can stay in that range. For 2025, I have increased that to 20K minutes, or about 55 per day. (Note: this includes stretching, so it's not ALL hardcore stuff.)
Noticeably absent from that list? Diet. I'm burning enough calories that I know I need to consume enough calories to fuel this. If I was not seeing visible improvement in my body composition, I'd probably have tried to drop pounds. But for now, my progress is going the right direction and I know I've dropped body fat % significantly, so I'm not trying to eat less.
I should probably not drink so much beer though...
IMHO diet might be a good thing for you, but I'd say not to neglect your body. For me, one of the things that has been difficult is watching my parents age. My mom has had cardiac issues going back decades from being overweight and smoking until her mid-40s. She dropped the weight but at 82 years old, she's just NOT in good shape. I'm actually going to see her in a few weekends because she [again] went into the hospital and had to get a catheter and balloon to inflate the blocked double-stented(!) artery... She's a tough woman but I feel like if she's got 9 lives, she's already on 8... My dad is morbidly obese. The last time we were there, we went to Costco with him and he was getting winded just walking around the store.
The thing is, they were probably a lot like where we were in their mid-40s. Overweight. Too sedentary. But they did absolutely nothing about it, and now they are where they are. I don't want to end up like that when I'm 80. They're not capable of basically anything at their age. I want to be capable so I can enjoy my grandkids. And the longer I wait to start, the harder it will be.
So if you're almost 50, the best time to start getting your body right is now. And that's not just shedding a few pounds, which is of course important. It's also getting the physical work in to try to retain as much capability as you can as the inevitable decline starts. Father Time is undefeated, but if you put in the work now, you might at least go 12 rounds with him before the KO.
Explain to me how the Peloton works like I've never seen one before (I haven't ). I just assumed it was a fancy stationary bike that connects to the internet and has some kind of screen where you can cyber-cycle with other people. How do you target daily core etc on the bike? Is there another machine you are using?I think it's a must as you get older. It's easier to lose muscle than fat.
As I stated, at times I do a tremendous amount of physical work, just not everyday. I haven't worked out on any kind of regular basis since I was in my 20's. We do actually have two gyms near our house, they seem pretty active. I just don't consider myself any kind of a gym person really, but maybe I can change that.
BTW, as somebody who is really tall (6-2 or 6-3 depending on whose measuring) 6-5 is super tall. I never realized how different it is for other people who are average or even short but being well over 6' is so different in good and bad ways. One of the drivers that makes me want to lose weight is the fact that I can't find any clothes that really fit good. 2X is now too small, 3X is too big. It's not so much how fat I am around the waist really, it's more like arm length and the length of the shirts. Everything tends to go just below my belt or be so big it looks like I'm wearing a tent. I wore 38 in the waist forever on pants, and a few years ago finally had to go to 40 in the waist, but in truth a lot of my pants are too big and I have to wear a belt or they will slip down.
Explain to me how the Peloton works like I've never seen one before (I haven't ). I just assumed it was a fancy stationary bike that connects to the internet and has some kind of screen where you can cyber-cycle with other people. How do you target daily core etc on the bike? Is there another machine you are using?The company offers a bunch of workout plans and guidance and stuff. That includes strength, training classes and other stuff.
As I stated, at times I do a tremendous amount of physical work, just not everyday. I haven't worked out on any kind of regular basis since I was in my 20's. We do actually have two gyms near our house, they seem pretty active. I just don't consider myself any kind of a gym person really, but maybe I can change that.
Explain to me how the Peloton works like I've never seen one before (I haven't ). I just assumed it was a fancy stationary bike that connects to the internet and has some kind of screen where you can cyber-cycle with other people. How do you target daily core etc on the bike? Is there another machine you are using?LOL I just sent you a referral link for the app and mentioned that most people think Peloton is just a stationary bike... It's that, and a lot more.
As I stated, at times I do a tremendous amount of physical work, just not everyday. I haven't worked out on any kind of regular basis since I was in my 20's. We do actually have two gyms near our house, they seem pretty active. I just don't consider myself any kind of a gym person really, but maybe I can change that.
Same issue for short guys -- I am one. :)I never even really thought about people as being short unless they were really short, like under 5' short just because I'm usually a good bit taller than the average person I deal with on a daily basis. And I don't mean this in a mean way, it's just that almost everybody I meet is much shorter than me, or slightly shorter so I just don't consider somebody who is 5-2 to be short. But occasionally I will meet somebody who is much taller than me, like BRAD at 6-5 and I think, this must be what I feel like to other people.
I either look like I am trying to be tough guy in a tight shirt, or the alternative is --- appearing to be wearing a nightgown, or daddy's shirt.
I am fairly thick, athletic thick (shoulders, back, and bi's and tri's), but the belly has gotten too big over the last few years. Trying to get down to 180 from 200.
Leans meats, seafood, and portion control on food. Black coffee, water only (occasional alcohol). Doing some aerobic training with the wife 4 days per week as well. I've shaved off 9 pounds in 3 weeks.
The company offers a bunch of workout plans and guidance and stuff. That includes strength, training classes and other stuff.One thing that Peloton generally eschews in their community is a lot of focus on the diet / weight loss thing. They more play up the "training" / "athlete" aspect. Which I think speaks to a lot of people who don't want to be preached at for being overweight. I'm not sensitive to any of that, so it doesn't matter to me, but I understand why they do it. So if you're looking for meal planning, you're not getting it there.
Brad correct me, but I think they offer some stuff for meal planning as well?
I never even really thought about people as being short unless they were really short, like under 5' short just because I'm usually a good bit taller than the average person I deal with on a daily basis. And I don't mean this in a mean way, it's just that almost everybody I meet is much shorter than me, or slightly shorter so I just don't consider somebody who is 5-2 to be short. But occasionally I will meet somebody who is much taller than me, like BRAD at 6-5 and I think, this must be what I feel like to other people.or
On the bad side, riding in planes, smaller cars or really any cars, public transportation, the whole 9 can be really uncomfortable at times. The world is not very accommodating for tall people.
BTW, as somebody who is really tall (6-2 or 6-3 depending on whose measuring) 6-5 is super tall. I never realized how different it is for other people who are average or even short but being well over 6' is so different in good and bad ways. One of the drivers that makes me want to lose weight is the fact that I can't find any clothes that really fit good. 2X is now too small, 3X is too big. It's not so much how fat I am around the waist really, it's more like arm length and the length of the shirts. Everything tends to go just below my belt or be so big it looks like I'm wearing a tent. I wore 38 in the waist forever on pants, and a few years ago finally had to go to 40 in the waist, but in truth a lot of my pants are too big and I have to wear a belt or they will slip down.
I never even really thought about people as being short unless they were really short, like under 5' short just because I'm usually a good bit taller than the average person I deal with on a daily basis. And I don't mean this in a mean way, it's just that almost everybody I meet is much shorter than me, or slightly shorter so I just don't consider somebody who is 5-2 to be short. But occasionally I will meet somebody who is much taller than me, like BRAD at 6-5 and I think, this must be what I feel like to other people.
On the bad side, riding in planes, smaller cars or really any cars, public transportation, the whole 9 can be really uncomfortable at times. The world is not very accommodating for tall people.
Bwar, does your employer know you moonlight as a Peloton salesman? ;)You’re only a salesman if you get a commission.
Bwar, does your employer know you moonlight as a Peloton salesman? ;)
You’re only a salesman if you get a commission.LOL. Well, if anyone DOES want to buy the actual Peloton equipment, I've got a referral link that'll get you $100 credit for accessories/apparel and will give me a $100 referral credit for same. So that would sorta be a commission... The referral link I sent @Gigem (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=1706) only doubles the app free trial from 30 days to 60 days, and I get no personal benefit if he uses that...
He’s just a proselytizer!
Well that was quick and unsurprising.What was?
What was?Take a look at the political thread of shame
(https://64.media.tumblr.com/c40217963a655065b609d184370309ee/315468c7b1360d5b-73/s540x810/d33cd2565ab78c929547b05b37e60606b69d4ff4.gif)“Nice.”
NBA = rat's assagreed. still watch from time to time, and Luka Doncic is unquestionably one of the 3 to 5 best basketball players on the planet, he's only 25 years old and has been named 1st team All-NBA five times and won a scoring title...and you trade him to the Lakers for a 32 year old Anthony Davis and a ham sandwich. Makes zero sense. Anthony Davis is an excellent player and all but he's 7 years older and quite frankly just not as good as Luka.
Quote from: Gigem on Today at 11:08:00 AM (https://www.cfb51.com/big-ten/in-other-news-18271/msg670449/#msg670449)QuoteI'm 100% in agreement with you, and furthermore as we've discussed multiple times on this board the only way to really cut is by cutting the entitlements since it's the largest single source of expenditures by the Federal government. Or, increase taxes (LOL).
So we know what they are doing, while helpful in it's own way, won't get us where we need. I'm hopeful that if nothing else, we can cut this bullshit out, grow the economy at the same time, shrink inflation, and maybe curb some of the entitlements and shrink the deficit down to a manageable number again. When I say shrink entitlements, I'm talking about SS benefits to 150 year olds, gross fraud in medicare, that type of stuff. Not actually cutting SS benefits or changing the core requirements.
First, I'm glad you saw what I meant and didn't think I was just picking on you.
Second, I agree with this post and just want to add one area of SS Fraud/waste that is a pet peeve of mine:
My wife is an addiction counselor who previously worked for a County Health Department with addicts in that county. Nearly ALL of her adult clients were on SSI Disability.
Wait, what?
It gets worse, the disabilities weren't from injuries or something, they were mental health disabilities.
Wait, what?
Want to know what the disabilities were? Their addictions WERE their disabilities. So for these people, in sum, we the taxpayers are paying for:
- Disability checks so they can sit around the house getting high watching tunes (https://youtu.be/ido6NrjGi2o?si=TNMqi-bxL0GBP7ys),
- Police for all the crimes they commit,
- Addiction counselor salaries to tell them to stop taking drugs,
- Paramedics salaries and Narcan kits for when they OD
Many jobs in Ohio require a drug test to GET the job. If we are going to require drug tests to GET a job shouldn't we also require drug tests to NOT get a job and sit around collecting govn't handouts too?
Just a note mostly for our resident libertarian @betarhoalphadelta (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=19) :
I'm enough of a libertarian that if you are independently wealthy and want to use your wealth to sit around getting high I don't really care. My issue here isn't the drug use it is the waste of government resources.
Since late last year, I've been fasting one day a week. I was pushing 270 (268-272). I am tall, over 6'2, but I'm still pretty heavy even for my size. About to be 50, so I decided to do something about it.
Anyways, one day a week (usually Tuesday but sometimes Thursday) I will fast from the time I get up until I wake up the next day, so roughly ~30 hours or so. It was working pretty good I think. I didn't really do much the first couple of weeks, but I started weighing myself weekly in January. So I got down to 261, 8-10 lbs down. I was pretty happy about that. So last week, I guess I overdid the superbowl and this week I weighed in at about 265. Not too happy about that. Literally gained 4 lbs in a week just from a little extra chips/cheese/alcohol during the Big Game.
I don't really exercise but at times I have a physically demanding job. I consider myself in pretty decent shape, I often climb very tall stairs at work in an industrial facility, 80-120 feet in height pretty easily. I have days, like today where I will sit in this office all day and do nothing physically, and then this weekend I will be drilling wells and doing actual physical work.
I don't really do any kind of diet other than my one day fast, but some people I know will do the fast after a certain time and had good results. I do eat way to much fast food, but my wife usually cooks dinner and we eat a good amount of green vegetables at each meal.
Just curious about the rest of you and what you've done to drop the pounds. I don't really care to or want any help in the form of ozempic or the rest, I feel like bad stuff may come out of this scheme in the future.
Can we PLEASE keep this goddamned thread apolitical?I'm sorry if you took my post as political. I tried to frame it only in the context of black and white information. Mine and Medina's personal experience factors into the post I made. I asked for the other thread to be kept open, but a couple of posts (posters) derailed our very civil (between us) discussion.
Or we might as well just lock this one too.
Anyways, one day a week (usually Tuesday but sometimes Thursday) I will fast from the time I get up until I wake up the next day, so roughly ~30 hours or so. It was working pretty good I think. I didn't really do much the first couple of weeks, but I started weighing myself weekly in January. So I got down to 261, 8-10 lbs down. I was pretty happy about that. So last week, I guess I overdid the superbowl and this week I weighed in at about 265. Not too happy about that. Literally gained 4 lbs in a week just from a little extra chips/cheese/alcohol during the Big Game.One point to add here... 8-10 lbs in 6 weeks is just on the upper end of a "normal/safe" weight loss. But although you might feel like you lost all that weight, chances are if you were just eating a little healthier and avoiding carbs, a good portion of that weight was water. And then there's NO way you gained 4 pounds in a week. Your body doesn't do that. You ate crappy [carb-laden] foods and your body started retaining water. So you "gained" four pounds... Of water.
Exercising and working out is great to improve your health....cardio, strength, making your doctor gripe at you about your lab results less, etc. But it's not going to help you lose weight much. Not unless you combine it with a modified diet, in which case, it's mostly the modified diet that's working, not the exercising.
How's the weather?"Cold" and rainy lol...
Absolutely it's about forcing myself to have a calorie diet. I'm just trying it to see how it ends up working for me. I also know that there's no way I could have possibly gained 4 lbs in a week, which I deduced was probably water retention as you suggested. I'm also going to stick with this diet another month of two just to see where I end up.(https://i.imgur.com/GlnAlzZ.jpeg)
My goal is to be under 250. I know myself and my bad habits enough to know that I probably won't be able to sustain any kind of diet, so I'm just choosing to skip eating one day so I don't have to make any choices. I might modify this some in the near future with a modified no eating after xx time diet, and maybe start having a much lower calorie lunch. Hard for me to skip the fast food as I'm always on the go, juggling multiple "lives" that I've jumped into in the last few years.
(https://i.imgur.com/GlnAlzZ.jpeg)Believe it or not, I do this often.
Believe it or not, I do this often.Good.
I know myself and my bad habitsI know mine too :singing:
I know mine too :singing::party0036:
Smoking is so gross, you're doing yourself and everyone around you a huge favor. Keep up the good work!Word
And it's true. For most people, the more you exercise, the more hungry you are. The more hungry you are, the more you eat (to balance the extra calorie burn). And if you eat more, you won't lose weight. Your body wants you to stay in calorie balance.
Smoking is so gross, you're doing yourself and everyone around you a huge favor. Keep up the good work!
Cigars?
Cigarettes, sure, but I don't find smoking cigars to be very gross. Though I myself don't smoke cigars.
Cigars?
Cigarettes, sure, but I don't find smoking cigars to be very gross. Though I myself don't smoke cigars.
The cigar smell alone turns my stomach. Nasty.Yup, cigars smell even worse than cigarettes.
There's that, and there's also the sheer math of the time for calorie in/calorie "out."Yeah, but I think it's more than that.
Say a slice of cheesecake gets you 325 calories. You eat it in a couple minutes. It takes like 30-40 minutes running on a treadmill to burn 325 calories. Add in a couple Famous Amos cookies and Cheetos throughout the day......nobody has any hope of spending that much time on a treadmill. You could kill yourself on it and not even break even for a day with your snacks. If you snack like I have a tendency to, anyway. And that's not even counting working off some of the regular meals, which may need to happen.
Back when I wanted to lose the 15 lbs, I was getting after it with my gym membership. I was hustling. It did all kinds of good for my greater health. But it wasn't helping me lose the pounds. My gf (now wife) told me about the uphill climb and told me the only way to get where I wanted to go was to cut back on the snacks and reduce my lunch and dinner portions.
It took several weeks, but she was right. Per usual.
Yeah, but I think it's more than that.
LOL not arguing. It's more "violent agreement"...
You're correct.
What I mean to say re: the math on calories consumed vs. calories burned--suppose you're at a stable weight, and you don't exercise. Let's say for some reason you can only pick one or the other. You'll have a lot more success by trimming down the eating (and adding no exercise) vs. adding exercise (and not reducing calorie intake--which, as you pointed out, is unlikely to happen anyway).
I only mean that suppose your truism of wanting more calories along with more exercise weren't there to hinder you (which it is). Attacking the calories would still do more for weight loss than attacking the gym. That obviously varies with how much time a person spends exercising, but as I say, the amount of exercise needed to lose weight without reducing calories is severe.
Aaaaand.....as you've pointed out, it's highly unlikely to exercise that much and reduce calories....at least on accident.
What I'm trying to say is we're both right, so stop arguing with me :)
@Gigem (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=1706) if you want to PM me with your thoughts, questions, perspectives, I'll be happy to respond (when I have time, which is not always, but I have enjoyed being back around here recently). Unless I'm not. But I'm unlikely to swear at you. (Unlikely, I've been known to slip.)One thing that I really like about MOST people in our group is that there is a wide diversity in opinion , life experience, really the whole 9 yards. And even if I don’t agree with your opinion or viewpoint, I still want to hear it.
;)
my doc said that losing weight is only about number of calories consumed vs number of calories burned180 seems …slim. How tall are you ?
which is what most of you are saying here
metabolism, fasting, gut health, carbs, sweets, not eating after 5pm, other tricks are only helpful if they help with less intake or more burning of calories
exercise is not easy for me, especially when it's below zero degrees
I need to find a routine to do something
I can maintain my weight by eating once a day before 7pm. Limiting sweets and carbs.
I'm at a good weight - around 180, down from 200
I just want to be more physically fit and therefore more healthy
@62 years of age, it's time to get started
LOL not arguing. It's more "violent agreement"...A metal band should have used that for an Album Cover,you get a Yuengling
LOL not arguing. It's more "violent agreement"...
My only point is that the math is the math. And the human psychology is the human psychology. Math-wise, increasing calorie burn should mean weight loss, because why would you increase calorie consumption? Psychology-wise, increasing calorie burn tends to increase calorie consumption.
There are plenty over here in my family. Stop on by.Hell yeah running!
And yeah, it's really an 80/20 thing, diet vs. exercise. But of course, exercise is good. I'm back to running 3 miles during the week and 5 miles on a weekend day.
Running is the one form of exercise I will avoid like the plague.Jogging gives me the runs.
Jogging gives me the runs.jogging leads to the runs
Running is the one form of exercise I will avoid like the plague.I get it. I like cycling too, but for me running has always been a bit of a zen activity. When I'm in shape I can zone out and run for hours without thinking about it.
I get it. I like cycling too, but for me running has always been a bit of a zen activity. When I'm in shape I can zone out and run for hours without thinking about it.For me it's the impact. At my size it is just WAY too much impact on my lower half.
For me it's the impact. At my size it is just WAY too much impact on my lower half.Running is an irritating one because if you’re really out of shape, you have to really work up to it.
I realize it's probably because I have terrible running form, and if I learned to run properly it wouldn't be as hard on my body. But I hate it, so I'm not motivated to learn to do it better.
For me it's the impact. At my size it is just WAY too much impact on my lower half.
I realize it's probably because I have terrible running form, and if I learned to run properly it wouldn't be as hard on my body. But I hate it, so I'm not motivated to learn to do it better.
Quitting cigars has been... not easy.Been smoking cigars for about a year. Don't smoke everyday. 1 or 2 a week. I find it a nice break sitting outside with an adult beverage with a good cigar.
But I still drink. Just not as much.
(https://i.imgur.com/MPoWdhT.png)
I've been lucky with injuries over the years. Some minor stuff here and there--and the separated shoulder, which was a bitch--but I've avoided the big joint and bone stuff.Yeah, I think about trying to skate again and I just talk myself out of it because I know how it would go. You are lucky.
I had a spiral fracture too. One plate and 14 screws. Lateral movement? LOL. And my wife wants me to play pickleball. Not happening.
Been smoking cigars for about a year. Don't smoke everyday. 1 or 2 a week. I find it a nice break sitting outside with an adult beverage with a good cigar.That's not going to kill you.
The cigar smell alone turns my stomach. Nasty.People are smoking bad cigars around you. :72:
Yeah, I think about trying to skate again and I just talk myself out of it because I know how it would go. You are lucky.I stopped playing basketball in my 30s because I care so much more about my other sports (hockey, at the time, and hopefully again), and wasn't willing to tear an ACL or an achilles tendon, or some such thing, playing a sport I like, but don't love.
my doc said that losing weight is only about number of calories consumed vs number of calories burnedI believe in Calories in vs Calories out, but I also am compelled by the hormonal view of weight gain, i.e. Limiting the number of insulin spikes during the day. Did a lot of research before I started intermittant fasting
which is what most of you are saying here
metabolism, fasting, gut health, carbs, sweets, not eating after 5pm, other tricks are only helpful if they help with less intake or more burning of calories
exercise is not easy for me, especially when it's below zero degrees
I need to find a routine to do something
I can maintain my weight by eating once a day before 7pm. Limiting sweets and carbs.
I'm at a good weight - around 180, down from 200
I just want to be more physically fit and therefore more healthy
@62 years of age, it's time to get started
People are smoking bad cigars around you. :72:
Been smoking cigars for about a year. Don't smoke everyday. 1 or 2 a week. I find it a nice break sitting outside with an adult beverage with a good cigar.I enjoy a cigar on the back 9 of the golf course once a week or so. 2 or 3 times a month during golf season (april-october) so, less than 30 a year
I believe in Calories in vs Calories out, but I also am compelled by the hormonal view of weight gain, i.e. Limiting the number of insulin spikes during the day. Did a lot of research before I started intermittant fastingYeah--at a simple level (perhaps simplistic) these issues (insulin spikes, heart rate (aerobic vs. anaerobic burn), etc.) relate to how your body reacts to the energy it is burning, and what signals it sends you to regulate it. Understanding them better allows you to be more rational in your response (and also in your planning to avoid them).
That's not going to kill you.I hope not.
Rather than a runner's high, I think of it as "beautiful suffering."So a Blues Album Cover 😎
A sickly sweet disgustingness.So a Punk Band Album cover
I stopped playing basketball in my 30s because I care so much more about my other sports (hockey, at the time, and hopefully again)The Hanson Brothers approve this message
So a Punk Band Album cover
There are plenty over here in my family. Stop on by.
And yeah, it's really an 80/20 thing, diet vs. exercise. But of course, exercise is good. I'm back to running 3 miles during the week and 5 miles on a weekend day.
For me it's the impact. At my size it is just WAY too much impact on my lower half.
I realize it's probably because I have terrible running form, and if I learned to run properly it wouldn't be as hard on my body. But I hate it, so I'm not motivated to learn to do it better.
(Sugar is my kryptonite--it, too, is addictive, which really freaking sucks, but not nearly as destructive as a bunch of other addictive things.)
~???:singing:
Even in my healthy days, I'd have felt separated from that reality by a million miles. Running (for the sake of running) has never been my thing. I would run for hours playing other sports, but just running was a chore that was forced on me in P.E. classes in grade school. It never stuck with me.
That said, I'm no jogging Nazi. I don't go around telling people they should either walk or sprint.Just like the Young Bull/Old Bull joke
The impact is eventually not good for anybody, no matter how good their form is or how good their joints start out. The chances that you endure knee problems you wouldn't otherwise have had are pretty high.Yeah, and I enjoy a nice long brisk walk, I love hiking. I'd rather hike 10 miles than jog 1.
Most of the benefits average people are going for can be achieved with a brisk walking pace.
I hear you, and I know the struggle. Sugar, so the missus tells me, is pretty highly addictive compared to many illegal drugs that people become addicted to. I know tons of people who crave it, but I know a few people who really crave it, and I'm one of them. And I can tell for the average person, they don't get it.
Yeah, and I enjoy a nice long brisk walk, I love hiking. I'd rather hike 10 miles than jog 1.I use to love to hike (and like someone else I could play bball 2 hrs full court 4-5 nights a week and or tennis).
This is one area I'm really lucky. I don't crave sweet things. I have a few guilty pleasures (tiramisu, anything involving dark chocolate, etc), but I don't even like milk chocolate. Too sweet.
Yeah, and I enjoy a nice long brisk walk, I love hiking. I'd rather hike 10 miles than jog 1.I agree, but I can run 3-4 miles in a half hour, just walking out my front door and starting. Hiking 10 miles takes a lot longer than that.
So a Punk Band Album coverOr Bert's Tinder profile
I agree, but I can run 3-4 miles in a half hour, just walking out my front door and starting. Hiking 10 miles takes a lot longer than that.Yup, exactly. I don't have a ton of time, I'm running before work most days, so I need to get it done in a half-hour. Right now I'm doing 3 mile per day 3 days per week during the week, and then a 5-6 miler on one of the weekend days. I can knock out the 3 miles and take a shower in just over 30 minutes, and then get to work.
I agree, but I can run 3-4 miles in a half hour, just walking out my front door and starting. Hiking 10 miles takes a lot longer than that.Blowing my knee out really hurt my "fun" exercise. I played tennis and basketball a couple nights week. Those might be the two worst things to do when you tore through every tendon in your knee. I still jog, or walk, 4-5 times per week. Pittsburgh topography makes jogging tough. But I have to drag myself to do it. Pre-kids, I jogged constantly. I'd get up at 5 am to jog. Now, I can't do that, and I'm also sick of it, because it's my only exercise.
Yup, exactly. I don't have a ton of time, I'm running before work most days, so I need to get it done in a half-hour. Right now I'm doing 3 mile per day 3 days per week during the week, and then a 5-6 miler on one of the weekend days. I can knock out the 3 miles and take a shower in just over 30 minutes, and then get to work.I wonder if I need to change it up, because my daily 3 miler has only gotten slower. I can't hit the Pittsburgh hills like I did a decade ago, and when I jog while back visiting parents in Michigan I'm always surprised how "Pittsburgh flat" isn't actually flat*. But even on the treadmill I've gone from 23 minutes to do 3 miles to 29.
Blowing my knee out really hurt my "fun" exercise. I played tennis and basketball a couple nights week. Those might be the two worst things to do when you tore through every tendon in your knee. I still jog, or walk, 4-5 times per week. Pittsburgh topography makes jogging tough. But I have to drag myself to do it. Pre-kids, I jogged constantly. I'd get up at 5 am to jog. Now, I can't do that, and I'm also sick of it, because it's my only exercise.Swimming?
Swimming?Now you are asking me to take my shirt off?
I agree, but I can run 3-4 miles in a half hour, just walking out my front door and starting. Hiking 10 miles takes a lot longer than that.Yeah, and don't get me wrong... I haven't been hiking in a LONG time.
I was thinking today about the lawyers we've had here on the board over the years (and still have).I think I've got the aptitude for it.
I think I would've liked studying law. I don't know that I would've liked being a lawyer, but just learning the finer points of it and discussing it in an academic environment, I mean.
So a Blues Album Cover 😎(https://i.imgur.com/m3M5BiI.jpeg)
Quit monkeying around ya hoser I've seen neither of them behind my house in the woods playing poker with Hoffa,DB Cooper,the yeti,Amelia, the NJ Devil and the mothman, swilling jaegermeister along with Rumple Minze Peppermint schnappshttps://youtu.be/wfwkYkrvyX8
Mmmm... Still in line, but I think this'll be goodV good. What’s the place?
V good. What’s the place?Heritage Barbecue, San Juan Capistrano.
it's just chickens ;)(https://i.imgur.com/BeAYKvA.jpeg)
not the all powerful egg lobby
Well, my son is a Sr at Sam Houston in construction management. He just got a job offer for a major company. Shade under $100k, but it means he will probably need to move out of state. So I’m super happy and sad at the same time.I hear you... My son wants to be a nuclear engineer. If all goes well, he might end up at a great college in California. Good chance if he can't get into Berkeley, he'll end up somewhere else--which is fine. He should get a chance to broaden his horizons and move away for school.
Love how we had to basically cancel the Pro Bowl; the Olympics is about the only time we get the best basketball players to try on the global stage, and even still it's not always; and the WBC can't always get the best players.shouldn't have booed our national anthem. those puck slapping maple suckers fucked around and found out.
Meanwhile the NHL puts the 4 Nations tournament in the middle of the season, and USA-Canada have 3 fights in 9 seconds.
Hockey players man
shouldn't have booed our national anthem. those puck slapping maple suckers fucked around and found out.(https://cdn-tor.buminteractif.com/2025/02/16021611/Capture-decran-2025-02-15-201130-1-1.jpg)
Well, my son is a Sr at Sam Houston in construction management. He just got a job offer for a major company. Shade under $100k, but it means he will probably need to move out of state. So I’m super happy and sad at the same time.Depending on his exact position and the size of the projects, he may spend a number years living 4 month here, 9 months there, a year the next place. I was in the construction industry most of my career as a CPA and the guys that ran the project were basically nomads.
I hear you... My son wants to be a nuclear engineer. If all goes well, he might end up at a great college in California. Good chance if he can't get into Berkeley, he'll end up somewhere else--which is fine. He should get a chance to broaden his horizons and move away for school.Years ago, I asked about NucE. I was told that it was kind of a dying field, that very very few new reactors (zero for ~30 years) would be built and that they were closing more and more plants all over. What I was told is that it would be better to have a different degree, like MechE or ChemE, and then try to get into the Nuclear business, than have a NucE, and try to get into another field like ChemE.
But the big thing with NucE is that he's going to have a much smaller likelihood of finding a job anywhere near here.
I've got a couple of fraternity brothers who went into BCM. One of them (from Purdue) spent a good two decades in Tucson/California, and is now back in Indianapolis. His firm did a lot of building for hospitals/healthcare stuff...
Depending on his exact position and the size of the projects, he may spend a number years living 4 month here, 9 months there, a year the next place. I was in the construction industry most of my career as a CPA and the guys that ran the project were basically nomads.Yep, that was my buddy's experience. Was in Tucson for a while for a couple of projects. Then his company was expanding into CA, and he ended up on the central coast for a while for a big project. He got lucky getting moved down to San Diego for several years, but at least one project he would leave San Diego early every Monday morning to drive north of LA to the job site, stay in a hotel all week, and drive back on Friday. I'm guessing that if he hadn't been married, he'd have just said screw it and moved up there for the project.
Years ago, I asked about NucE. I was told that it was kind of a dying field, that very very few new reactors (zero for ~30 years) would be built and that they were closing more and more plants all over. What I was told is that it would be better to have a different degree, like MechE or ChemE, and then try to get into the Nuclear business, than have a NucE, and try to get into another field like ChemE.It seems like the world is moving towards a revival of nuclear power. That said it seems like a stable but low-employment field compared to things like EE. BLS projects (https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/nuclear-engineers.htm#:~:text=Nuclear engineers monitor nuclear facility,engineers research new reactor designs.) a 1% decline over the next decade in employment, but with continual new jobs being created by older workers retiring out of the field.
And as always, kids go to college, suddenly decided that what they wanted to do with the start of college isn’t what they want to do, pivot as needed.Yeah, it's just a lot more expensive to do that in 2025, than it was in 1990.
Yeah, it's just a lot more expensive to do that in 2025, than it was in 1990.I grew up on stories about how a family member changed majors three times, but could pay for room, board and tuition with a campus job.
I grew up on stories about how a family member changed majors three times, but could pay for room, board and tuition with a campus job.My i s c & a aggie wife spent 2.5 years as a business major and hated it. During her junior year she figured out she wanted to be a Physical Therapist so she pivoted to kinesiology for her undergrad degree, and lost about a year and a half of credit. Her folks were paying for her school and they could afford it, but there's no way I could have done the same.
What a time that must’ve been.
I often wonder if there is a good thing to do for a gap year that could help a kid find some direction and pushback starting the clock on college. Well, one that didn’t eat money or wasn’t the military.Yeah I think it's a great idea for a lot of kids. My 17yo daughter would almost certainly benefit from one.
Yeah I think it's a great idea for a lot of kids. My 17yo daughter would almost certainly benefit from one.In theory just working some job that would take an 18-year-old would do the trick, but you’d have to contend with some level of social stigma some folks feel (on a range of fronts) questions of if a kid moves out, natural clashes if they don’t.
Community college and internships. That's the way.I think that's a good solution for some kids. And I think some kids just need to get a job and work.
I think that's a good solution for some kids. And I think some kids just need to get a job and work.Hell, I worked from the time I was 13 until the end of HS. Just summers when I was 13 and 14, but started working year-round by the time I was a sophomore in HS.
Once they start figuring out that entry-level jobs are NOT something they want to do forever, they might gain some clarity on what they actually might LIKE to do in order to pay the bills.
Hell, I worked from the time I was 13 until the end of HS. Just summers when I was 13 and 14, but started working year-round by the time I was a sophomore in HS.Yeah that's for sure. I worked summers from 9th grade on, and Christmas breaks as well. I sold men's clothing at a local department store. My buddy had a job at The Gap which was considered much cooler but I actually made commission on sales above a quota, and he was straight minimum wage.
I didn't need a gap year to teach me any lessons. I had MORE than enough experience to know I didn't want to be a Sandwich Artist or a sales floor guy selling PCs at Best Buy as an adult :57:
I often wonder if there is a good thing to do for a gap year that could help a kid find some direction and pushback starting the clock on college. Well, one that didn’t eat money or wasn’t the military.
I think the key is, no matter what they do in the gap year -- it needs to be near complete independence from the parents, or as much as will allow.
Working a crap job, while still living with your folks, doesn't teach much. It may offer them more disposable income to entertain themselves with, but not much else -- in my experience.
That's what the military did for son #1, and soon to do for son #2 -- remove the protective cocoon. Mom and Dad aren't there to save you, nor guide you. As close as you can get to tossing them into the deep end of the pool, but with some nice guardrails -- i.e Uncle Sam.
Son # 1 returned to me 40 lbs heavier, 100 times smarter, and 1,000 times more mature. He's done well.
Obviously not an option for everyone, but illustrates the point I'm intending to make.
I think military is a great option for some kids. I don't think it's a great option for everyone, and that's mostly what I'm responding to from bab's post. We've got to find a path for these kids that can provide a gap year of experience and maturation, that isn't the military, since the military isn't the ideal path for everyone.
I think the key is, no matter what they do in the gap year -- it needs to be near complete independence from the parents, or as much as will allow.My question is always about the guardrails.
Working a crap job, while still living with your folks, doesn't teach much. It may offer them more disposable income to entertain themselves with, but not much else -- in my experience.
That's what the military did for son #1, and soon to do for son #2 -- remove the protective cocoon. Mom and Dad aren't there to save you, nor guide you. As close as you can get to tossing them into the deep end of the pool, but with some nice guardrails -- i.e Uncle Sam.
Son # 1 returned to me 40 lbs heavier, 100 times smarter, and 1,000 times more mature. He's done well.
Obviously not an option for everyone, but illustrates the point I'm intending to make.
My question is always about the guardrails.
Eighteen year olds living on their own, finding their own housing sounds like a recipe for a lot of kids getting themselves into all sorts of trouble. (shit, those military kids get themselves into a fair amount of trouble as is, and they have drill sergeants on their asses)
Although living at home doesn’t seem like an ideal structure, I’d take it over nothing.
Can you even do one year of military service? I thought you had to sign up for longer than that, which would make it a non-starter for any gap-year options.I used to live in a big military base. A friend of a friend who worked there had an interesting outlook on that certain thing.
-------------------------
The military is better for more people than I would've guessed. My aunt adopted 4 siblings later in life, giving me new cousins when I was already grown. I forget how old they were when she adopted them, but they all looked much younger than they actually were due to major abuse and neglect. The damage that was done to them was more severe the younger they got. The youngest took the most abuse, and consequently he is clinically mentally retarded and will never live alone or have a normal life.
Second oldest was also a boy, and I couldn't honestly say what a clinical assessment would decide (though I'm sure they were done), but my guess is his IQ is somewhere below normal. Not anything that would immediately make you think "this kid is disabled," but if you're around him long enough, you begin to see some differences. Not someone for whom I would've thought military life is a good idea.
He joined the Air Force about 10 years ago and it's been amazing for him. He'll never have a high-skilled job and he won't move up the ranks very much. He works a warehouse, checking equipment in and out and managing inventory (I think). But it's given him a job, a purpose, and an opportunity to see more of the world. He's married now, and crazy thing is, he can retire in about 10 years, if he wanted to. The Air Force was a fantastic decision for him. And for them too, I reckon....while he has his limits, he's as trustworthy and duty-driven as they come.
I guess that's a little different than what y'all are talking about, so don't mind my rambling. But damn, we are proud of that kid, and I think a lot of other avenues he could've tried may not have went as well.
Depending on his exact position and the size of the projects, he may spend a number years living 4 month here, 9 months there, a year the next place. I was in the construction industry most of my career as a CPA and the guys that ran the project were basically nomads.They really haven't told him a lot yet, but he expects something like this. It's a lot of money for somebody who basically never made more than what you can working summers and part-time. Wait until he finds about "deductions and taxes". He's already talking about buying a piece of property and building what he calls a home base with a barndominium where he can keep his things if he's truly moving around/traveling for the next 1-5 years.
I just learned that the baseball coach for the college I work at played for LSU and later became an assistant coach, including on the 2009 CWS-winning team. It's almost enough to make me care about this little podunk team. I see they travel to both College Station and Austin this season. It'll be a slaughter, but I'll root for the upset.(https://i.imgur.com/HnOtht4.png)
Car batteries...
Anyone have any info on whether buying from Costco is a good idea?
Got in the Jeep yesterday to go to the office, and the damn thing didn't start... I don't drive it often enough, so I have a trickle charger to keep it going. I'd had it on the trickle charger starting Monday and took it off Tuesday evening... I've also been having issues with my amplifier cutting out (going into self-protect) at high volume which makes me think it was from under-voltage and the battery was dying anyway.
I'm probably going to take it down to AutoZone today for a free battery test, but I'm wondering if it makes sense to get it replaced at AutoZone or just wait until I go to Costco tomorrow...
Batteries lasted 5+ years in Illinois. Lucky to get 3 years here.Interesting. I don't think I've ever had a battery last more than 4 years, even the very best ones. 3 years is pretty average here, as well.
Go with Interstate.That's what Costco sells.
You're an electrical engineer, you should know the answer to this. :)
I'll say that in my experience with car batteries, you get what you pay for. And, they ALL fail too soon, so getting one with the best warranty/support is usually the best option.
Seems heat is worse for battery longevity than cold, if the internet is to be believed. Counterintuitively, batteries don't WORK better in cold, but they might actually last longer.Yeah I'd never thought about it until badgerfan just stated how long batteries last in Illinois, comparatively.
https://scottsauto.com/the-effects-of-heat-and-cold-on-car-batteries/
2015 Silverado - Delco original was good for about 4 years, replaced with interstate, about 5 years, I put a cheap one in a year ago.Man you'd be lucky to get 3 years here in Texas. You definitely don't want to move here.
we shall see..........
2017 Impala - replaced the original last year, 7 years!!!
15° in Austin???? Weird indeedYeah we get a few days like this each year, and usually some of the worst are toward the end of February.
15° in Austin???? Weird indeedcover your pipes!
cover your pipes!I cover the outdoor faucets, and I drip the only interior one that's against an exterior wall, plus open the cabinet doors to that one. It made it through the week-long freeze back in 2021 so I guess it's good enough.
Interesting. I don't think I've ever had a battery last more than 4 years, even the very best ones. 3 years is pretty average here, as well.
For much of my life, my car batteries lasted right at 5 years, almost on the dot. In the last ~10 years I'm getting not-quite-3-years out of them. People tell me the humidity of our climate is hell on batteries.....I don't know anything about that. But the humidity in Louisiana is even worse than southeast Texas, so I don't think that's the significant change.I think bwar has mostly made the point that it's not intentional, but rather a result of manufacturers producing cheaper and cheaper crap because that's all that the market will tolerate. I'd tend to agree with that. They don't need to plan for shorter product lifetimes and earlier product failures, when the customers are already insisting upon it through their buying choices.
More of that planned obsolescence BRAD tells me isn't happening.
They don't need to plan for shorter product lifetimes and earlier product failures, when the customers are already insisting upon it through their buying choices.So asking for fair performance at a fair price is asking for it? Maybe they've been misled to believe that spending more than you use to would at least get them as far as the same class battery did previously
FIFY
The old one I replaced was ~18 years old, and in today's world, I feel like that's more than I could've expected from a water heater. Lot of people have told me theirs don't even last half that long.
I think bwar has mostly made the point that it's not intentional, but rather a result of manufacturers producing cheaper and cheaper crap because that's all that the market will tolerate. I'd tend to agree with that. They don't need to plan for shorter product lifetimes and earlier product failures, when the customers are already insisting upon it through their buying choices.Exactly.
I thought about him last weekend when my water heater was out. He asked me, seemingly incredulously, which of my appliances didn't have a good track record, I told him all of them, and then I think I was out for the holidays and didn't see his response. But I'm certainly not imagining having to do work (or pay to have work done) on a slew of appliances that aren't but a few years old.I've been involved in managing rental property for almost 50 years so I have a LOT of experience with water heaters and my take is that it is extremely random. I have replaced 40 year old units and I've replaced five year old units.
Don't think my water heater was on that list, but at 1.5 years old, it quit working over the weekend. Fortunately, whatever glitch it was having was just a computer glitch, and a quick flip of the breaker off and back on fixed it, and it began heating the water again.
The old one I replaced was ~18 years old, and in today's world, I feel like that's more than I could've expected from a water heater. Lot of people have told me theirs don't even last that long.
I've been involved in managing rental property for almost 50 years so I have a LOT of experience with water heaters and my take is that it is extremely random. I have replaced 40 year old units and I've replaced five year old units.
My grandma's has got to be 40+ years old. It's gas tho, so I don't know if that makes any difference. Mine's electric.Some of it is just random luck. My mom called a couple years ago because her disposal quit. I picked up a new one and installed it. The unit I took out was from the 1970's so it lasted almost 50 years. I've also replaced 5 year old disposals.
All of her appliances are either hella-old, or they were hella-old when they finally got replaced in the relatively recent past. I should be so lucky.
I've been involved in managing rental property for almost 50 years so I have a LOT of experience with water heaters and my take is that it is extremely random. I have replaced 40 year old units and I've replaced five year old units.teensy bit of a stretch there, considering we were both born in '75. ;)
We had our washing machine replaced after 8 years, and I said that seemed insane. My parents replaced theirs after like 20 years simply because they wanted a "nicer" one in 2006, and they've had the same one since.We're looking at a new fridge after 5 years (this Fall). I'm out on Samsung for fridges. I'll look at Sub-Zero this time.
The repairman we called said 8 years was right in the normal range now. If you get more than 10, consider yourself lucky, and he's seen <5.
Exactly.that EE degree is paying for itself!
Of course, it's moot because I just went out there to look at it and find out how old the battery was, and remove it for testing, and I noticed that one of the connections was loose. After tightening that down, it started right up lol...
We're looking at a new fridge after 5 years (this Fall). I'm out on Samsung for fridges. I'll look at Sub-Zero this time.
Yeah, I know. I might look at Thor.
When the Samsung DW fails, it's back to Bosch.
I know an appliance repairman, and this is what he told me --- specifically about washers and dryers....That's essentially what the washer repairman told us.
Buy the cheapest ones you can, with the least features, and when they crap out --- throw them away and do it again.
And told me to never buy a front loader washer due to the mildew generated due to them not draining completely/properly.
TIFWIW
I know an appliance repairman, and this is what he told me --- specifically about washers and dryers....My old man's a TV repairman with awesome tools.
Buy the cheapest ones you can, with the least features, and when they crap out --- throw them away and do it again.
And told me to never buy a front loader washer due to the mildew generated due to them not draining completely/properly.
TIFWIW
Samsung TV and front-loading washer and sound bar that have been chugging along nicely since mid-2016. Had one Samsung [front-loading] electric dryer from the same time period that was a constant nightmare that I was getting into multiple times to replace heat elements, belt, etc. Eventually replaced and have had no problems with the replacement thus far.I like the picture and quality on Samsung TVs, but the native app for managing streaming is complete garbage, and that's a problem. I have a TCL Roku TV in the upstairs game room and although the picture isn't quite as good, and it's probably not going to last as long, the Roku interface is just lightyears better.
I like the picture and quality on Samsung TVs, but the native app for managing streaming is complete garbage, and that's a problem. I have a TCL Roku TV in the upstairs game room and although the picture isn't quite as good, and it's probably not going to last as long, the Roku interface is just lightyears better.As I mentioned previously, my standalone Roku STB went to crap, so a month or so ago I got on Amazon and had a new Roku Ultra delivered within hours. I don't rely on the Samsung apps. It's technically a "Smart TV", but I use it basically as a dumb monitor since the video is provided by the Roku Ultra and the audio comes from the sound bar + subwoofer.
I like the picture and quality on Samsung TVs, but the native app for managing streaming is complete garbage, and that's a problem. I have a TCL Roku TV in the upstairs game room and although the picture isn't quite as good, and it's probably not going to last as long, the Roku interface is just lightyears better.Ive got a Samsung TV and love it. I use Dish as my provider and have ROCU connected to the TV so I never use the TV itself to log into services
I've proudly kept my [who knows] dryer going by replacing the heating element twice, and maybe a belt once, too. Cheap, easy, only down side was when I slipped removing a screw and sliced open one of my fingers on the sheet metal. Healed fine, but scar tissue made my knuckle bigger, which is annoying.Yep. My previous Samsung dryer I was into WAY too often. Replaced the electric heating element at least twice, belt and one of the drum wheels (which seized, which broke the belt) once. I finally got rid of it when it was tripping a breaker which I think was due to the motor, but a replacement motor didn't fix it.
Yep. My previous Samsung dryer I was into WAY too often. Replaced the electric heating element at least twice, belt and one of the drum wheels (which seized, which broke the belt) once. I finally got rid of it when it was tripping a breaker which I think was due to the motor, but a replacement motor didn't fix it.
And yeah, some of the stuff in there is NOT very finger-friendly to work with lol...
I hear you. My Samsung dryer has had to be repaired so many times over the last several years. atm, it's still worth my $ to replace the element and/or the fuse that goes out like every 18 months, but eventually when I replace the whole thing, I'm not doing Samsung again.
Been happy with my LG refrigerator so far though. The ice-maker isn't the best system, but that's a design flaw that I knew was coming when I looked at it at the store, and not something that bad craftsman ship is failing on. I wanted another refrigerator, wife wanted this one. Guess who won.
Yeah I have a Roku attached to the Samsung TV, but I prefer not having external devices. There is invariably at least a little bit of latency when moving from the originating device, through the TV, and then into the surround sound system. It's usually slight but still noticeable to me.
Hmm...is that what causes live TV to be out-of-sync with our Firestick? We've had both YTTV and Hulu Live TV in the last few years and it's the same with both of them. I forget about it because we hardly ever watch anything but football, and the camera is almost never on the guys in the booth, so we can't see them out of sync. I don't have surround-sound, but I do have external speakers hooked up.
If that's the problem, it's odd that YouTube, Hulu (library, not live tv), HBO Max, Netflix, Prime, etc. don't have any lag. It's only the streaming TV services.
Re: the external speaker thing, I unconventionally hooked up nice studio reference monitors to our living room TV. People used to their native TV speakers think our living room TV sound is awesome, but I know that it doesn't compare to good surround-sound or some high-end sound bar stacks when it comes to TV and movies. However: it sounds frickin' amazing playing music, which ultimately is my highest priority, and I use the TV to play music a fair bit, and I'm an audio-dick when it comes to music. Unlike TV/movies, audio recordings are not mastered with surround-sound in mind, and while it's all the same to 85% of the population, I can't not be bugged when listening to music through those systems. The stereo isn't right, the EQ isn't right, the whole thing is off for me. On some nice audio systems you have more control over the sound settings, and oddly, I have none of that with the reference monitors, but yet they sound superb for music, because that's what they're made for....to let the original recording and mixing efforts of the studio engineer come through. YMMV. If I could, I'd install a good surround-sound system in tandem and toggle back and forth depending on whether I'm watching TV or listening to music.
youtube is my source for audioOne of the things I wanted when I bought the Flex was the upgraded stereo. Largely because I wasn't planning on doing any stereo modification to it, so the stock "premium" system would be plenty for me.
I know it's not great but the speakers on my computer aren't great either
way better than my cheap soundbar on my TV
the 10-speaker Bose system in the Vette is better than the computer - but not outstanding
I'm told the 14-speaker system in the LT2 and LT3 trim on the Vettes is considerably better
doubt it's worth the additional $7500
In other news, I did my taxes this morning and filed. Turbotax has really upped the charge they charge.Yeah, I'll probably do mine next week. TurboTax is annoying af. They've been emailing me and texting me nonstop since the end of the year.
Well it's 33° right now,might reach a balmy 37° so the 1st time above freezing for quite a spell. Might wash the car later maybe wait until Monday when it gets over 40°I drug my hose outta the frozen garage into the sunshine on the driveway - if it thaws out, I might wash the car tomorrow afternoon
:06:
(https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/data/attach/810/810361-PXL-20250224-031156348.jpg)Honorable and respectable.
(https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/data/attach/810/810360-PXL-20250224-032238651.jpg)
Fair bit of cooking been goin' on this weekend...
How 'bout you guys?
Not to derail the train of thought, but after I was starting to get my grill-legs under me, I had a sudden and complete ceasing of the grilling. Six months after losing our old shepherd we lost our young one when her seizures were no longer controllable with medication and she had to be put down. She was my outdoor buddy, and she kept me company on the porch during cooks. I hate being dramatic, but I have never mourned losing a pet like I have mourned her, and I haven't yet been able to bring myself to get back out there and grill again.
Soon as Spring hits, I aim to get back to it.
Looks good and I'd eat it, but overall I'm definitely a dry ribs guy and the dry rub I use has very little sugar in it. Pork has a natural sweetness to it anyway, especially when cooked over something mild like pecan or fruit woods, so I've never really been much for adding more sugar.I only use oil with garlic salt on my ribs. Grill wrapped in foil at about 250 for a few hours. Plenty moist, plenty of flavor.
Not to derail the train of thought, but after I was starting to get my grill-legs under me, I had a sudden and complete ceasing of the grilling. Six months after losing our old shepherd we lost our young one when her seizures were no longer controllable with medication and she had to be put down. She was my outdoor buddy, and she kept me company on the porch during cooks. I hate being dramatic, but I have never mourned losing a pet like I have mourned her, and I haven't yet been able to bring myself to get back out there and grill again.I hear you. The day we brought our puppy home, I was grilling some lamb. He was inside on the kitchen floor just staring through the screen at me with a "that smells good" look on his face... I can't imagine what it'll be like when he goes.
Soon as Spring hits, I aim to get back to it.
I only use oil with garlic salt on my ribs. Grill wrapped in foil at about 250 for a few hours. Plenty moist, plenty of flavor.Do you actually do any time on the grill w/o foil?
Do you actually do any time on the grill w/o foil?This is for babybacks right? It's your modification of the well-known 3-2-1 for pork spares, as I recall?
For smoked BBQ ribs, I've been toying with timing, and so far have settled on 2.5-1.75-0.75. I.e. 2 1/2 hours smoke, 1 hour 45 minutes wrapped in foil, then 45 minutes off the foil to allow the surface/bark to dry out and re-set, while adding sauce to the backside of the ribs at the 30 min remaining point and the meat side of the ribs starting about 20 minutes before I pull them off.
But I consider the "dry" portion of the cook pretty important, even if you're not really using smoke, to set a good surface texture...
This is for babybacks right? It's your modification of the well-known 3-2-1 for pork spares, as I recall?Yes. A lot of people say 2-2-1 for baby backs. My timing already had them nearly impossible to take off the grill without falling apart, so more time in foil wouldn't have been a good idea.
Of course on pork spares I don't even go the full 1 at the end. Usually more like 0.5.
Do you actually do any time on the grill w/o foil?Yes, should have mentioned. I take it out of the foil and give it about 15 to 20 minutes without the foil. Usually falling of the bone by the time I am done.
For smoked BBQ ribs, I've been toying with timing, and so far have settled on 2.5-1.75-0.75. I.e. 2 1/2 hours smoke, 1 hour 45 minutes wrapped in foil, then 45 minutes off the foil to allow the surface/bark to dry out and re-set, while adding sauce to the backside of the ribs at the 30 min remaining point and the meat side of the ribs starting about 20 minutes before I pull them off.
But I consider the "dry" portion of the cook pretty important, even if you're not really using smoke, to set a good surface texture...
This is better than the hotties thread...Ooh, salmon cakes...
cheap chili w/beans was goodWent in the pot an hour ago,will have a Fireside Chat Winter Warmer waiting when it comes out around 2. Have stop & open to stir along the way along with layering the spices,assorted beans will go in about 1 1/2hrs before finish
right amount of heat
plenty of Budweiser to quench the thirst
Snow? Gonna hit 75 today. Beautiful winter weather.85 today
I've been involved in managing rental property for almost 50 years so I have a LOT of experience with water heaters and my take is that it is extremely random. I have replaced 40 year old units and I've replaced five year old units.I just replaced my hot water heater last week. It was 30 yrs old.
I like the picture and quality on Samsung TVs, but the native app for managing streaming is complete garbage, and that's a problem. I have a TCL Roku TV in the upstairs game room and although the picture isn't quite as good, and it's probably not going to last as long, the Roku interface is just lightyears better.Really? I have 2 Samsung tv's and absolutely love the simplicity of the user interface. It is very easy to add apps, arrange them on the screen and access them. Even my wife can do it. :93:
Really? I have 2 Samsung tv's and absolutely love the simplicity of the user interface. It is very easy to add apps, arrange them on the screen and access them. Even my wife can do it. :93:Roku is a way better interface. Also, Samsung native app stopped supporting updates to several streaming services at one time, including ESPN+. They get in battles with other OEMs like Sony, over which streaming services they're going to maintain support. They pitched a fit at one point, dropped a couple of things I needed, and I've since abandoned them forever.
In theory, I see what you're saying. In practice, I've only ever seen Amazon get into a spat with Google, when at one point the Firesticks did not offer YouTube or YouTube TV. But that was years ago.The fact that it has ever happened at all, both with Amazon and with Sony and Samsung, is precisely why I'm wary that it will happen again.
In theory, I see what you're saying. In practice, I've only ever seen Amazon get into a spat with Google, when at one point the Firesticks did not offer YouTube or YouTube TV. But that was years ago.I thought basically all of Amazon is a loss leader for AWS :57:
As I understand it, Prime Video is a loss leader itself for Prime subscriptions and Amazon (Bezos) has viewed it as somewhat of a vanity project. If so, that would explain to me why the Fire products have never ditched Hulu, Netflix, Max, Disney+, etc. To the contrary, I believe, you can get all those things as add-ons with your Prime subscription for the exact same price, so they have seemed to be committed as a platform and not just a funnel for their own streaming service.
I do wonder if that's changing, or will change. I notice that regular Amazon Prime subscriptions only gets you Prime Video content with commercials now. If you want to drop the commercials you have to pay extra.
I thought basically all of Amazon is a loss leader for AWS :57:As MDT pointed out, it's already happened once with Google and Amazon. I have no faith that the underlying interests of such technological giants will remain aligned and, perhaps more importantly, that the massive egos of their owners/CEOs won't interfere with practical market considerations.
That said, I do see that they might have an interest in selling you the subscriptions to these other services THROUGH your Amazon account, and obviously they'll have negotiated some sort of a cut with the service for processing the payments through to them. So it might be a conflict of interest for them to simultaneously nerf the functionality of those competitors...
I've never used Firestick so can't comment on it. But I am wary of it for the reasons bwar outlined. I've never found the Roku interface to be "clunky" but rather I've found it to be significantly superior to Samsung and Sony native apps, and vastly superior to AppleTV.I've never objectively given the Apple TV interface a chance, because I always get so disgusted with the goddamned remote that I'm already angry any time we use the Apple TV and thus hate it.
As MDT pointed out, it's already happened once with Google and Amazon. I have no faith that the underlying interests of such technological giants will remain aligned and, perhaps more importantly, that the massive egos of their owners/CEOs won't interfere with practical market considerations.Agreed. Google and MSFT are the only two entities that I can see Amazon really getting into a tiff with over cloud competition... And MSFT doesn't have a streaming TV service. So them sticking their thumb in Google's eyes makes sense.
Agreed. Google and MSFT are the only two entities that I can see Amazon really getting into a tiff with over cloud competition... And MSFT doesn't have a streaming TV service. So them sticking their thumb in Google's eyes makes sense.Sure but ESPN/Disney/Hulu/Max are in streaming and overlap significantly with competition for a lot of the various original programming, original sports programming, and movie and television catalogs, that Amazon also carries. Netflix, too. I'd really hate to be reliant on Firestick and then get caught in the crossfire when Bezos decides to flex on one of his competitors.
Obviously there are other companies Amazon would potentially tiff with, i.e. Walmart, Target, Barnes & Noble, etc... But none of those are in the streaming game, so it's not something I think would be relevant.
That said, it's also the reason that I'm a huge Roku fan... I don't have to worry about it because they're service agnostic.
1. I've never used Firestick so can't comment on it. But I am wary of it for the reasons bwar outlined. I've never found the Roku interface to be "clunky" but rather I've found it to be significantly superior to Samsung and Sony native apps, and vastly superior to AppleTV.
2. To answer a question further up, Sony and Samsung have, at times, maneuvered to be the sole television OEM provider of one or other various streaming services. And even when they're not maneuvering to cut out their competitors, they still haven't shown to be consistent in providing updates and support for the various streaming apps they carry. They let their apps become outdated because they don't value all of the streaming platforms. Their core business is to manufacture and sell television hardware, not apps. Theoretically they could lose favor with consumers if they don't adequately maintain the offerings in their native apps but, as has been proven on this forum and in the market at large, users will realistically just go purchase a Roku or Firestick, so the television manufacturers have no incentive to provide updated and well supported native apps for streaming services. Roku on the other hand, can not ever do that, their value proposition is that they support everything equally, and agnostically.
I thought basically all of Amazon is a loss leader for AWS :57:
had to look that up - yes,dangling out fancy words must be a long winter on the dirt farm unlike sunny,beckoning N.E. Ohiopicked that up on triple D
Never used Chromecast or whatever Google called their firestick.
are they publicly traded??AstroForge is a private company and its stock is not publicly traded. AstroForge is an aerospace company that is developing asteroid mining technology.
Ya I get that feeling to,anyhow never had the Britishers being wine sips like your map suggetsYeah and Spain being more beer than wine is a little surprising as well.
(https://i.imgur.com/x9BkKsq.png)Need more granular
The riskiest way to trade hottest tech stocks is not well understood (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/02/the-riskiest-way-to-trade-hottest-tech-stocks-is-not-well-understood.html)I don't even know what Palantir is/does or whatever. I never even heard of them until maybe the last year or so. And without looking them up, do you know what they are?
Over the last few years, a new class of big-cap stocks have stolen the attention of investors and day-traders. Nvidia (https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/NVDA/), Tesla (https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/TSLA/) and Palantir (https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/PLTR/) often lead the market’s daily trading volume. Exchange-traded funds that give investors the opportunity to double, or even triple, bets on these stocks have also grown into a larger share of the market. In 2016, leveraged and inverse ETFs (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/24/etfs-that-allow-investors-to-make-big-bets-on-market-moves-are-gaining-in-popularity.html) were 2% of the ETF market. Now, they represent almost 8% of ETF assets, and like the hot tech stocks they track, they are often among the most traded ETFs, placing in the top 20, sometimes even top 10, in daily trading dollar volume.
With three-quarters of the trading action in these ETFs coming from retail investors, investing experts worry about the risks not being understood well enough. “You get explosive upside but also explosive downside,” as index fund legend Charley Ellis recently put it during an appearance on CNBC’s “ETF Edge.” (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/14/why-stock-pickers-still-wont-ever-outperform-market-index-long-term.html)
(https://i.imgur.com/x9BkKsq.png)
I never bought any Tesla stock, and wouldn't today. It's almost a meme stock, to me. It's actually up a bit this morning.A forward PE of 102, which would normally signal a stock with explosive growth potential, on a company whose quarterly revenues have been flat over the past year.
I never bought any Tesla stock, and wouldn't today. It's almost a meme stock, to me. It's actually up a bit this morning.One of my sons works for tesla. Gave him a bunch of esop and stock bonuses. Hope it becomes a great meme stock so he can take advantage of it
Dysentery-cases-rise-in-portland-metro-area-health-department-reportsI mean... It's Oregon.
https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/dysentery-cases-rise-in-portland-metro-area-health-department-reports/
I mean... It's Oregon.But once you got to Oregon, you were good
(https://imgc.allpostersimages.com/img/posters/you-have-died-of-dysentery_u-l-f5tycc0.jpg?artHeight=550&artPerspective=y&artWidth=550&background=ffffff)
Paging BadgeYep, I posted that on Sunday, in the other thread. No comments.
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/high-school-shop-class-revival-24d7a525?st=qpRgap
Yep, I posted that on Sunday, in the other thread. No comments.I read it. I read all of your posts👍.
Apparently I'm going to be giving a seminar on AI for faculty here who are interested in learning more about it.Have fun and good luck!
Just imagine my elation at having a bunch of PhD's as a captive audience, with their goofy email signatures telling me their pronouns and their support for all manner of causes.
"Listen here, you buncha academic snobs. I notice you're pretty competent in your fields, but kinda dumb as anyone else in things you aren't trained in."
Actually, the irony is that while AI has to do with my education, it doesn't much factor in with the job I actually do here. In that way, such a seminar is probably an example of the old adage "Those who can't do, teach."
Yeah....I should probably tell them that, too :-D
The faculty I've had the chance to meet so far, which is not most of them, are a relatively quiet lot as far as what they wear on their sleeve. Which is how it should be, probably. A few are loud, and might take exception to someone showing up with a MAGA hat.(https://i.imgur.com/hSnmXx2.jpeg)
We have faculty from all over, including most of your schools here. I've seen a handful of Texas and Texas A&M alums, of which I thought there would be more. (There might be.....I still haven't met most of them.)
It makes me think, well, we're not a major, well-known university, so one might poo-poo our educational quality, but if we're not that great, it's the fault of all these other major universities for turning out sub-par graduates to go be professors.
The main thing is, as I previously noted, the baseball coach is a former LSU player and asst. coach, and that makes it a good university.
Jimmy Johnson, the Pro Football Hall of Fame coach who won two Super Bowls and a college national championship, announced his retirement after being a part of NFL coverage for 31 years.That’s too bad. Might’ve been one of the more underrated sport-changing coaches of all time.
Jimmy Johnson, the Pro Football Hall of Fame coach who won two Super Bowls and a college national championship, announced his retirement after being a part of NFL coverage for 31 years.
Yesterday was quite rainy, and all of a sudden about 4 PM the power cut out. Didn't come back until sometime after midnight.Last night, we have three very brief power outages, like a second or so, and then the power went out for 5 minutes, then returned, then did it again for 5 minutes, then returned. Some of the neighborhood was out longer and the traffic signals had switched to flashing red. Maybe someone hit a transformer, we don't have them very often.
A long widely spread outage in a major city would be bad.Eh. Not as catastrophic as you'd think: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_blackout_of_2003
cheap dirtThat particular dwelling is for a pair of park rangers.
Don't move here. We're in a doom spiral.Scary.
(https://i.imgur.com/zgNuLox.png)
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I always get a kick out of the people that just build a house out in the middle of the Arizona strip, where they have to haul out their own water, and they need to hook up a generator if they ever need to use electricity for any reason.Did it occur to you maybe they have a well?
(https://www.arizonahighways.com/sites/default/files/2024-12/0125_FringeBenefits_H.jpg)
Don't move here. We're in a doom spiral.I remember my only trip to Ca and SF, 24 years ago. We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, and it wasn’t long before we were in the country. Running along the coast, I recall it looked very similar to this. Very strange ocean landscape compared to what we see in Tx. Here, about 5 miles before you get to the coast, it turns into a salt water marsh dead desert scape. No trees, not much real grass, and lots of sand.
(https://i.imgur.com/zgNuLox.png)
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Did it occur to you maybe they have a well?It would be an awfully dry well. There's a reason no one lives there, no water. No power either
I remember my only trip to Ca and SF, 24 years ago. We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, and it wasn’t long before we were in the country. Running along the coast, I recall it looked very similar to this. Very strange ocean landscape compared to what we see in Tx. Here, about 5 miles before you get to the coast, it turns into a salt water marsh dead desert scape. No trees, not much real grass, and lots of sand.Yeah, this is just south of San Francisco, immediately south of Half Moon Bay, which is basically due west from where I live (about 25 minutes when there's no traffic on a Sunday morning). Fearless and his girls drove right past this when he was here not too long ago. This is farm country--they grow vegetables here--but because of California's coastline protection, we get the hiking path along the coast.
Sam Kinison would be proudWha.....,splain pleeze,shoulda shot your ass in Da Nang when I had the chance
It would be an awfully dry well. There's a reason no one lives there, no water. No power eitherAnd you’re an expert in underground water there? Not saying it’s a slam dunk, but I’ve talked to plenty of drillers in Arizona and New Mexico who drill wells in dry places every day.
initial cost seems to be a much larger hurdle/barrier than is was decades ago.Probably $20-30,000 for a well there.
at my previous job, we had to limit initial cost of installing an internet service or CATV service
$150 or $200 upfront killed opportunities
obviously, $10,000 or $15,000 for a well is just unobtainable for too many folks
And you’re an expert in underground water there? Not saying it’s a slam dunk, but I’ve talked to plenty of drillers in Arizona and New Mexico who drill wells in dry places every day.
They have DTH (down hole hammers) and big air compressors to bust through.
Well it's not too far from where I live, so yes. I know where they go to fill up their water tanks, and I've seen them fill up their water tanks. So I'm not just completely talking out of my ass here.
Obviously the Grand Canyon is right there. So a surface level water table is unlikely, as it would just drain into the canyon. Basements are also really uncommon around here because you'd have to dig into a bunch of thick rock in order to build one, and it's hella expensive. Said thick rock would also be a pretty big hindrance for digging a deep well, obviously.
Probably $20-30,000 for a well there.I guess it depends on your commitment. You gonna be there for 20+ years?
I guess it depends on your commitment. You gonna be there for 20+ years?I don't understand the question. $30K for 20 years, about $1500 a year. The electricity to run the well is minimal, probably less than $20 per month. How much will they spend hauling water, on fuel and time? Much more. How much does it cost to build a house now? $300,000-500,000 for a "starter home". I'm guessing building in the middle of nowhere is inherently expensive, but being out by yourself and not dependent on gov't and other people is what they're after.
might balance out with lot vs well here. $40K of the lot and $10K for the well.
just sayin, if you're gonna set a trailer or even a new double-wide and only be there 5 years.....As a person who installs water systems for a living, this is simply hard for me to grasp. Do you just forget the power too, because that can be expensive as well. What about a roof? You really don't need it in the desert, it doesn't rain much. Just throw some chairs and couches out in the middle of the lot, maybe put some walls up for a wind break. Roofs are expensive, maybe leave that to the next owner.
or build a house on a tight budget, not knowing if you're going to be there more than 10 years, you might leave the well to the next owner
fuel & time hauling water? obviously, you get water when you also make a trip for groceries and or other reasons. It's a long drive to anywhere
100 gallons/person/day is the max use we always design for (per EPA criteria).For what? Surely not for a home?
For what? Surely not for a home?Yes, for a home. That's city water, not well. I know with an RO system you'd use a lot more than 100 gallons. More like 300.
As a person who installs water systems for a living, this is simply hard for me to grasp. Do you just forget the power too, because that can be expensive as well. What about a roof? You really don't need it in the desert, it doesn't rain much. Just throw some chairs and couches out in the middle of the lot, maybe put some walls up for a wind break. Roofs are expensive, maybe leave that to the next owner.I realized I was mistaken on my usage, the average person uses 60-100 gallons per day per person. Average home uses 300 gallons per day.
Not sure how much water they're hauling, but it's 8.3 lbs per gallon. Average person uses about 300 gallons per day, or 600 gallons for a family of 2, or 4,980 lbs of water per day. I suppose you could get by with much less, say 50 gallons each. I've seen the totes that fit in the back of a pickup, I think they hold about 300 gallons. So 2,490 lbs of water in the bed of your F250 or 350 truck, every 4th day. I can't imagine what kind of wear and tear that puts on tires and vehicles, except I can because I deal with it every day.
Sure, fine. They all have wells. Water is abundant on the Arizona strip. It's like a giant oasis in the desert.Well, I'm truly not trying to be argumentative. I'm genuinely curious. Post up the general area, I'd like to investigate how much water is underground there.
in other news........... I'm unemployed and officially retired again.Damn. Sorry(?) to hear...
Zoom meeting this morning - canned the communications segment - all 8 of us.
a couple got offered other positions in the company - feel bad for the rest of the team. None of them are old enough to be in my position.
I'm fine with it. Golf course opens Monday morning!
I'm guessing folks that live in that area get by on much less water than average, even if they have a well.Agreed.
If they're haulin water??? WAY less
I'll take this as good news for FF. Corngrats.it's good news
Damn. Sorry(?) to hear...not much of one
Did you get a retirement package (i.e. severance) on your way out since it's a layoff?
in other news........... I'm unemployed and officially retired again.Been retired almost a year. You will find that retirement is great.
Zoom meeting this morning - canned the communications segment - all 8 of us.
a couple got offered other positions in the company - feel bad for the rest of the team. None of them are old enough to be in my position.
I'm fine with it. Golf course opens Monday morning!
PSA: Never trust any data you care about to a single storage device. ESPECIALLY if it's a USB thumb drive.
Thankfully, what precipitated this post wasn't a loss of important data. It was a loss of unimportant but useful data on a thumb drive, which forced me into some frustration and eventual workarounds to do what I wanted to do. Basically it was my bootable Ubuntu installer which I needed for a project today, and if I hadn't figured out the workarounds, I would have stalled a project until mid-week because I wouldn't have an appropriate PC to do what I wanted until I go to the office this week.
All important data should be stored in a primary location with at least one backup, and it's HIGHLY recommended to also have an offsite backup for your backup. This is part of the project--I'm replacing a dead home "server" PC with a new one, and one of the things I want to do with it is to be the PC that handles sync with a cloud storage company for offsite backup. If you can't do offsite, you should have at least a third level of onsite redundancy.
But as someone who is deeply embedded in the data storage industry, it's important to highlight that if you use an unreliable storage media as your backup, you essentially don't have one. And USB thumb drives are a tremendously unreliable storage media. NAND flash, like many chips, is subject to "binning", meaning that based on testing of the wafer before it's cut into individual chips, the quality grade of each chip is known. The highest quality will end up in enterprise SSDs, client SSDs, UFS/eMMC chips (especially for mobile or industrial use where reliability is key), etc. The lowest quality have to end up somewhere, and it isn't the trash can. That's what goes into USB thumb drives--PARTICUARLY those of the cheap or unknown brands that seem alarmingly inexpensive. (Of note: the device that died was a 32GB drive that was a free add-on from Micro Center. The actual vendor is unknown to me as it it was white labeled as a "Micro Center" flash drive. It was the bottom of the barrel.)
So my frustration was the impetus to say this:
- Back up your important data.
- Back it up on reliable media. Test the backup frequently.
- Back up your backup. Do it offsite if at all possible.
I'm sure all of you have data that you can't afford to lose. And you probably have data that you can "afford" to lose, i.e. digital photos / home videos and the like, but your significant other will make the loss of that data VERY painful for you lol... The cost to protect that data is much less than the pain of finding out it's gone.
in other news........... I'm unemployed and officially retired again.Lucky bastage I'm back to work in a warehouse (excersize mostly) and working with an old Bud. Scanning,inventory and bean counting are a pain in the arse,oh and ice fishing season is over
Zoom meeting this morning - canned the communications segment - all 8 of us.
a couple got offered other positions in the company - feel bad for the rest of the team. None of them are old enough to be in my position.
I'm fine with it. Golf course opens Monday morning!
I hope soat least until CFB Season resurfaces
I'm bored easily
need another hobby besides this board, golf, driving the Vette, and swilling beer
Did I ever tell you that my first gig at my current company was supply chain for tape storage? We still sell something like $300M worth of tape storage every year believe it or not.Yeah, about 10% of worldwide installed data center storage capacity is tape. Not bad for a technology that was "dead" 30 years ago :57:
I hope soDont drive a vette, but added smoking a good cigar, go out to bar to swill beer and play trivia. Also spending the first 2 years doing a lot of traveling.
I'm bored easily
need another hobby besides this board, golf, driving the Vette, and swilling beer
Is Tiger Woods done? Lots of people writing on that these days.On the one hand, he is all banged up and out for an extended period.
he can make a lot of money on the senior tourPretty sure Tiger's not hurting for money...
On the one hand, he is all banged up and out for an extended period.
On the other, it’s golf? You can play golf pretty late in life, right?
Pretty sure Tiger's not hurting for money...I’ll cop to this, I thought the old guys who won tournaments might have won at later ages than they did.
Of course. But can you be competitive? On the PGA Tour? With a bunch of people who are two+ decades your junior, AND in perfect physical condition?
The problem is twofold. One, the physical damage he's done to his body makes it very difficult for him to practice enough to keep his game at a high level. Second, the specific physical damage he's done to his legs/ankles makes it hard to walk 72 holes of golf in four days WHILE maintaining enough energy to be competitive. I.e. in last year's Masters, he played well enough on Thurs/Fri and made the cut, but by Saturday and Sunday his game was just falling apart because his body can't take all the walking.
I think he's going to keep trying to chase PGA Tour win #83, because he's tied the record at 82 and one more gives him sole ownership of that record--one that may never fall. But he might just be too broken down to do it now.
I’ll cop to this, I thought the old guys who won tournaments might have won at later ages than they did.There have been a few. Phil Mickelson won a major a month shy of 51 years old. There have been a couple others who have won standard PGA Tour events past 50.
Yeah, he’s cooked.
How must it feel to have come soooo close to being considered the greatest golfer ever, only to have that slip away?
I haven't followed it closely, but I feel like he never fully returned to form after his 2009 car wreck and the cheating scandle. And continued car wrecks just kept making things worse. Isn't there also a question about whether he was a steroid user, which might have lead to premature damage to his body? Definitely had trouble relating to drugs and alcohol. How must it feel to have come soooo close to being considered the greatest golfer ever, only to have that slip away?I hadn't followed any sort of golf closely, ever. But jesus, has it really been that long since the whole scandal broke? He would have been in his early to mid-30's at that point. I think I'm the same age as Tiger ('75), at least it seems that we're close in age. I just remember there was a lot of noise about him not being able to play tournaments due to injuries, back injuries, a lot of different factors. When he would play there would be a lot of noise about him doing well the first day or so and then by the end doing very poorly. I never really considered how much abuse even a golfer could put on their body over time.
There have been a few. Phil Mickelson won a major a month shy of 51 years old. There have been a couple others who have won standard PGA Tour events past 50.Yeah, I thought the ceiling was a bit higher. He's not much younger than Phil and has a big recovery ahead.
Teenage driver learned hard lesson yesterday. Took corner too fast, car broke loose, slid into curb. Snapped passenger side front wheel control arm (the part that holds the wheel in place). I really, really, really hope the insurance company doesn't total it. It can be repaired, it's just a question of cost vs. value. No one was hurt, and the only damage was to our own property (i.e., the car). There's a reason teenage insurance rates are higher.
there's a reason a teenager's first vehicle shouldn't be too expensiveYeah. Ordinarily drives the cheap car. For a variety of stupid reasons, he had the better car. Sigh. Fortunately, our better car isn't that expensive.
most have something like this happen
Teenage driver learned hard lesson yesterday. Took corner too fast, car broke loose, slid into curb. Snapped passenger side front wheel control arm (the part that holds the wheel in place). I really, really, really hope the insurance company doesn't total it. It can be repaired, it's just a question of cost vs. value. No one was hurt, and the only damage was to our own property (i.e., the car). There's a reason teenage insurance rates are higher.Ugh, that sucks. Glad nobody was hurt.
They have my respect.On the one hand, I feel that. On the other, I have a sense if I trusted someone to send me up there at all, I’d have a weird level of faith they’d get me back.
I think I would've crapped my pants and then died of a heart attack the minute I found out I was trapped in space beyond the precise amount of time I was supposed to be there, with no immediate Plan B to get me home.
I'd have never trusted someone to send me up there at allapolitical thread
very similar to me as traveling half way around the earth just to visit some god forsaken country that isn't real friendly to Americans
They have my respect.Well, both astronauts have been to space before, for long periods of time. These were very experienced astronauts, and also accomplished military pilots.
I think I would've crapped my pants and then died of a heart attack the minute I found out I was trapped in space beyond the precise amount of time I was supposed to be there, with no immediate Plan B to get me home.
SFBadger96Whoa...
SFIrish96
SFGopher29
:-)
I know, right? Better that than Ohio State, though. Kid is happy. The delayed (because of Spring Break) St. Patty's day activities along Greek Row, and the cute blond in the university's gym who told him about how much she loves the university didn't hurt...Yeah I think that's where we're going to end up as well, with my daughter's college application process. She's going to apply at Texas but it's extremely difficult to get into. She's a straight-A student taking all AP/Honors classes, but she's not a straight A+ student so she's not in the top 6% of her class, which is what it takes to get admitted to UT.
Alas, my alma mater didn't give him the chance to choose.
I shouldn't talk, there's a decent chance my daughter ends up at Texas A&M. :(Prayers sent
I know, right? Better that than Ohio State, though. Kid is happy. The delayed (because of Spring Break) St. Patty's day activities along Greek Row, and the cute blond in the university's gym who told him about how much she loves the university didn't hurt...That's a bummer.
Alas, my alma mater didn't give him the chance to choose.
Also, my dad's family is from Minneapolis, and has pretty significant ties to the university. They (the extended family, not my dad) were a little annoyed at me when I chose Wisconsin back in the day.
Rumor is that college enrollment/applications are dropping a little right now, but it's still way more competitive than when we applied to college. Back then, at least out in California, Wisconsin was pretty unknown, only about 20% out of state (not including Minnesota) students, and overwhelminingly midwestern. Now Wisconsin is about 50% out of state, significantly more competitive for everyone, and a "hot" school in California.I wish UW could win those again.
Curiously, until about two years ago, Minnesota was almost as competitive as Wisconsin out of state, but for some reason in the last couple of years, Minnesota has eased up a little--which was good for the boy, who didn't cover himself in glory in high school, but tested well because he's really freaking smart.
As much as it pained me to spend money in the University of Minnesota bookstore's apparel section, I'm excited for him. He's going to have a great time.
And I'll have a really good excuse to go out for the Axe game...maybe every year?
Yeah I think that's where we're going to end up as well, with my daughter's college application process. She's going to apply at Texas but it's extremely difficult to get into. She's a straight-A student taking all AP/Honors classes, but she's not a straight A+ student so she's not in the top 6% of her class, which is what it takes to get admitted to UT.It doesn’t hurt that A&M admits about 2x the students that Tx does. Not 2x, but close.
Top 10% gets into A&M so she's got that covered easily.
It doesn’t hurt that A&M admits about 2x the students that Tx does. Not 2x, but close.Well yeah, capping admissions is exactly why Texas has moved from admitting the top 10%, to the top 8, then the top 7, and now the top 6. Even 5 years ago she would have gotten into Texas. Now it's pretty much an impossibility.
My oldest is graduating in May from SHSU. Didn’t want no part of the big school experience.
I shouldn't talk, there's a decent chance my daughter ends up at Texas A&M. :(
Rumor is that college enrollment/applications are dropping a little right now, but it's still way more competitive than when we applied to college. Back then, at least out in California, Wisconsin was pretty unknown, only about 20% out of state (not including Minnesota) students, and overwhelminingly midwestern. Now Wisconsin is about 50% out of state, significantly more competitive for everyone, and a "hot" school in California.What are his expectations of... Winter?
Curiously, until about two years ago, Minnesota was almost as competitive as Wisconsin out of state, but for some reason in the last couple of years, Minnesota has eased up a little--which was good for the boy, who didn't cover himself in glory in high school, but tested well because he's really freaking smart.
As much as it pained me to spend money in the University of Minnesota bookstore's apparel section, I'm excited for him. He's going to have a great time.
And I'll have a really good excuse to go out for the Axe game...maybe every year?
Long story short: he knows it will be cold, and that it will last longer than it does on trips,
But I am curious to see how he feels about it come February next year.
I'd make a smart-alec comment about this, but considering the fact I loved my time in College Station with the Aggie co-eds, I can't bring myself to do it.Eh…26 and 20…not really that big a deal. At that age, she’s not a fish. Probably not a virgin. Junior or possibly senior in college. You on the other hand, probably were a virgin. :)
Everything about that is different in retrospect. At the time I thought "Yay for me." Now I think "26 yr old dude, chatting up 20 yr old girls.....kinda creepy."
I used to think "She's' hot, she's here, and I'm here" and that's about the extent of it. Now I think "that's somebody's daughter, and they didn't send her out into the world to make out with me."
I think.......I regret that I don't regret it :)
Well yeah, capping admissions is exactly why Texas has moved from admitting the top 10%, to the top 8, then the top 7, and now the top 6. Even 5 years ago she would have gotten into Texas. Now it's pretty much an impossibility.Well, my outlook on it is that it’s harder to get into A&M now than it was when I first applied straight outta HS. And, there are way more Texans now than 30 years ago. Lot of good, smart people in that non-6%. I would almost say some of the best. More Aggies in the world can’t be bad either. And if we’re being honest, A&M and B/CS has the room.
Well, my outlook on it is that it’s harder to get into A&M now than it was when I first applied straight outta HS. And, there are way more Texans now than 30 years ago. Lot of good, smart people in that non-6%. I would almost say some of the best. More Aggies in the world can’t be bad either. And if we’re being honest, A&M and B/CS has the room.Sure, and Texas A&M doesn't have the same mission as the University of Texas. They serve different purposes for the state.
Sure, and Texas A&M doesn't have the same mission as the University of Texas. They serve different purposes for the state.They both serve to educate the people of this state. Split the rest of the hairs however you want. Most of the country bumpkins from the Valley and other less competitive schools will be flunked out in 1-2 semesters anyways.
The real problem with the Top 6% rule, or even the Top 10% rule, is that it penalizes students from highly competitive high schools, and rewards students from less competitive high schools. I'll speak plainly, we're talking about kids from the Valley and other economically challenged areas who are Top 6% in their own school, who probably wouldn't make Top 80% at my daughter's high school. I understand the state's intentions with this admission policy but it's unfortunate that it disallows so many highly qualified students. It's no rumor or joke that there are kids at the top competitive high schools in Texas who can get into Harvard or Stanford but who are getting rejected at Texas.
They both serve to educate the people of this state. Split the rest of the hairs however you want. Most of the country bumpkins from the Valley and other less competitive schools will be flunked out in 1-2 semesters anyways.All of the state universities in Texas serve to educate the people of the state. And yet they all have different missions. I'm not sure what your point is.
SFBadger96SFGopher29 has a rather nice ring to it :) What college is he going into here?
SFIrish96
SFGopher29
:-)
He will start with CLA (and probably stay there). He's planning Army ROTC (like mom and dad), so he doesn't really need a technical degree to start, as his first job out of college will likely be wearing green. Put in for Super Block for housing (17 as the backup).Blame Canada :) The storms that dump the biggest snowfalls here actually come from Texas.
As for the weather, do we blame it on the Dakotas or Canada? In the current political climate, we should probably be blaming Canada (cue South Park), but I did hear some people in Minneapolis last weekend calling it a Dakotas thing.
:)
How is it supposed to be said?
I say boo-dan. Not sure how it's properly pronounced in coonass talk.
You've passed the Texans test. Neither of us are surprised :)OK. Thanks for continuing to be obtuse. You still haven't told us how YOU pronounce it.
A Bear.
OK. Thanks for continuing to be obtuse. You still haven't told us how YOU pronounce it.
Sorry. The "n" is silent when we say it. Boo-da, but "da" as in the the sound of Dan without the n, not "da" as in Da Bears. There's a lot of Cajun-French words where that comes into play. I'm not very good at real French so I have no idea if silent n's are used in that language or not.
All the folks here say the N which surprises me a little bit since they're more tuned into the cajun stuff than other places. My wife continues to say boo-dan because even though she knows how we say it, she says she feels like it's some kind of cultural appropriation and it would be inappropriate for her to say it like me. I just politely ask her not to say it around my family and embarrass me :-D
You cajun's are some weird ass folks. :) My BIL is from Bunkie, LA. Well meaning, but a complete weirdo.
Southern Louisiana is really like visiting a different country.
Well, Bunkie is north of I-10, and everybody north of I-10 is a little weird :)
In Texas that's called "the trinity" although I realize that in Louisiana, the trinity refers to something else.
Well, Bunkie is north of I-10, and everybody north of I-10 is a little weird :)This is true in Florida.
This is true in Florida.
What part of Florida do you live in?Burnt Store Marina (Punta Gorda).
I have a cousin and a buddy who live vaguely in the Ft. Myers area, I think. If I ever make it to visit them and you're anywhere close, we should have a Board reunion.
Burnt Store Marina (Punta Gorda).Per Google, you are about half an hour from Edison and Ford Winter Estates (https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Burnt+Store+Marina,+FL/Edison+%26+Ford+Winter+Estates,+2350+McGregor+Blvd,+Fort+Myers,+FL+33901/@26.7171473,-82.0447951,30042m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x88db5002d12861dd:0x29c68dfa142ed62a!2m2!1d-82.050923!2d26.7650681!1m5!1m1!1s0x88db41c2830d5555:0xcffd4e536e6395a3!2m2!1d-81.880091!2d26.6338939!3e0?authuser=0&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDMyMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D). My parents took my brother and I when we were little and I want to take my kids there someday. It is a pretty neat place.
(https://i.imgur.com/LJe7eqk.png)
The last name of one of the guys I work with is Hebert, and he tells me his family has been in setx for 3 generations but are originally from Louisiana (I knew that from the name) and he's pretty feisty about his heritage. I was ribbing him one day about not being a real Louisianan and he took it way more seriously than I intended so I just hushed about it. After all, I'd asked him how he pronounced "boudin" and he said it correctly (Texans notoriously do not say the word like a Louisianan does).I either say boo-dane or boo-dan, but I usually don't eat it. Not my cup of tea.
But I never heard him say his last name until yesterday. On a call he said his name was *firstname* Hee-bert. I raised my eyebrows and made a mental note that this guy is in no way Cajun and mentally revoked his claimed Louisiana status.
My son's first club baseball tournament is next week. I checked on the host program's site, to see if there was a schedule yet. There was not, but that organization was "proud" to announce they now have a 3U and 4U team now.
In case you want to spend thousands of dollars for travel t-ball.
What are we doing here?
Hell, one of the doctors at my wife's practice has a daughter that she schleps all around the country for travel cheerleading competitions.I think people just need something to do and be a part of something. Even if it's just a giant waste of time. It's a social thing bundled with athletics, bundled with social status. Even if there are scholarships available for all the other sports out there, only very few will get them and they still go all in.
And it's def. a cult. If you dare miss a practice... Even if you're sick with a doctor's note, you get charged by the program.
But... What I don't get with it is... What's the end goal? Travel sports you at least have the delusional hope to eventually get a full ride college scholarship and end up in the pros where you can make life-changing money. Cheer? Maybe you'll get a pittance from the school for a cheerleading scholarship, but you're not "going pro" at any point in the future. Unless it's on OF.
I wanted my son to get on the HS golf team because a sport looks good on a college application. And then I want him to get a good education that sets him up for a high-paying job so that golf can be a fun hobby on the weekends. Neither of us are trying to get him to the PGA Tour.
I think people just need something to do and be a part of something. Even if it's just a giant waste of time. It's a social thing bundled with athletics, bundled with social status. Even if there are scholarships available for all the other sports out there, only very few will get them and they still go all in.Hmm. Being an introverted misanthrope is certainly a lot cheaper than that.
Hmm. Being an introverted misanthrope is certainly a lot cheaper than that.Amen brutha.
Pardon my ignorance, but what is a 3U/4U team?Travel baseball for 3 and 4 year olds
Holy cow.Yeah, and one of the things that a coworker had told me when my eldest started playing youth sports (tee ball, soccer, etc around ages 5-7) was that the only difference between the kids that seemed like they were "good" and the kids that didn't have a clue wasn't talent. It wasn't natural athleticism. It wasn't a predictor of future performance.
I loved sports when I was a kid and belonged to some rec leagues over the years, but I don't think I started T-ball until I was 6 or 7. I don't know how they would've kept me from standing around with my finger up my nose digging for boogers when I was 3, let alone had me traveling.
Yeah, and one of the things that a coworker had told me when my eldest started playing youth sports (tee ball, soccer, etc around ages 5-7) was that the only difference between the kids that seemed like they were "good" and the kids that didn't have a clue wasn't talent. It wasn't natural athleticism. It wasn't a predictor of future performance.A little story to buttress this point:
All it meant is that those kids had older brothers, so they were more exposed to sports before they started at the bottom rung than those who didn't have older brothers.
Give it a few years from then, and it evens out to where talent/athleticism starts to become the differentiator. Because what you did before you were 5 years old doesn't matter.
Last spring, my wife and I stayed at a hotel adjacent to the Anaheim Convention Center. While we were there to go to Disney, the convention center/arena was hosting an "all-star" cheer super/mega national.What could go wrong?
Competitive cheer has turned into what beauty pageants were in the 80s and 90s. Heavily oversexualized kids with a pound of makeup on their face and enough hairspray to make Dee Snyder vomit with envy, and all the parents were shitfaced drunk. It was disgusting.
Last spring, my wife and I stayed at a hotel adjacent to the Anaheim Convention Center. While we were there to go to Disney, the convention center/arena was hosting an "all-star" cheer super/mega national.
Competitive cheer has turned into what beauty pageants were in the 80s and 90s. Heavily oversexualized kids with a pound of makeup on their face and enough hairspray to make Dee Snyder vomit with envy, and all the parents were shitfaced drunk. It was disgusting.
Related to the older sibling thing, I once read something that I found interesting. Unfortunately, I can't find the source right now but from my recollection the story was that there is a pretty strong correlation between being born in September or October and being a MLB Baseball Player but, there is almost zero correlation regarding birth month for HOF MLB Players.I wonder how much of this is not due to persistent differences that come from it, but due to people quitting sports?
The theory as to why:
The Little League cutoff date is August 31 so:
Suppose you and I grew up together and we were both good baseball players. Now further suppose that you were born on September 1 but I was born two days earlier, on August 30. Even though we are almost exactly the same age, at every level of Little League, you'll be the oldest guy on your team and I'll be the youngest guy on my team. Consequently, even if we are EXACTLY equal as baseball players, you will be MUCH better relative to your team than I am relative to my team because the other guys on my team are all older than us while the other guys on your team are all younger than us.
If we both have natural talent at the borderline MLB level (which is a VERY high level of talent), you are MUCH more likely to make the MLB than I am because you will be the best player on your team at every level. My exact same talent, however, may well get missed because the other boys that I play with are older so my VERY high level of talent is at least partially offset by the fact that the boys I play with and against are up to a year older than us while your VERY high level of talent will be accentuated by the fact that the boys you play with and against are up to a year younger than us.
When you move up to guys SO good that they will wind up in Cooperstown the birthdate thing doesn't matter anymore. They'll still stand out even if they are born in late August and spend their Little League years playing against guys up to a year older.
I followed the general rule of my generation when it came to tattoos...I’m not totally opposed to a couple of easily hidden personalized ones. I just never gave it much thought.
...don't ink nuthin' that won't be covered by business attire.
I still only have two. Might get more someday. Might not. Depends whether there's something important enough to do it.
Wife has zero. She's talked about it, but she also hates needles... So...
I wonder how much of this is not due to persistent differences that come from it, but due to people quitting sports?I'm sure this is correct but I also think they are related. Reading through your experience, how much of not enjoying it was a product of the fact that you weren't one of the oldest/most developed/best kids on the field?
Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if it wasn't a Sisyphean experience.Look at you pulling out the Million Dollar Words, making me go to dictionary.com.
Jesus Medina. You started late with the kids ! I think we’re the same age, my youngest is 18 and about to graduate HS, oldest is about to graduate college. And I was older than a lot of parents at my kids schools. Most of the parents of kids my age were 5-10 years younger. And heavily tattooed.Yeah, I sure did.
I once scored a nice windfall after investing in the maker of PicoSure, the emerging leader in tattoo removal technology. They were eventually bought out by hologic so I took the cash.This has always been the reason for my reluctance to get any tattoos. They last forever. Sometimes I see young people with tattoos and think to myself, "How is that going to look on an old lady/man in the nursing home?"
I looked at everyone younger than me and thought, everyone has a tattoo and many of them will want to remove them.
I'm not anti-tattoo but figured that was a growth industry.
I have a reoccurring dream where I get a tattoo, and then instantly regret it. I'm always relieved to discover that it was all just a dream, and that I don't actually have a tattoo, once I wake up. So, I've heeded the warning and never got one.One Spring Break while I was at Ohio State I went to Florida with some friends. The bar we mostly frequented had a tattoo parlor literally on the way out of the bar and I just thought "Oh that isn't good."
I have a tribal armband tattoo. It matches my Affliction t-shirts and looks great with my skinny jeans.I figured it was an Ed Hardy tee and a Von Dutch hat.
I figured it was an Ed Hardy tee and a Von Dutch hat.That's for weekends. I was talking about my business attire during the week.
I'm sure this is correct but I also think they are related. Reading through your experience, how much of not enjoying it was a product of the fact that you weren't one of the oldest/most developed/best kids on the field?Yeah, that's the point I was trying to make. The game for me was extra hard (and thus extra hard to enjoy) because I was consistently one of the youngest kids on the field.
I followed the general rule of my generation when it came to tattoos...Got my first tatoo about 6 months ago, a paraphase of Micah 6:8, Seek Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly, on my upper inside forearm. My wife has I believe 10 tatoos on various parts of her body, all were in area that were covered because she was in the financial industry, since then the last 2 are visible. She had been trying to convince me to get at least one for a long time, I finally gave in.
...don't ink nuthin' that won't be covered by business attire.
I still only have two. Might get more someday. Might not. Depends whether there's something important enough to do it.
Wife has zero. She's talked about it, but she also hates needles... So...
I perceive the business world is having to adjust its appearance standards because the workforce personnel without visible tattoos is increasingly vanishing. It's very rare I come across young people anymore without tattoos I can see.Agree with this. Even at a fairly conservative tech company like the one I work for, it's definitely trending more in this direction. There will come a point in the next decade when the "young people with visible tattoos" will become the "old people working in upper management" and then I don't think there will be any stigma at all, about it.
My stepsons have them, but they are covered up by professional attire. But I know and work with a lot of young women who don't always dress in long sleeves, and it's always a bit jarring to see giant tats in an office. And judging by the bank branches I venture into, even public-facing businesses have had to drop those standards. I used to work at a bank and there's no way they would've ever hired someone with visible tattoos. Now it seems they have no choice. Other than to keep replacing all the tellers with ATMs and ITMs, that is.
Yeah, that's the point I was trying to make. The game for me was extra hard (and thus extra hard to enjoy) because I was consistently one of the youngest kids on the field.I think you'll appreciate this story of kinda, the other side of this equation:
I think you'll appreciate this story of kinda, the other side of this equation:Yep. I wrestled one year, in 7th grade. I was in the 135# weight class--and at the very top of it--as a 7th grader :57:
My brother's best friend in HS was TINY. I'm not sure if he weighed triple digits when he graduated from HS. He was also a State Champion Wrestler. The advantage he had was that wrestling, of course, is by weight class and at ~100# he was pretty much always wrestling against freshmen. They were the same size but he had three years of experience and development on them so he was a VERY successful wrestler.
Agree with this. Even at a fairly conservative tech company like the one I work for, it's definitely trending more in this direction. There will come a point in the next decade when the "young people with visible tattoos" will become the "old people working in upper management" and then I don't think there will be any stigma at all, about it.Several of my younger bosses are covered up in tats. It's totally normal now.
Several of my younger bosses are covered up in tats. It's totally normal now.Not yet normal at my office, but I have no doubt it will be in the next 7-10 years.
Buc-Ees is famous for not hiring anybody with visible tats.
Not yet normal at my office, but I have no doubt it will be in the next 7-10 years.Don't know how youthful your team is... I thought it was funny that when we had our department Christmas lunch a couple of months back, one of the topics of conversation between a couple guys was that they'd hit the "50%" club... They'd been at our company for over 50% of their life. I'm at about 17 1/2 years now, but wouldn't join that club unless I stick around until I'm 58.
Don't know how youthful your team is... I thought it was funny that when we had our department Christmas lunch a couple of months back, one of the topics of conversation between a couple guys was that they'd hit the "50%" club... They'd been at our company for over 50% of their life. I'm at about 17 1/2 years now, but wouldn't join that club unless I stick around until I'm 58.I don't know how we do in engineering, but to be honest, we don't do a whole lot of our own engineering anyway. Test engineering is the majority of it, and that's not overly sexy no matter where you are (I did test engineering for my first 7 years out of undergrad, it is known).
Trying to attract the young'uns to boring data storage when they all want to work for OpenAI or Tesla or SpaceX or [insert hot hip company name] is a little difficult. I don't know if the PC / compute space is similar...
Don't know how youthful your team is... I thought it was funny that when we had our department Christmas lunch a couple of months back, one of the topics of conversation between a couple guys was that they'd hit the "50%" club... They'd been at our company for over 50% of their life. I'm at about 17 1/2 years now, but wouldn't join that club unless I stick around until I'm 58.Well, I work with several different departments, so we’re talking about dozens of people. And not many have tats that are visible, but a few do. It’s kinda strange too because a lot of them had almost no tats until a few years ago and once they broke the seal next thing you know they’re sleeved up.
Trying to attract the young'uns to boring data storage when they all want to work for OpenAI or Tesla or SpaceX or [insert hot hip company name] is a little difficult. I don't know if the PC / compute space is similar...
Several of my younger bosses are covered up in tats. It's totally normal now.Bucees
Buc-Ees is famous for not hiring anybody with visible tats.
Look at you pulling out the Million Dollar Words, making me go to dictionary.com.
I feel like the mid-90s were the moment tattoos went mainstream, but they were still mostly hideable. I feel like always visible tatoos are a relatively new thing (although I'm getting old, so "relatively new" probably isn't very new). A decent number of people in my staid law office have tattoos--not many are in visible locations during the work day (although the post-Covid change to dress code has impacted that, particularly as it relates to forearms).Yeah I'm not sure I agree with that. Mid-90s is exactly when I finished college and went into the workforce, and at that point, almost none of my contemporaries had any kind of tattoo. Many of them still do not, and most likely never will-- including me.
It does seem to be something that snowballs into more for a lot of poeple.
That's fair. My thought is that among our contemporaries, as young adults, tattoos became much more common. Probably not among people in their 40s, but among people who were going into the "professional" work force in their future. Now a fair number of middle aged professionals have tattoos--many of which they first got when they were young adults.Perhaps it depends on your industry. And maybe there's a geographical component as well. I can say that in tech/business/finance, in my part of the world, tattoos were a rarity among young professionals in the mid 90s. Even ones that would be hidden under business attire.
Somewhere else that I just recently read, he pulled out another $100 word, the kind that you mostly only know if you went to Purdue.The advantage of having a large vocabulary is that sometime that one specific uncommon word simply fits exactly what and how you want to convey better than using smaller words. I.e. the use of Sisyphean... I could say playing with those older kids felt like beating my head against the wall. But that doesn't convey the sense of hopeless futility that it didn't really matter what I did. I could keep working and working but because I was ALWAYS going to be two+ years younger than some of them, the boulder was never going to get to the top of the hill and stay there.
Actually I knew it, but I never think of it, and thus never use it.
Can't remember it, though, and I can't find it. I think it might have been in the backlog of 25+ pages I was catching up on yesterday in the retirement thread.
Pity, I have a list of big words that nobody needs, but which I like to whip out on people if they get on my nerves. Using big words really gets on people's nerves, I don't know why. See: Milchick's performance review, Severance, season 2.
The advantage of having a large vocabulary is that sometime that one specific uncommon word simply fits exactly what and how you want to convey better than using smaller words. I.e. the use of Sisyphean... I could say playing with those older kids felt like beating my head against the wall. But that doesn't convey the sense of hopeless futility that it didn't really matter what I did. I could keep working and working but because I was ALWAYS going to be two+ years younger than some of them, the boulder was never going to get to the top of the hill and stay there.
Don't know how youthful your team is... I thought it was funny that when we had our department Christmas lunch a couple of months back, one of the topics of conversation between a couple guys was that they'd hit the "50%" club... They'd been at our company for over 50% of their life. I'm at about 17 1/2 years now, but wouldn't join that club unless I stick around until I'm 58.
Trying to attract the young'uns to boring data storage when they all want to work for OpenAI or Tesla or SpaceX or [insert hot hip company name] is a little difficult. I don't know if the PC / compute space is similar...
Your solution, of course, is to hire a guy with a data science degree, who doesn't care about OpenAI or Tesla or SpaceX, has a modest vocabulary, and no tattoos :)You see any openings on our web site, just let me know and I'll put your name in via employee referral :72:
haven't tried the new ball.I prefer yellow. Easier for me to see.
last year's ball was high spin, I assume the new ball is as well
I like them for approach shots and around the green
not good for my driver
I strongly dislike yeller balls
I, too, have an aversion to yellow balls, but this is the ball I play. Price point is the winner. I'm not good enough to think about anything else.My issue with the wedges is that I'm a giant. I've heard they're great. But if I bought the wedges, I'd have to get them reshafted (incl. longer playing length) and regripped to get them even remotely close to playable. And once you do that... The cost advantage is gone.
I also have Kirland Signature wedges, and the driver. I don't hit a driver very well--I'm more confident with my 3-wood--but I like it well enough. I get about 20 extra yards, on average, from the driver (over the 3-wood). Again, the price point was right. My other clubs are all TaylorMades (although all but the putter and 15-year old 3-wood were purchased used).
The wedges are great. I'm not sure what I would compare them too because I've literally never had another gap/approach or sand wedge (I always used to use my P to get out of a bunker). As much fun as the loft wedge is it sits on a shelf in my garage to prevent me from using it. Too much danger around that club.
utee94 is gonna luv this
https://mygolfspy.com/labs/ball-lab-costo-kirkland-performance-plus-v3-ball-review/ (https://mygolfspy.com/labs/ball-lab-costo-kirkland-performance-plus-v3-ball-review/)
[img width=500 height=458.996]https://i.imgur.com/Of2Dv2u.png[/img]
I've never paid much attention to my swing, but I feel like I'm in the 220 to 230 carry range when I hit the Kirkland driver solidly. Every now and again I really get a hold of it, but not often. On a dry day with good roll, I'm getting 250-270 out of the drives, with the occaisional 290-300, which makes me smile. I hit my 3-wood (an older TaylorMade burner with a stiff shaft) about 225-240 most of the time. I feel like I get a lot out of that club. The driver rarely gives me the same positive feedback, even when I'm hitting 270+.the newer drivers have such a large face and sweet spot they just don't give good feedback
utee94 is gonna luv thisThat's the old version BTW. That was the bottom left of the below... New ball is the bottom right.
https://mygolfspy.com/labs/ball-lab-costo-kirkland-performance-plus-v3-ball-review/ (https://mygolfspy.com/labs/ball-lab-costo-kirkland-performance-plus-v3-ball-review/)
(https://i.imgur.com/Of2Dv2u.png)
I've never paid much attention to my swing, but I feel like I'm in the 220 to 230 carry range when I hit the Kirkland driver solidly. Every now and again I really get a hold of it, but not often. On a dry day with good roll, I'm getting 250-270 out of the drives, with the occaisional 290-300, which makes me smile. I hit my 3-wood (an older TaylorMade burner with a stiff shaft) about 225-240 most of the time. I feel like I get a lot out of that club. The driver rarely gives me the same positive feedback, even when I'm hitting 270+.If I get 180+ from my Titliest Tsr1 I am happy. When I was fitted, the guy told me it was designed for old guys with slow swing speed.
Let's see if this thing still works... And I remember how :57:Are you frying something or making moonshine!?!?
Are you frying something or making moonshine!?!?Beer. With some slight modifications to my process, and of course the addition of a still, I could make moonshine.
Let's see if this thing still works... And I remember how :57:First step: don’t fall in.
Are you frying something or making moonshine!?!?
Beer. With some slight modifications to my process, and of course the addition of a still, I could make moonshine.You two non believing heathens this is proof of GOD's existence - who loves us and wants us to be happy - it's scriptural
You two non believing heathens this is proof of GOD's existence - who loves us and wants us to be happy - it's scripturalYup, pretty sure that was Luke 5:16.
Didn't he say the coldest winter he ever spent, was summer in Norman, Oklahoma?I doubt it. Why would anyone, ever, go to Norman, OK?
On Friday I achieved maybe my greatest working/professional accomplishment ever.The ole cliffhanger huh ?
....and I can't ever put it on my resume or tell anybody about it.
Sounds shady, doesn't it?
We have natural gas. Which isn't actually all that dangerous on its own, it's extremely low pressure, like around 1/4 PSI. The danger for natural gas comes if there's a leak in an enclosed space, which traps the gas over time, and then you get some kind of ignition source.
I don't know a lot about gas lines. About 6 months ago I had the city run a line from the main for a our lot, which previously had no hookups. We did it because we were installing a generator and I didn't want to get the version with tanks. There were a lot of glitches with seemingly incompetent city workers, one of which was the generator's test-crank didn't work and it was found that it was supposed to be a low-pressure line and the city had installed a high-pressure line. That's what they said, anyway. I don't know the difference in pressure between the two, or why/how they messed that up. They had to install some kind of limiter at the point of the generator to avoid digging up our yard again.Well, the difference between high pressure gas and regular may only be 2-3 psig. If it was mine I’d want high pressure with a restricting orifice at the distribution tie point.
A week or two after they were "done," we started smelling gas. I called the city several times, they came to check for leaks, and their instruments apparently told them there weren't any. One Saturday morning we went outside and it was significantly worse. We called again and found out neighbors two and three streets away had called about a gas smell. They came again, checked, and said we had a small leak, so they started digging. They would up not having a part, so they ordered and overnight'd it and told us don't worry. The following morning it was horrible. When they came back that day they said it was bad.....real bad. Really glad nobody on our street lit a match out there.
Anyway, they fixed it, but now I've got what is, according to them, a high pressure line running in my yard, which is not supposed to be a high pressure line.
Generator works, though.
Natural gas doesn't smell naturally.Chili WITH BEANS
It has an additive that does.
Often things smell bad because they are bad. Rancid meat smells bad as an alarm we shouldn't eat it. We evolved if you will sensory detection mechanisms to allow us to avoid dangerous things, often as not.In my semiconductor ion implant days, I used to have to don my SCBA and change out gas bottles including phosphine, arsine, and silicon tetraflouride. They say that arsine has a mild garlic smell, but honestly if you're breathing in concentrations high enough to detect the odor, you might already be on your way to death anyway.
Of course, some unusual gases with no odor at all are very dangerous too. I recall using nitrogen tetroxide long ago that is very toxic and has no odor, which makes it quite dangerous.
There is a restaurant in Round Rock, TX called Louisiana Longhorn Cafe which I suddenly have a hankering for, and I'm not sure why. It isn't the best food I've ever had and was a little pricey, for what it was.Upon your recommendation, I met you there for lunch once upon a time. Not the house of the Rising Sun, the other joint. And it was tasty.
There is also a house, in New Orleans, they call the Rising Sun. It's been the ruin of many a poor boy, and God knows I'm one.
Oh yeah, it's worth going to for sure. I tried to make it back a couple times a year even when I moved to SM. I just wasn't sure what suddenly made me get hungry for it. I think of it as more of a place to aim for if I'm in the area, not as a place that enters my mind when I'm miles and years away.Santa Monica?
Santa Monica?
Go here: Chez Jay — Chez Jay (https://chezjays.com/chez-jay)
it's close to a bogey golferProbably not at Augusta when it's set up for the Masters from the tournament tees. Probably going to have a course rating about 77 and a slope of about 145. If you're an 18 cap, your "course handicap" will be 28.
they would shoot 18 over about 20% of the time
it's what you would shoot on a "good" day
There is of course breaking 100 on a nice Sunny day playing with your buds, and playing on a nice Sunny day literally as part of the final round there with crowds.The traditional repentance for hitting a spectator with your golf ball is to give them a signed glove.
So I am a 10 handicap ( that basically means if you take the best 10 of my last 20 scores on a medium difficulty course, and I play well, I might shoot an 82)What do you guess you'd shoot on Sunday in the Masters from the champ tees with the crowd?
This morning a co-worker told me "I try not to be political, but...." and then proceeded to be very political.
Like when people say "No offense, but....." they're going to say something offensive.
"I'm not a racist, but...." Yeah, they're probably about to say something racist.
"I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but...." as they proceed to thrash the deceased stallion once more.
"I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but....."
Not sure what's behind the habit of thinking we can mitigate what we say simply by declaring it's not what it is.
Like Michael Scott declaring bankruptcy
Maybe what people mean is, "I do not wish to make you angry, but I'm about to say something that might make you angry."
I hadn't though about the "playing conservatively" part. Yeah, maybe you are very consistent with your 7 iron and can hit it 150 yards consistently, so you play to reach a par 4 in three the whole way. Or maybe your 4H is consistent, even better.
I'm not a golfer anymore, but if I ever had the chance to play Augusta National ---- I'm going balls out.Yeah, the question is open, do you play for your lowest score and least embarrassment or do the Tin Cup redux.
You're going to suck anyway -- may as well make it memorable. Maybe you hit an unbelievable shot on 12, and you can tell the tale of for the rest of your life?
Or you can play conservative, and have absolutely nothing interesting to say?
Yeah, the question is open, do you play for your lowest score and least embarrassment or do the Tin Cup redux.
I bet the crowd moves back when you tee off at 18.
Actually, as I recall, the first time I swung a driver at a ball at the driving range, I missed the ball completely.This was my main problem, the golf swing is very much not a baseball swing. I also had a screaming slice as a result of this. I "cured" it sort of by trying to relax. NOW RELAX DUMMY AND KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN< NO YOU IDIOT RELAX!!!!!
So I guess I did get some measure of better.
They told me I was trying to hit it like I was swinging a baseball bat. I wondered how the hell else are you supposed to swing the thing?
Screaming Slice would be a good name for a pizza parlor housed inside the golf clubhouse.(https://i.imgur.com/JvOzmSG.jpeg)
Golf is a lot like pitching, you need to relax, but be wired at the same time, mentally confident of course, and relaxed.Don't forget to breathe through your right eyelid and wear a garter belt. The rose goes in front, big guy.
Being good at either requires good muscle memory where you don't have to think. Thinking kills both. And hold it like an egg.
Strikeouts are fascist I say.
Bull Durham (1988) - Strikeouts Are Fascist Scene (3/12) | Movieclips (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-guv9Pd_RA)
Golf is a lot like pitching, you need to relax, but be wired at the same time, mentally confident of course, and relaxed.I've been told by golf instructors that throwing (pitcher, QB) makes it easier to learn the golf swing than a good hitter in baseball. Although hockey players apparently take to it quite naturally.
Baseball hitters, as some of you apparently have learned, have a tendency to slice it off the planet...
All this stuff takes a lot of effort and time. Playing bridge was like that for me, I haven't played in decades.
If a bunch of good college hitters can look like that against a mere college pitcher.....what would it feel like if I could face a major leaguer?Yep. And this is one of those things that I think makes golf so difficult. We all KNOW we'd get mowed down by a MLB pitcher. We all KNOW we couldn't spend more than two plays on an NFL field without leaving in traction. We all KNOW that on a court full of NBA players we wouldn't get a shot off and we'd probably end up posterized. But those opportunities are never available to us, so we never have to actually test it.
I've been told by golf instructors that throwing (pitcher, QB) makes it easier to learn the golf swing than a good hitter in baseball. Although hockey players apparently take to it quite naturally.It's only a slice if you're facing the right way. Set up about 45 degrees to your left, and it's straight as an arrow!!!
Baseball hitters, as some of you apparently have learned, have a tendency to slice it off the planet...
So they ended up doing a destination wedding--Buffalo Trace distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky.
My then-girlfriend (now wife) and I flew out for it, routing in and out of Louisville. We took the redeye, and spent the first night in Louisville, so we had all day to sightsee/etc.
Naturally, one of the places we went was the Louisville Slugger factory. Very cool tour, very good time. But one of the exhibits they had there was a pitching cage with a radar.
:57:
What do you guess you'd shoot on Sunday in the Masters from the champ tees with the crowd?That’s about right.
120?
I think most baseball players lead their swing with their shoulders; allegedly golfers lead with their hips.The most common coaching we get at fantasy camp is "Stay back". All of us, nearly, tend to "lunge" at the ball which means we leave most of our power (such as it is) in the box. The average pitching speed there is probably 60. Stay back stay back stay back NOW!!!
So, even at the Masters was good for a tie at 29th. The weather was pretty good this year. The winner tied at -11. Two players made the cut and finished at +9.playing from the back tees would be a real challenge for most.......... Masters course measures 7,545 yards with a par of 72
I'd guess a real 18 HDCP player playing the back tees but with no audience could shoot in the 90s from the back tees? He might also shoot 110.
We did NOT play the tips/PGA tee boxes. Probably around 6500-6800 yards, not 7500. I played somewhat conservatively, trying to stay below the hole around the greens to avoid chipping and putting downhill on those slippery SOBs. I had a "good" day by my standards and shot 90. I was probably about a 10 handicap at the time. Playing from the tips at 7500 yards would have killed our group.So, if you had a 90 on a decent day, what would it have been from the tips with a crowd watching?
To be fair, nobody would be watching FF on a Friday before he misses the cut.unless I was paired with John Daly
Those prices are just nuts.Historical data shows a strong ROI--probably stronger than anywhere else in the country, except--maybe--NYC.
And those are in the East Bay, i.e., the "lower cost" part of the Bay Area. The Silicon Valley (Santa Clara) and Peninsula (San Mateo) are even more:I wouldn’t necessarily describe it as the “lower cost“ part of the Bay Area. Though it does get j to some interesting convos about composition of places.
(https://i.imgur.com/lct1t3j.png)
kids shared bedrooms in the 60sand exchanging blows
But that's my point. You sucked at those sports too :57:
The difference is what you're measuring against.
When you talk about going to play pickup basketball, and thought you were "pretty good", did you think you were somewhere near being a Div-1 or Div-2 basketball player? No, of course not. If you'd been playing against players of that caliber, you'd have learned pretty quickly just how bad you were. You talk about being pesky on defense... Against "hot-shots". Would you have been able to contain, for example, 2024-25 LSU guard Cam Carter, who was "only" an inch taller than you? I doubt it. He shot 42.5% from the field last season (probably low considering about 50% of his shots appear to be 3-pointers). What do you think his shooting percentage would have been if you--at your prime--were guarding him?
Juvie?
After a two-yr stint in Georgia I moved back to another part of Louisiana to finish out high school where I graduated with a guy was very good.
Juvie?
They are genetic aliens who also worked their asses off. That's all there is to it.
How does one smoke hamburgers?
I really need to start smoking more hamburgers because I absolutely love them. I just hate doing all the grill cleanup for a few patties that only me and the missus will eat. I know they could be frozen and I could do more, but I don't know how good they'd be.This is one thing I miss about getting rid of my Traeger and not having a gas grill. The "I'm just gonna make something for the wife and I" and just want to be able to press a button and turn something on.
I have never heard of smoking hamburgers, so I'm asking for some detail about how it's done. Is it akin to smoking ribs? That doesn't sound good to me.
This is one thing I miss about getting rid of my Traeger and not having a gas grill. The "I'm just gonna make something for the wife and I" and just want to be able to press a button and turn something on.
That said, the small kamado works well for this. It's a bit of a pain to set up and light, but I've done it so many times that it doesn't bother me much any more. And there's always the Blackstone as well. That's good for burgers (just did them with the kids Friday) and you get a nice crust. And then I can always do it inside on the stove in cast iron--but that's much more of a mess than dealing with the grill!
You just flavor some ground beef however you want, shape it into a patty that fits a bun, and throw it on the grill. Smoked hamburger patties are amazing.Ok, I would have called that grilling rather than smoking, which ot me is very different. Grilling is very high heat, smoking is very low heat, to me.
Ok, I would have called that grilling rather than smoking, which ot me is very different. Grilling is very high heat, smoking is very low heat, to me.
What kind of kamado do you have? Is that the thing you said infuses meat with more smoke flavor than a grill?I've got two from the brand Kamado Joe (https://www.kamadojoe.com/). I have the Big Joe and the Joe Jr. Mine are both the first gen models--had the Big Joe since 2014 and I know I got the Joe Jr before I got divorced, so probably 2015.
I do my burgers at low heat, for a grill. Not everybody does it that way, but I do. I do the lowest my Traeger will go, 180, I think, and do it as slowly as possible. It doesn't take hours and hours, but I smoke them much longer than if I had a propane grill and I just threw them on for a few minutes.I've never tried smoked burgers... I like that sear/char. The Blackstone is great to sear a burger. The ones I did Friday were my typical patties (~5.5-6 oz) so they're not "smash burgers", but with the Blackstone you get a really nice surface char.
I only go higher than 180 if I'm in a hurry, and for burgers, if I'm in a hurry, I wouldn't mess with the smoker anyway. Hamburger patties are the one thing I'm completely happy with the amount of smoke flavor I wind up with. Everything else, I could do with a bit stronger. But as brad and utee have pointed out in the past, I'd probably only be happy with either stick-burner or a kamado. But burgers absorb it really well.
A buddy of mine boiled his burgers, which I've also never tried, you get a guaranteed 100°C *or a bit less cook temperature.Are you sure they were boiled, and not sous vide (https://www.seriouseats.com/sous-vide-burgers-recipe)? I've never done sous vide on a burger personally, but I've heard it can be good.
On my very large offset stick-burner it would definitely require a lot of fuel for very little payoff. I'd probably just smoke a lot of stuff at the same time. Some sausage, chickens, pork loins, etc.Well sometimes it just makes sense to set up a day to smoke various things, and on those days the chef deserves a nice good smoked burger for lunch, right?
lots of beer:singing:
I assume that it's theoretically possible to operate a smoker without consuming beer...
...but I have no empirical evidence of that.
How does one smoke hamburgers?
I've never tried smoked burgers
I've never attempted to smoke a burger. Interesting thought.
I often use hickory pellets, and judging by restaurant menus, I thought hickory-smoked burgers were a thing everybody did.Hickory grilled burgers are pretty common. Mesquite grilled burgers as well.
Hickory grilled burgers are pretty common. Mesquite grilled burgers as well.
I think there might be some differences in the way you're using the word "smoked" and the way others do.
he said he was at 180 degrees - dat ain't grillinTwo things:
Probably....what do I know.Everything else I just said aside, the idea of slow-smoking a burger is interesting. I wonder what is the consistency like? Seems to me that the sear is part of what keeps a hamburger patty together. If you're just smoking it, does it come out more like meatloaf? Or some other texture?
But, though I doubtlessly spend more time on mere burgers than most would want to, I think smoking them for a couple hours is delicious, and the wife and stepson dig it, so there's that.
Everything else I just said aside, the idea of slow-smoking a burger is interesting. I wonder what is the consistency like? Seems to me that the sear is part of what keeps a hamburger patty together. If you're just smoking it, does it come out more like meatloaf? Or some other texture?
I assume that it's theoretically possible to operate a smoker without consuming beer...Don't go pushing the envelope, Buster - stick with what works. A home brewer that won't lift some suds whilst grilling, just might be a sign of the Apocalypse
...but I have no empirical evidence of that.
Not like meatloaf, though definitely tender. They hold together just fine. It depends on the percentage of fat in the beef, the higher the fat the more they fall apart. Mrs. DeL always does the meat, I just throw them on the Traeger. She's a fat-Nazi. No fat escapes her preparations. They have some sear. Most notable thing to me is how red they are. Not like meat-thats-not-done red, a different kind of red. Seems like everything I've done in the Traeger has a reddish tint to it, though, so a patty might not be unique in that regard.LOL... Keeping the burgers from falling apart is always my difficulty. And it's due to the fat content.
I figure the stadium holds 70K and change, so would it bring in more visitors than stadium capacity?When Chicago was a host back in 1996 it was said that more than 2 million people came to visit. Most did not gain attendance at Soldier Field.
I can see it's a large event for downtown for a few days or so, but nothing extraordinary, they have conventions routinely. Maybe I'm missing something.
2026 FIFA World Cup - Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_FIFA_World_Cup)
you might want to take an extended vacation and rent out your condo for that eventI could have gotten as much as $50K for my house, which was 40 miles away from the stadium back in the day, but an easy train ride.
My wife cannot abide spiciness beyond a minimal level, she is getting slightly more adventurous. She likes my "chili" but I toned down the chili powder a lot. She likes Indian and Thai but obviously the milder versions, north India etc.Mine is similar. Doesn't really tolerate much spice. She absolutely couldn't eat utee's brisket enchiladas. She made popcorn for dinner after one/two bites when I made them :57:
I tend to prefer the Mexican hot sauces. Cholula, Valentina. But I'm okay with throwing some Tobasco or Crystal or Louisiana on some cajun food if that's what's on offer.
I like sriracha with Vietnamese food. A combination of sriracha and hoison is great for pho, bun, and banh mi.
Never heard of Crystal. Louisiana? The love Tabasco but everyone around them loves Louisiana. Huh. And Iowa is smart.
(https://i.imgur.com/Ekp0lAp.png)
Mine is similar. Doesn't really tolerate much spice. She absolutely couldn't eat utee's brisket enchiladas. She made popcorn for dinner after one/two bites when I made them
The kids like spicy, but they don't have the same tolerance I do.
Man my enchilada chile gravy isn't even what I would classify as a 1 on a 1-10 scale. My son loves spicy food but my daughter has a pretty low tolerance for it, and she eats the enchiladas just fine.Maybe I did something wrong when I made it, then... I considered it pretty hot myself, and I've got a pretty strong tolerance. As soon as I tasted it, I knew it would blow her taste buds out of the water.
I ordered some Crystal just to say I have it.
Maybe I did something wrong when I made it, then... I considered it pretty hot myself, and I've got a pretty strong tolerance. As soon as I tasted it, I knew it would blow her taste buds out of the water.Well if you made it from reconstituted whole dried chile peppers then it depends on the blend of chiles you use. I only use a few of the spiciest ones like chiles de arbol. The bulk is ancho (dried smoked poblano) and guajillo. Sometimes I'll use some red New Mexican dried chiles (like Hatch) but those aren't all that spicy either.
I ordered some Crystal just to say I have it.Never heard of it.
Sriracha is a lil too much for me. But I'm a pansy with spice.I personally don't buy Frank's wing sauce because I already own butter and I'm capable of mixing Frank's and butter together.
I find it funny that people use Frank's Hot Sauce on wings, but Frank's also makes a buffalo wing sauce.
I like Sweet Baby Ray's wing sauce.Never had that but I've had their BBQ sauce which is truly terrible.
Never had that but I've had their BBQ sauce which is truly terrible.It's too sweet. I refuse to buy it even though my wife used to like it.
It's too sweet. I refuse to buy it even though my wife used to like it.Yeah Rudy's "sause" is good. It's as close to a Central Texas BBQ sauce as you're going to find on the shelves of supermarkets.
Right now, I have Rendezvous and Rudy's in my fridge.
Yeah Rudy's "sause" is good. It's as close to a Central Texas BBQ sauce as you're going to find on the shelves of supermarkets.
I don't recall Rendezvous sauce. Overall I was underwhelmed with their ribs when I visited.
I much prefer dry ribs, I find "wet ribs" are all sauce, they taste like a McRib.to me, either beef or pork ribs are the measure of a persons skill of smoking... and a bath of sauce is just hiding their lack of ability to make them right.
Well, not usually.
They've gone down the crapper. 20 years ago it was a good thing. 30 years ago it was the best.My visit was 25 years ago. I just don't like their style of BBQ all that much.
y'all would be culture shocked to enter a BBQ joint in eastern NC... they base off vinegar. pulled pork in vinegar and tabasco or texas pete... or some variation thereof... the thing is, it isn't bad at all- it's actually pretty dang good- but it isn't and shouldn't be called BBQ by my reckoning (and I'll be careful entering public for saying that the next few weeks just in case anyone around here sees this)...I call it BBQ because it's slow cooked with an offset fire. It is very differcent. When I first moved to NC, I thought it was awful, then I got to liking it. It reminds me of Cincy chili in that sense, your first experience is likely to be "WHAT THE HECK IS THIS????" and then perhaps you try it again and start to like it, maybe.
I much prefer dry ribs, I find "wet ribs" are all sauce, they taste like a McRib.Oh yeah, I don't bother with wet ribs. McRib is the appropriate comparison.
Well, not usually.
to me, either beef or pork ribs are the measure of a persons skill of smoking... and a bath of sauce is just hiding their lack of ability to make them right.Word up, I absolutely agree on not needing a bath of sauce. A simple rub, smoke, and time. That's all it takes.
but it isn't and shouldn't be called BBQ by my reckoningI don't know how something cooked low and slow on a spit over a fire would not be called BBQ?
cooking it low and slow for up to 30 hours
y'all would be culture shocked to enter a BBQ joint in eastern NC... they base off vinegar. pulled pork in vinegar and tabasco or texas pete... or some variation thereof... the thing is, it isn't bad at all- it's actually pretty dang good- but it isn't and shouldn't be called BBQ by my reckoning (and I'll be careful entering public for saying that the next few weeks just in case anyone around here sees this)...I've been there and had it. Edenton.
there is something primal and pleasing about tossing a piglet, gutted and cleaned but skin and all, on a grill that has an axle and a 2" ball receiver tongue- cooking it low and slow for up to 30 hours- dousing it with vinegar and hot sauce every hour- and then picking up a leg and the bone falling out... then shredding it in a mixture of more vinegar and hot sauce.... serving it with coleslaw and homemade macaroni with a chunk of cornbread and serving spoon or two of green beans... or collards... and i don't approve one bit of collards... it's the 'feed a lot of people quick and easy' thing for the warmer months... it flips over to low country boils in the cooler months- which is a massive pot poured out on a table and served on paper as you grab what you like... in the winter it's Brunswick stew- which is difficult to make properly- made in a huge pot or even a barrel, the oar used to stir it mush stand on it's own for it to be considered proper, and there can be zero scorch... that isn't easy to do i'm told- and people here love it... i don't.. i'll eat it, but won't seek it out.
the very best of the best local meal has been stolen and extorted from this area and far ranging distortions are offered worldwide... which is shrimp and grits. when done properly, they are incredible. the best of the best are at Chelsea's in New Bern NC. They add an ingredient that i can almost identify but haven't nailed down yet, and they aren't sharing what it is....
back home it was hotdogs and burgers... there isn't really a meal that represents the area, and that's a shame... well, unless it was ramps... and i don't eat those things... they used to have a festival when i was a kid, and right at the start of school--- the kids that attended and ate those things were excused for three days until the smell dissipated... they're a wild onion of sorts that grow underground and pigs used to be used to find them. Other than that, I can't think of a single meal that represents that area of Appalachia.
Memphis BBQ, StLouis BBQ, Texas BBQ... fried seafood on the coast of the carolina's and into fla... seafood with an italian flavor from VA north until Mass, then it turns to a British Scottish derived thing... i don't know what georgia is known for, but there is a decided Creole influence heading through bama, mississippi and Louisiana... jump texas and including texas and the SW spanish influence emerges, no? I really like that... i WILL go out of my way for a street taco done authentically- there are migrant workers here who's wives serve them out of their vans at work sites at lunch... and that for dang sure isn't below me.
question: If you broke the nation down in regions divided by the influence of foods (traditional), what would be on your MUST HAVE list?
My boss in grad school would scrounge the building for chemicals and store them in a closet near our lab. He found a 5 kg bottle of caffeine for example in powder form, that was useful at night for me. He also had a smaller bottle of capsacin, which I ignorantly sniffed the lid of once, never again. If you want heat, just get capsacin.
I like modest heat with a lot of flavor.
Interestingly, capsacin is a fairly potent topical analgesic.
I've used capsacin patches many times before. I didn't know you could eat it.Capsaicin is the component in peppers that makes then hot. In pure form, it is raging hot, lethally so in some cases depending on dose.
I've seen two Waymo cars here now with no driver (or passenger). I used to see them with a driver (not driving). I chatted with one of them while he "gassed them" up at our Kroger (EV station). My wife asked how they read traffic lights.Cameras and compute power to detect and run algorithms.
A couple of weeks ago a couple of girls got stuck in a Waymo when it decided to stop on the side of a busy freeway. It wouldn't let them out because they hadn't reached their destination. They called tech support from inside the vehicle to see if they could either get it to get moving again, or to open the doors. It took the tech over 5 minutes to figure out how to free them. And then they had to walk along and across the freeway, and presumably to their final destination which wasn't all that far away.
Imma go ahead and keep using vehicles with drivers for a while longer.
until the 1 is a fatalityWell, it's probably (maybe?) still better than that result with humans driving.
I'm less worried about a fatality and more worried about the fact that tech support for these things is incapable of taking timely action.I'm guessing complete failures are quite rare but will get a lot of attention. Over time, folks will come to understand your chances of getting "locked in" are remote. So to speak.
Well, it's probably (maybe?) still better than that result with humans driving.agreed - I see them every day
Well, it's probably (maybe?) still better than that result with humans driving.Down here? Hell yes.
Did y'all hear that??? Bwar wants his driverless uber to mow down a line of nuns on their way to mass.Listen, I know you profess to be a misanthrope...
I get it that you're atheistic but man, that's uncool.
Did y'all hear that??? Bwar wants his driverless uber to mow down a line of nuns on their way to mass.
I get it that you're atheistic but man, that's uncool.
I'm less worried about a fatality and more worried about the fact that tech support for these things is incapable of taking timely action.I rode in one. It honestly was pretty cool. It was also a little weird because it drove more safely than most people.
We've used Lyft probably 12 times to the airport, the drivers we've had are very safey conscious and good drivers. So far.
I'm OK walking to MARTA, but for foreign flights it's less convenient especially if one has a lot of luggage. My wife prefers Lyft. MARTA for us is $2, for both, Lyft is ~$40 with tip.
She doesn't really like riding on MARTA.
Saving cash isn’t an inherently female trait.My wife is actually very conscious of spending money, she often talks me out of it. In some areas, she does prefer a more expensive option. The international terminal here isn't directly connected to the MARTA station, so it does make more sense to use Lyft to get there. If we have large suitcases, if can be cumbersome to walk the 0.8 miles to a MARTA station, and sometimes the weather isn't conducive.
My wife is actually very conscious of spending money, she often talks me out of it. In some areas, she does prefer a more expensive option. The international terminal here isn't directly connected to the MARTA station, so it does make more sense to use Lyft to get there. If we have large suitcases, if can be cumbersome to walk the 0.8 miles to a MARTA station, and sometimes the weather isn't conducive.
Anyway, we're spending money to fly obviously and the extra $40 isn't usually a large chunk in relative terms. My neighbor often is able to take us, and in return we schlep him back and forth often as well, it's about 10 miles. Traffic of course can be unpleasant.
It's kind of fun to pick people up from the airport here.Where is that?
(https://stuckattheairport.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/UTAH-ST-GEORGE-Airport-outside.jpg)
You sit atop the hill and watch the plane land, then by the time you pull up to the curbside pickup, they are already walking out the front door luggage in hand.
Where is that?(https://www.thespectrum.com/gcdn/presto/2022/04/15/PSTG/811a5b52-2145-41c2-b53d-b19acb443e0f-IMG_9167.JPG?crop=5999,3375,x0,y305&width=1600&height=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
Where is that?Now, it's Augusta.
I really dislike flying. A couple of gin and tonics helps but I still don't ever enjoy it.
Ok, friends. Would you ratherI'm taking the coin flip.
A) be given a million (M) dollars
B) flip a coin for a billion (B) dollars
Ok, friends. Would you rather
A) be given a million (M) dollars
B) flip a coin for a billion (B) dollars
At this point in my life, a million wouldn't change that much. A billion would enable me to make a difference, I think, in a few areas by donating most of it.I'm a bit similar
I'd bet it would turn into a bit of a headache if I started donating larger sums.
(https://i.imgur.com/hmw0nyq.png)How do you rank them?
I'm taking the coin flip.I've never been much of a gambler, cause I don't usually win coin flips. But, I might take the chance because of my age and my financial position, not really needing the one million. Absolutely, if the number in option A is 3 million or more, I'm taking the sure thing.
A billion is "never have to worry about money or work again, forever" money. 50% chance of that is enough to forego the guaranteed million.
--------------
That said, there's a number in option A, above $1M but not outlandish, that would make me take option A.
yup, it would take me from I think I'm comfortable to I KNOW I'm comfortableThe house next to me is for sale.
might even buy a place on the golf course
I’m taking the billion chance. Because, what could I do with $11,000,000 that I can’t do with $10,000,000.Buy this and not feel bad about it.
:)
I want the million. I want the billion, too. I'll take both.
(https://i.imgur.com/hmw0nyq.png)Actually kind of an odd poster. It omits Skyline, the most recognizable brand affiliated with the dish, in favor of several that are long defunct. Acropolis was the one on UC campus, but it's been gone for the better part of 20 years.
That's dog food topped with shredded cheese, right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4zWFsPGdX4
Gold Star wasn't omitted, it is on the far right of the second row down.doesn't it say "Skyline" left column 2nd from the bottom?
shoulda guessed 5-way, but you know that nowShoulda gone to McDonald's.
Jupiter looks like a flat disc in that image, which means the Earth is also flat.
I'd try it with the deep fried jalapenos - what could go wrong?The heat level at this place varied, a lot. Sometimes they were great, other times they were larrupin'.
There was a "normal" chili place in Chapel Hill on back, it's gone now, they had pretty good normal chili. I fix something like that myself now, utee calls it "Mexican spaghetti", though I don't serve it over spaghetti noodles, I usually serve it over rice, and top with with shredded cheddar.Cincy mentioned chili, but not much discussion
I was talking about fried jalapenos on burgers thank you very much.I was talking about fried jalapenos on noodles, thank you very much.
Fried jalapenos are great. You can find some places that'll put 'em on burgers down here.Here too, which is weird with all the old farts that live here.
We just had lunch at Farm Burger, their daily special was a "chicken burger with jalapenoes". I went for it, it was good, the jalapenous were sliced lengthwise. The "burger" was just a chicken breast, the naming seems odd to me. This is the place that has the $11 "Beer and burger" special that my wife got.(https://i.imgur.com/lr8FWrs.png)
The heat level at this place varied, a lot. Sometimes they were great, other times they were larrupin'.They should set aside a really hot batch for the next eating challenge participant.
The heat level at this place varied, a lot. Sometimes they were great, other times they were larrupin'.Damn, you're old
Thinking back now, I think I asked for just a bowl of chili, a chili one way I guess. I think later (much) I tried a 3 way. A bowl of Cincy chili is ... well, not very good. I don't think I had any again for years until a group at work was having some birthday celebration I needed to attend.Sorry cincy chili is great
When I got to liking the stuff OK, I'd order a 4 way onion, no beans. Blue Ash Chili came out with a six way that included deep fried jalapenos which can be pretty good. I'd get a five (six) way hold the beans. Anyway, if you're ever there, you might try it, but I'm fairly confident you will be unimpressed.
There was a "normal" chili place in Chapel Hill on back, it's gone now, they had pretty good normal chili. I fix something like that myself now, utee calls it "Mexican spaghetti", though I don't serve it over spaghetti noodles, I usually serve it over rice, and top with with shredded cheddar.
Sorry cincy chili is greatI like it now, yes, but most folks don't on first exposure, like beer.
Strip club with recruits?No that's fine. That's been a part of the process as long as universities have hosted recruits.
I don't approve of strip clubs for anyone, let alone a 17-18 y/o kid.OK.
Use some of that phat NIL money and hire a car.hell, use the recruiting budget
I don't approve of strip clubs for anyone, let alone a 17-18 y/o kid.I'm not going to yuck someone else's yum, but they ain't for me.
I'm not going to yuck someone else's yum, but they ain't for me.I don't go to scrip clubs either but I'm not going to deny or judge college kids and recruits for doing it.
I refer it as "the illusion of intimacy."
She doesn't like you. She doesn't care about you. But for as long as you're willing to part with $20/song (if that's inaccurately low, it'll tell you how long it's been since I've been in a strip club), she's going to PRETEND that she likes you.
I never really wanted to pay someone to pretend to like me.
I don't go to scrip clubs either but I'm not going to deny or judge college kids and recruits for doing it.Of course. I did it when I was a college kid. I didn't realize the stupidity/futility of that financial/emotional decision until later in life :57:
OK.LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT/Gray News) – A pedestrian has died after police say he was struck by a teacher who was driving under the influence while on her way to school.
I'm fine with it.
But not DUI.
I don't go to scrip clubs either but I'm not going to deny or judge college kids and recruits for doing it.(https://i.imgur.com/We0J0bT.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/TxpE8F7.png)For a second I read that wrong, and thought it was number of drinks consumed daily.
My favorite egg dish is an omellete with nearly everything not overcooked.I like 'em with asparagus inside and finished with some reduced aged balsamic and microgreens.
In order of preference, tomato, cheese, onion, peppers, spinach .... I'm Ok with just those ... I can get bacon on the side.
My favorite egg dish is an omellete with nearly everything not overcooked.yup, veggies in the omelet, cheese on top and meat one the side - if it's covered in sausage gravy, even better
In order of preference, tomato, cheese, onion, peppers, spinach .... I'm Ok with just those ... I can get bacon on the side.
[img width=234.333 height=500]https://i.imgur.com/s7jZzNP.jpeg[/img]All but scrambled have to go
I was trying to recall if any Americans ever ate eggs for breakfast before 1976, I think I did for sure.Funny you mention that I'm going sunny side up here shortly,with toasted pumpernickel. And a dill pickel
I like them deviled.Yes. I'm just too lazy to do the work.
My wife makes them.She's a keeper. You should marry her.
About Us - American Egg Board (https://www.incredibleegg.org/about-us/)I remember 1976 better than 75 and 77 - there had to be a few things more important for congress than the egg lobby, but WTH?
The American Egg Board (AEB) was created by an Act of Congress in 1976 at the request of America’s egg farmers, who desired to pool resources for national category-level egg marketing.
I was trying to recall if any Americans ever ate eggs for breakfast before 1976, I think I did for sure.I'm trying to remember what we ate every night before learning beef is What's for Dinner.
It's not an egg LOBBY, it's an egg BOARD, major difference, somehow.many times, .... I don't even wonder
Established by Congress because they had nothing else to do except to rename a post office.
One wonders how many of these things exist out there probably with profuse sinecures for nephews and cousins.
I'm trying to remember what we ate every night before learning beef is What's for Dinner.in Iowa??? maybe pork chops, the other white meat
in Iowa??? maybe pork chops, the other white meatI feel like beef was what's for dinner before pork became the other white meat. But I could be remembering that wrong. I was like 12.
Do people from the midwest eat fried pork chops?I'm sure it's been done, but it's not really a "thing" with a traditional chop.
Do people from the midwest eat fried pork chops?You mean a basic breaded and pan (shallow) fried pork chop? Yeah...
I feel like beef was what's for dinner before pork became the other white meat. But I could be remembering that wrong. I was like 12.https://youtu.be/1FZNYXKHwNw
Mom made fried pork chops on ohio all the time.Shake and bake.
(https://i.imgur.com/s7jZzNP.jpeg)
Nothing that I don't add to the others. Don't know why that happens. It's always been a thing since I was a kid. Any other way to cook an egg gives me no problems.Something like this (https://www.target.com/p/dash-3-in-1-everyday-7-egg-cooker-with-omelet-maker-and-poaching/-/A-79345581?preselect=53731036#lnk=sametab)?
My stepson bought an egg-cooker, which I thought was goofy and a waste of money. Damned if that thing doesn't produce the most perfect, best boiled eggs with perfect consistency. Now I don't like doing boiled eggs without it and even a non-foodie like me can tell the difference.
It's almost as if social media is becoming a cess pool .....................................
I was outside some yesterday and noticed across the street a dude walking being followed by four boxlike "robots" on wheels. I watched a bit and crossed the street to chat with the guy, who was happy to talk. He said they were "mapping" the sidewalks, and the real item was advertising something. He said eventually they could deliver food with the bots.
Rent a Delivery Robot | Fast & Green with Kiwibot (https://www.kiwibot.com/)
(https://i.imgur.com/6x66wEF.png)
I notice the Waymos about town no longer have a driver or person inside. I have not seen one with a passenger, yet.
Skynet is growing.
I don't really have any issues with Facebook because I can easily ignore whatever's on there that I don't like. I don't even notice to be honest, my brain just filters it out.it’s funny, my Facebook has been incredibly hollowed out. It seems like it became the space for all our relatives with strong opinions and basically everyone in my generation just skipped off unless they were posting photos of their kids.
And it's extremely useful for helping the extended family and distant friends keep up with the activities of my family (mostly my kids to be honest). So posting a couple of things here and there to Facebook, saves me from dreaded phone conversations. It's really quite the Godsend.
:)
it’s funny, my Facebook has been incredibly hollowed out. It seems like it became the space for all our relatives with strong opinions and basically everyone in my generation just skipped off unless they were posting photos of their kids.Yeah I don't post anything personal or political. Mainly photos of the kids or occasionally pictures of my dinner or perhaps beer. That's what I find it useful for.
also their suggested content is poor.
(https://i.imgur.com/zsBtFia.jpeg)
I have no interest in political echo chambers
Yeah I don't post anything personal or political. Mainly photos of the kids or occasionally pictures of my dinner or perhaps beer. That's what I find it useful for.I agree.
I have no interest in political echo chambers nor in doom scrolling.
Yeah I don't post anything personal or political. Mainly photos of the kids or occasionally pictures of my dinner or perhaps beer. That's what I find it useful for.My Instagram mirrors there. Which is fine.
I have no interest in political echo chambers nor in doom scrolling.
My Instagram mirrors there. Which is fine.I have no Instagram. Which is fine.
I have neither which is fineI agree. It is fine.
Instagram is the one I still have. My feed is full of golden retrievers. And zero (or close to) bullshit. That's a perfect balance in life.You build your echo chamber of stuff you want, which is great.
I also don't post, or comment on posts.
(https://i.imgur.com/zsBtFia.jpeg)knew this was coming
I agree.I see a lot of your Trump posts on FB for some reason.
I see a lot of your Trump posts on FB for some reason.
Cincy seems to enjoy stirring the political pot on FBOK, OK-- I'm sorry I said the word "political" on the apolitical thread. Let's move any further similar talk to the politics thread, before bwar's head explodes in a fit of rage! :)
not often, but...........
Cincy seems to enjoy stirring the political pot on FBYeah pretty often, it's my thing.
not often, but...........
Oh and I should point out that I actually really enjoy this modern style of marching band show, complaints aside (except for the singing, that's just awful).Karaoke
But one of my main concerns with it, is that it has become so expensive to produce a top-quality competitive show, that the fees associated with marching band are exorbitant. It costs $1,000 per kid per year just to cover the basics like uniforms, instrument cleaning, transportation, etc. Then on top of that, the kids (and by kids, I mean parents) are being asked to raise another $150,000 in a normal year through various fundraisers. And then last year, when our band went to Grand Nationals competition in Indianapolis, it cost another $750,000 to send the 300+ kids up there for 3 days and 4 nights. That's a band budget of over $1 million for one year. That's just crazy.I wonder how the school foots the bill for football compared to something like Band. Do the football players get uniforms, shoes, pads, etc? Obviously football will always take precedence but it's just funny how some things are just accepted and some things brushed aside.
And the problem is, that it has made participating in band just completely unattainable for people with lower incomes. We are literally pricing kids out of the arts, with the hysteria and the mania involved in these massive marching band productions. I find that to be troubling, and sad.
I wonder how the school foots the bill for football compared to something like Band. Do the football players get uniforms, shoes, pads, etc? Obviously football will always take precedence but it's just funny how some things are just accepted and some things brushed aside.Yeah I have no idea. My son did football up through middle school but didn't continue into high school, I don't know anything about how it works.
Occasionally I read some "career advice" thing "in the news", and nearly always think "I guess I was out of touch, or something."The "reading the job description and figure out how your experience translates to each facet of the role" is how I got a job back in 2002, after the dot com bubble burst and I was laid off.
HR exec: Avoid this job interview mistake that makes it look like you don't care (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/07/hr-exec-avoid-this-job-interview-mistake-that-makes-it-look-like-you-dont-care.html)
I went on maybe five job interviews after I got my first (and only) job, each a full day after flying out somewhere. A couple were through head hunters and I was mildy curious about them.Well, they didn't have monster.com when you were hired, did they? It takes a lot of taps on the telegram wire to give a detailed job posting... :57:
The nature of the jobs for which I was applying was never very specific. Even after the first step, if a step two was warranted, I had little information about what the job actually entailed. I didn't know what the job I got really entailed. I had maybe five interviews before I accepted one offer.
I could not have told anyone, nor was I ever asked, how my skill set matched their job.
I also interview, and hired, I don't know how many folks, and they had little idea what the job entailed either. I would not have asked this question.
Well, they didn't have monster.com when you were hired, did they? It takes a lot of taps on the telegram wire to give a detailed job posting... :57:Monster.com was a huge deal when I graduated college, ca. 2000. Although I haven't actively seeked out many jobs in the last 20ish or so years, it seems to have faded out completely. Indeed and a few others have taken it place. I wonder why?
These days a job posting will typically have a fairly detailed list of qualifications and of the nature of the job role. I agree with the article that in today's world, responding to questions like you haven't actually paid attention to that and can't articulate how your qualifications apply to the job posting, would be a red flag.
It takes a lot of taps on the telegram wire to give a detailed job posting... :57:LoL, @Cincydawg (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=870) isn't THAT old.
Occasionally I read some "career advice" thing "in the news", and nearly always think "I guess I was out of touch, or something."I always rolled my eyes at the “It looks like you’re ‘blanketly applying to things’” bit. Always struck me as whiney.
HR exec: Avoid this job interview mistake that makes it look like you don't care (https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/07/hr-exec-avoid-this-job-interview-mistake-that-makes-it-look-like-you-dont-care.html)
LoL, @Cincydawg (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=870) isn't THAT old.(https://media1.tenor.com/m/sK2mHU6kq9IAAAAC/thats-the-joke-ranier-wolfcastle.gif)
I've been on the interview team several times in my career, it gave me a lot of insight on what to do and say and what not to do and say. The best part is working with some of the people we hired, some of the ones that interviewed poorly were the best ones and the ones that interviewed well are the worst ones. It's literally a crap shoot.Probably why predicting success or failure of college football coaches is so hard...
These days a job posting will typically have a fairly detailed list of qualifications and of the nature of the job role. I agree with the article that in today's world, responding to questions like you haven't actually paid attention to that and can't articulate how your qualifications apply to the job posting, would be a red flag.We would not have put much detail in a job description for security reasons, and I don't think it was needed anyway. We weren't hiring for some very specific role, we just felt we needed say an engineer or a technician for general lab work etc. I really had no clue what I was to be working on when I was hired beyond some vague handwaving.
I always rolled my eyes at the “It looks like you’re ‘blanketly applying to things’” bit. Always struck me as whiney.
I don't think I'd take it as a good sign if my boss wanted me to take another job. Even when it's what you say, it'd feel like "I'd like to get rid of you."I was graduating. He was my advisor, happy I was leaving (as was I). A professor who places a student as an assistant professore somewhere gets some pride and status for so doing.
We would not have put much detail in a job description for security reasons, and I don't think it was needed anyway. We weren't hiring for some very specific role, we just felt we needed say an engineer or a technician for general lab work etc. I really had no clue what I was to be working on when I was hired beyond some vague handwaving.Yeah, if you're looking for mostly entry-level stuff, and ability to operate lab equipment, it's a little different. The further along you are in your career, IMHO, the more specialized things become.
For a technician opening, we'd usually hire someone with a BS Chemistry degree and some knowledge about how to function in a chemistry lab. That was it. A PhD opening would entail a more involved process in the interview day, a lot rested on the seminar they would present about their previous work. I wouldn't go into details about the job though.
I'm sure it's quite different in other industries. In ours, it was pretty well expected a person's career would vary a lot over 30+ years, I probably worked on 10-15 major areas over that time.
Agree.Still disagree on "blanketly applying to things", especially for higher-level work. I think it's more important to absolutely target the RIGHT job(s) and put more time into landing them than to just spew resumes out at anything remotely in your industry. Because the people on the other side will be able to spot the 100 reasons you're not aligned with their job just looking over the resume. That doesn't mean that sometimes you DON'T send out resumes to those "long shot" jobs, don't put a ton of time into them, and then only do your research when you get a nibble. But I think for the ones that you are a REALLY ideal candidate, you want to do something that helps stand out. I.e. a cover letter that looks like it's tailored to the EXACT position you're applying for and isn't 'generic' is going to help. You want to get the idea across that you're not looking for A job, you're looking for THAT specific job.
It's also out of touch with reality. The truth is, when you're job searching, you better be blanketly applying to things, because your odds of a callback on any one thing are very slim. You need to apply to dozens, even hundreds of jobs, and most job-seekers who just go looking for what they "want" and not what opens up for them are going to be in a pickle. When you have some experience and more leverage, you can probably be choosier. But this is a pretty crap way to look at candidates in any kind of entry-level or lower-level. Or heck, even higher levels, for people who have been laid off, have a mortgage and a family to feed, and need work. Better believe they're "blanketly applying to things." That's a silly knock on a potential candidate.
Yeah, if you're looking for mostly entry-level stuff, and ability to operate lab equipment, it's a little different. The further along you are in your career, IMHO, the more specialized things become.This makes some sense, our company had a policy of hiring only entry level people, every thing else was "promote from within" with very few exceptions for very specialized fields. So, everyone (nearly) started at base level (depending on degree). Everyone I knew started out as a "new hire" at entry level.
The problem for me with bacon is the fat and nitrite content, and the fact I like it a lot. Because of the fat and nitrite content. And salt.If you make your own, you can more accurately control the nitrite content.
Electric smokerI think for CD's usage, this would probably be a little more size and price appropriate:
Pro Classic 100 - Electrical Vertical Smoker – Pro Smoker (https://pro-smoker.com/products/pro-classic-100-s)!
I try to limit starch & carbschicken wings are healthy as long as they're not breaded and the sauce isn't sugar-based (regular hot is no-carb).
no sweets
don't do fast food
salads everyday - sometimes two
that's about as far as I go - I like meat - chicken wings and beer aren't good, but ya gotta die of something
As I fired up the smoker this weekend, I remembered @utee94 (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=15) mentioned he was boiling crawfish. I lolz'd at the thought of a Texan boiling crawfish while a Louisianan grilled.I'm sorry, did you smoke or did you grill?
A couple years back, I got a United "affinity" credit card, free for the first year, free luggage etc. OK fine. We don't fly "UNited" often, and I got the bill to keep the card I don't use, $95. So, I go on line to cancel, no can do. I call and go through their "extensive" menu, being patient, and finally reach an actual person.
I'm not surprised of course. It was annoying. Anyway, saved the $95. I hope.
I got coaxed into the AMEX Delta SkyMiles card back in March. All bags fly free for me and up to 8 pals, LOL.4 or more flights if you're prudent.
Anyhow, If I put 3 grand on it before the 1st 6 months is up, I get 80,000 SkyMiles allegedly. I'm not even sure what 80,000 miles will buy me. Probably not much.
I was ready to cancel an old Capital One card I had anyway, so it'll do as a replacement regardless. And free checked bags for me, and 8 of my closest friends....
Or maybe it was 8 total bags in my entourage? Whatever.
4 or more flights if you're prudent.
Well, I'm an American flyer so it may be a little different.
I always look for deals and plan trips around them. I'm self-employed so a bit more flexible than some.
So, a flight to Chicago from here on a Tuesday is 30K miles (round trip).
Then I look at a Thursday and it's 10K miles (round trip). So, I pick Thursday.
Tuesdays and Fridays are the biggest business travel days.
I got coaxed into the AMEX Delta SkyMiles card back in March. All bags fly free for me and up to 8 pals, LOL.Points usually translate to cents, sometimes with a multiplier.
Anyhow, If I put 3 grand on it before the 1st 6 months is up, I get 80,000 SkyMiles allegedly. I'm not even sure what 80,000 miles will buy me. Probably not much.
I was ready to cancel an old Capital One card I had anyway, so it'll do as a replacement regardless. And free checked bags for me, and 8 of my closest friends....
Or maybe it was 8 total bags in my entourage? Whatever.
Points usually translate to cents, sometimes with a multiplier.Do you fly out West a lot for family and friends?
Per a Google. That’s like $960 bucks.
Do you fly out West a lot for family and friends?A couple times a year, on average. Once for a holiday, once when it’s hopefully nice out.
I would recommend American unless you already have a card. If I remember right you have an AA hub in your back yard.I usually fly American, in part because I’m picky about flights. I have no desire to be up super early to fly, and American has the best selection of non-super early direct flights from around here.
Orlando has become quite the food city.Feels like one where more than most places, you gotta avoid a lot.
It sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but it actually comes from a lab in Maryland.(https://i.imgur.com/QfwPf12.png)
In 2018, Liangbing Hu, a materials scientist at the University of Maryland, devised a way (https://www.nature.com/articles/nature25476) to turn ordinary wood (https://techcrunch.com/2025/02/24/cambium-is-building-an-ai-that-helps-turn-waste-wood-into-usable-lumber/) into a material stronger than steel. It seemed like yet another headline-grabbing discovery that wouldn’t make it out of the lab.
“All these people came to him,” said Alex Lau, CEO of InventWood (https://www.inventwood.com/), “He’s like, OK, this is amazing, but I’m a university professor. I don’t know quite what to do about it.”
Rather than give up, Hu spent the next few years refining the technology, reducing the time it took to make the material from more than a week to a few hours. Soon, it was ready to commercialize, and he licensed the technology to InventWood.
Now, the startup’s first batches of Superwood will be produced starting this summer.
“Right now, coming out of this first-of-a-kind commercial plant — so it’s a smaller plant — we’re focused on skin applications,” Lau said. “Eventually we want to get to the bones of the building. Ninety percent of the carbon impact from buildings is concrete and steel in the construction of the building.”
InventWood’s Superwood product starts with regular timber, which is mostly composed of two compounds, cellulose and lignin. The goal is to strengthen the cellulose already present in the wood. “The cellulose nanocrystal is actually stronger than a carbon fiber,” Lau said.
The company treats it with “food industry” chemicals to modify the molecular structure of the wood, he said, and then compresses the result to increase the hydrogen bonds between cellulose molecules.
“We might densify the material by 4x and you might think, ‘Oh, it’ll be four times strong, because it has four times the fiber.’ But it’s actually more like 10 times stronger because of all these extra bonds that get created,” Lau said.
The result is a material that has 50% more tensile strength than steel with a strength-to-weight ratio that’s 10 times better, the company said. It’s also Class A fire rated, or highly resistant to flame, and resistant to rot and pests. With some polymer impregnated, it can be stabilized for outdoor use like siding, decking, or roofing. InventWood’s first products will be facade materials for commercial and high-end residential buildings, Lau said.
Compressing the material also concentrates the colors. “You end up with something that looks like these richer, tropical hardwoods,” he added.
Ultimately, InventWood is planning to use wood chips to create structural beams of any dimension that won’t need finishing. “Imagine your I-beams look like this,” Lau said, holding up a sample of Superwood. “They’re beautiful, like walnut, ipe. These are the natural colors. We haven’t stained any of this.”
Superwood stronger than Steel (https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/12/inventwood-is-about-to-mass-produce-wood-thats-stronger-than-steel/)That’s definitely what I tell my girlfriend.
(https://i.imgur.com/QfwPf12.png)
Superwood stronger than Steel (https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/12/inventwood-is-about-to-mass-produce-wood-thats-stronger-than-steel/)Ya but does it float?
Ya but does it float?Probably floats at least as well as this does...
Maybe y'all shouldn't boot Maryland outta the B1G just yet. They're doing work.Damn you!
Probably floats at least as well as this does...I thought that when I was typing - you get a Shiner
Wood has a density around 500 kg/m3, so 4x that would mean it wouldn't float as a block.Whatever floats your boat.
I wonder if regular paper could be processed this way as the lignin has already been removed, and the paper fibers are still present.
Super paper.
Mercedes-Benz expanding North American headquarters in metro Atlanta (https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2025/05/22/mercedes-benz-expanding-north-american-headquarters-metro-atlanta/?fbclid=IwY2xjawKcUitleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFxdkVrSUJpMEpDb1Fyb3F6AR5lDnFQAx30K8GwSCP5LdvjOh7l6D9Xo2RLyUsKInf30nn-90aVPEIxYix10Q_aem_1-Tx8YujmZiJx7-xIeUCwQ)You've never driven past or been inside this rather large building in your city?
I didn't know MB was here. Porsche NA is down by the airport and they have a pretty sweet deal on renting cars to drive on their track which they just expanded.
I knew about MB Stadium, I did not know MB NA was HQ'd here a bit north of downtown (Sandy Springs I think).That's the reason they paid for the naming rights for that stadium.
One of our posters likes MBs as I recall.
Agree with mb's long post above. At least until recently, what we think of as "decades" actually tend to run 2-5 years behind.Vis-a-vis decades:
The pictures we have of the "50s" with the poodle skirts and the teenagers dancing to Elvis or Carl Perkins rock and roll music at the sock hop, really didn't start until 54/55. The early 50s were more like the 40s. And our idea of the "50s" really ran into the mid 60s.
And what we think of as the "groovy 60s" was really more like mid 60s into the early 70s. And so on. So what we think of as the 80s persisted in large part into the early 90s.
Beyond that, those trends are really defined more by the "kid cultures" of the era. Adults tend to hit their 20s and then sort of... stay the same. They tend to stick with certain music and are less open to newer music, they tend to not follow new fashion trends as closely, and when they do adopt new cultural themes, they adopt much slower. On the other hand, kids tend to be the vanguard of the ever-changing culture.
With that as a basis, Seinfeld was a thoroughly adult show. It really never had any kids nor any kid-related themes. Its characters were all adults into their 30s, mostly in professional(ish) careers, doing adult-y things in adult-y ways. So as an adult show, grounded culturally in the 80s, it never really picked up the culture of the 90s. It was conceived in the 80s and started as an 80s show, and remained that way throughout its run.
That's just my hypothesis and my opinion of course.
With that as a basis, Seinfeld was a thoroughly adult show. It really never had any kids nor any kid-related themes. Its characters were all adults into their 30s, mostly in professional(ish) careers, doing adult-y things in adult-y ways. So as an adult show, grounded culturally in the 80s, it never really picked up the culture of the 90s. It was conceived in the 80s and started as an 80s show, and remained that way throughout its run.This is something I hadn't really considered before but it is an interesting point. If Seinfeld had been about HS or college students it would have been influenced by AOL and the WWW because those things were becoming prevalent in the 1990's while the show was still on but since it was about, as you put it, adults "doing adult-y things in adult-y ways" that never came up.
Does anyone buy a car because some stadium is named after the make?I would venture that no, there is no individual person who was not already thinking about buying a make of vehicle, sees the name of said make on a stadium, and then buys that make of vehicle.
Anyone?
I understand a lot of advertising is simply to put the name out in public. Buy Coke, it's wonderful, etc.
Those MBA dudes are total aholes.I liked most of them that I dealt with, some became pretty good friends.
We had some of the stupidest commercials on TV.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zs3cjepwyEE
“We weren’t even looking for a semi-Dirac fermion when we started working with this material, but we were seeing signatures we didn’t understand — and it turns out we had made the first observation of these wild quasiparticles that sometimes move like they have mass and sometimes move like they have none.”Same with me, I found some laying around during a recent hike.
Question for those of you who have kids recently off to college or soon to be so...If someone has the money and wants to buy that feeling, they can sure go for it.
Hiring a "college admissions consultant" is absolute bullshit, right?
My ex heard about some lady offering this [high-priced, of course] service from another parent, and it appears to be a sort of cottage industry. I told her I think it's bullshit and I don't agree with it, and won't pay for it.
To me, it looks like a way for someone to separate fearful parents from their money. You know, the sort of "If you don't pay this, your child won't get into college, will become a failure, and will likely end up in jail. But if you DO pay this, your child just MIGHT go to Harvard and be President one day. Don't you care enough about your child to spend?"
I'm not inclined to agree, personally. My son has straight A's with [now] 6 AP classes completed through 3 years. He's been a 3-year member of the golf team. He has a job, which he balances successfully with school and work--and his job is being a math tutor at Mathnasium, so that will look PRETTY good on a college app--for an aspiring STEM student. He's a bit light on the volunteering, which he's trying to do more this summer, but no consultant will fix that. He's a decent writer for 17, but I'm pretty sure when it comes to an essay, I can help him. I'd say my writing skills are better than most, considering my job involves a tremendous amount of technical writing.
He's not trying to go Ivy League for pre-med or pre-law. He's also not trying to "find himself" or figure out what he wants to study. He's trying to go to large state schools for Nuclear Engineering. He's already got his list of schools, prioritized in order. It's not like it's hard to find out how to apply or know the deadlines. And he's so freakin' self-motivated that I don't think staying on top of those deadlines will be a problem.
But... Am I in the wrong here?
Question for those of you who have kids recently off to college or soon to be so...
Hiring a "college admissions consultant" is absolute bullshit, right?
My ex heard about some lady offering this [high-priced, of course] service from another parent, and it appears to be a sort of cottage industry. I told her I think it's bullshit and I don't agree with it, and won't pay for it.
To me, it looks like a way for someone to separate fearful parents from their money. You know, the sort of "If you don't pay this, your child won't get into college, will become a failure, and will likely end up in jail. But if you DO pay this, your child just MIGHT go to Harvard and be President one day. Don't you care enough about your child to spend?"
I'm not inclined to agree, personally. My son has straight A's with [now] 6 AP classes completed through 3 years. He's been a 3-year member of the golf team. He has a job, which he balances successfully with school and work--and his job is being a math tutor at Mathnasium, so that will look PRETTY good on a college app--for an aspiring STEM student. He's a bit light on the volunteering, which he's trying to do more this summer, but no consultant will fix that. He's a decent writer for 17, but I'm pretty sure when it comes to an essay, I can help him. I'd say my writing skills are better than most, considering my job involves a tremendous amount of technical writing.
He's not trying to go Ivy League for pre-med or pre-law. He's also not trying to "find himself" or figure out what he wants to study. He's trying to go to large state schools for Nuclear Engineering. He's already got his list of schools, prioritized in order. It's not like it's hard to find out how to apply or know the deadlines. And he's so freakin' self-motivated that I don't think staying on top of those deadlines will be a problem.
But... Am I in the wrong here?
not sure, it's silly that "beef" needs to be mentioned
and a great burger doesn't "need" any toppings or condiments a tall
The only value I can realistically see in something like that would be well before applications are going out. As in, someone who would advise students/their parents to join more clubs, do more volunteering, don't let your GPA slip below this level, etc. But even that is all stuff you can easily find out for yourself, as you point out. By the time a kid is a senior shopping around for schools, I can't see following the advice of a consultant, no matter how good, making any significant impact in that timeframe.I agree with the masses here; this is silly. BUT, for the kids who are competing for the top spots at the "top" private universities, there is probably some value to it. Those schools are much more competitive than they used to be. I think for the top UCs, (UCLA and Cal in particular), you just have to be real good--and get a reasonably lucky roll of the dice. If you want Stanford, MIT, CalTech...there might be an advantage to the college advisor. But that also feeds into the mania around this stuff. Look, if the boy doesn't get into MIT and has to "settle" for Purdue, Michigan, RIT, GaTech, Cal Poly SLO, etc., he's going to be just fine. Privileged parents put way to much crazy into an already crazy process.
There are people who may benefit from something like that, but I don't see you as being one of them.
not sure, it's silly that "beef" needs to be mentionedNope,you are wrong that's what makes them splendid and unique.Actually it's my preferred protein intake well that and slow roasted brats/sausages on the grill. Using different high-quality beef/Bison/chicken/turkey/veggie burger blends,variety of cheeses,bun types grilled/steamed or right out of the oven adding seperate ingredients like Worcestershire sauce or olive oil for moisture, grilling or pan frying and incorporating herbs for extra flavor. Toppings like red onion,sunnyside up egg,candied jalapenos,Celery and blue cheese dressing(got those out of Tase of Home)
and a great burger doesn't "need" any toppings or condiments a tall
(https://i.imgur.com/8722KtN.png)
Heard a podcast say that since Scottie Scheffler won his first PGA event in 2022, he has won 21% of the events he has entered, which is higher than the Carolina Panthers' winning percentage during that same period of timeHe has the same number of wins since May 2 as the Colorado Rockies. 3
(https://i.imgur.com/kE7llMX.png)How many years did he play there?
How many years did he play there?Four years, graduated with a degree in Finance from the well-respected McCombs School of Business.
That's what I thought. Not all of those guys stick it out. Spieth comes to mind.And Tiger Woods.
For some reason I thought he stayed the 4 at Stanford.Nope. But I can't blame any of them for leaving early with millions of dollars in their immediate future.
good luckScheffler need not worry.
I'd have made a decent caddy in my youthI did it for a year when I was 13, because it was illegal in Illinois to do any other jobs (other than working for your parents) until you're 14.
seems as though that job wouldn't suck
I did it for a year when I was 13, because it was illegal in Illinois to do any other jobs (other than working for your parents) until you're 14.
It's not a glamorous job.
I did it for a year when I was 13, because it was illegal in Illinois to do any other jobs (other than working for your parents) until you're 14.yup. maybe not a major star, but a tour pro making most cuts
It's not a glamorous job.
I wouldn't do that job today unless it was literally attached to a major star golfer, where you'd be making mid-high six figures every year, if not >$1M like Scheff's caddy. I have a better option.
Nope. But I can't blame any of them for leaving early with millions of dollars in their immediate future.FIFY
Like I've always said, if someone had wanted to pay me millions to leave school and become anengineer________for them, I'd have done it instantly.
Here it comes.It's funny, because people are always telling me how much they hate Buc-Ees and then I realize it's the big ones they hate. I don't care for the really big ones either, but I love the small and medium size Buc-Ees.
Buc-ee’s coming to Port Charlotte as part of major development (https://www.gulfshorebusiness.com/zoning-approval-paves-the-way-for-southwest-floridas-first-buc-ees/)
If you are looking for a clean restroom on a road trip, drive past the rest stops, gas stations and fast food restaurants, and use the one in the hotel lobby instead. You're welcome.CVS and Walgreen's.
It's funny, because people are always telling me how much they hate Buc-Ees and then I realize it's the big ones they hate. I don't care for the really big ones either, but I love the small and medium size Buc-Ees.I like the big ones because they have large spread-out gas pumps that are easy to access whilst towing my RV. Also typically have large, easy driveways for entrance and egress.
https://twitter.com/_mgde_/status/1929729091894128718?s=46&t=EHozF964Pc_xZmTZKPCcEAGood god that makes me feel old.
Lately I occasionally get calls from "Comcast Xfinity" informing me that if I don't call them back to resolve an issue, my 50% discount will be nullified.I run monthly billing for about 8,000 customers. When I first started one of our big challenges was matching up bounced checks to the accounts that they had been credited to. This might sound easy but it can be very difficult. If @MikeDeTiger (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=1588) pays his own bill then it is obviously easy. You just look at the name on the check, find that in your system, and charge it back to him. Where it gets messy is if @MikeDeTiger (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=1588) writes a check to cover his daughter's boyfriend's account. Then nothing matches. Those were tricky.
I don't have any Comcast/Xfinity services, and if I did, they probably wouldn't give me a 50% discount. Delete.
I hate scammers. A different sort got my mom a few months back and they got her on some kind of "anti-virus update" scam. Fortunately we were able to freeze her accounts and they didn't get anything from her, but it's been a hot mess ever since getting everything squared away. I caught my grandma talking to scammers on the phone several years back and I took it away from her and hung it up, then had a talk with her about what kind of stuff to look out for, and how her son basically handles all her business now anyway so she really has no reason to have those conversations, legitimate or otherwise.
Scamming elderly people should incur the death penalty.
Scamming elderly people should incur the death penalty.Yup, publicly
I like the big ones because they have large spread-out gas pumps that are easy to access whilst towing my RV. Also typically have large, easy driveways for entrance and egress.
I suppose it's possible that I could make it to 2050I would be 75.
I'd be 87I had a super vivid dream in 2nd grade that I saw my own gravestone, and I died at 83. I'm not religious or superstitious, but I've felt pretty confident in 83 since I was 8 years old. Granted at 41, I'd be pretty happy with 83
my goal is 85 currently
https://twitter.com/reporterdavidj/status/1930002168951779577This probably belongs in the Cheater offseason thread since his exit was pretty clearly to get away from that catastrophe.
Michigan's academic side pushed him out, he can't go back. Florida barely has an academic side, and still didn't want him. Hopefully the Chargers hire him for something, otherwise he destroyed his career to protect one guy, who then didn't have his backFlorida is an AAU member and is a great school.
Florida is an AAU member and is a great school.I mean as far as that pushes back against the athletic side of things. Yes, it's a great school.
Two from Slovakia and nothing from France?No Italy either.
(https://38.media.tumblr.com/4e215c1e47571e792c6d5a3660a9893e/tumblr_ni5iblh9cA1ttapp7o1_400.gif)
I would be 75.I'd be a mere 71.
***shudders***
I just hope they have some advanced medicine to fix arthritis and hearing loss.
I'd be a mere 71.Mine stopped when I quit caffeine.
But at 46, I'm hoping someone figures out how to fix the tinnitus I already have.
Mine stopped when I quit caffeine.Huh. Guess I'm living with tinnitus forever, then.
I love fondue. But around here we just call it chile con queso.
Melting Pot? Those were all over the place.
This is an aggressive beer. You probably won’t like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory—maybe something with a multimillion-dollar ad campaign aimed at convincing you it’s made at an independent brewery, or one that implies that their tasteless fizzy yellow beer will give you more sex appeal. Perhaps you think multimillion-dollar ad campaigns make all that junk taste better. Perhaps you’re mouthing your words as you read this.
Some Fondue restaurant was all the rage around here 10-15 years ago.
Went, it sucked, and was ridiculously expensive.
Arrogant Bastard Ale was one of my first true forays into craft beer... I was always a more adventurous beer drinker than the typical college student, but didn't really get TOO deep in the "microbreweries" of that day. And then after college slipped into just drinking lots of Miller Lite.
I think around 2003-2004 I started drinking Arrogant Bastard and a couple of other things, and then it just obviously exploded from there.
That was a good beer.
Arrogant Bastard, way too hoppy. Typical American west coast crap. But the blurb on the back of the bottle always made me laugh."Typical"?
"Typical"?
Much of what Stone was doing at the time was pushing the envelope with atypical beers.
A lot of those beers became typical when breweries saw the success of Stone and copied from them.
Now, they obviously don't deserve all the credit. San Diego breweries at the time was already popularizing IPA--and Vinnie Cilurzo (now at Russian River) had already invented the "double IPA" before Stone even opened.
But Stone became the biggest and most well-known, on the backs of beers like Arrogant Bastard, Ruination IPA, etc.
You may not like them, but they were anything but "typical" in those days.
Sierra Nevada had been making hoppy ales since 1980. And I bring it up, because it was the first West Coast import ale you could find in Texas, and it formed the prototypical ideal of what a West Coast beer was going to be like. Sure, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale wasn't as brutally over-hopped and bitter as beers that followed it, but neither was Arrogant Bastard. Still, both were far more over-hopped than the typical domestics or imports available at the time. Anything using c-hops was going to have that characteristic.Of course there's a lot of nuance to the history.
Of course there's a lot of nuance to the history.As I clarified in my second paragraph, these "differences" were really only apparent to the hops/bitter fanbois. People with more balanced tastes weren't going to like ANY of them. The race to out-bitter one another was of no interest to those of us who didn't like the bitter hops to begin with.
SNPA isn't even an IPA, by alcohol content or by IBUs. But its tradition was different. The use of crystal malts to provide sweetness to balance the hops was the characteristic that defined American Pale Ale. The amber hues are something you won't find in a modern "West Coast IPA". The characteristic Cascade hop character, providing both bitterness and aroma, I'll agree was completely different than most of what you'd see at the time. And I'll agree that to an extent, it was ONE of the beers that kicked off the American (and West Coast) trend towards a lot of hops. But in SNPA, the malt character is as big a part of the story as the hops.
Even for their bigger beer, Bigfoot Ale, they assuredly had plenty of hops in there, but they amped up the sweetness to, into what's called a barleywine.
But that doesn't mean that what happened later was "typical" just because SNPA existed and was popular.
The tradition down in San Diego, which IMHO is what ends up defining the "West Coast IPA", is different. They not only amped up the hops, but they dialed back the malt to be the bare minimum needed to support the hops. The level of crystal malt in SNPA won't be found in anything labeled "West Coast IPA" today. The beers are much more pale, dry, and crisp. The beers are much more bitter. The level of dry-hopping for aroma is much more pronounced. West Coast IPAs are not about malt and hops--they're about hops. You can of course screw them up if you don't get enough of a malt foundation to support the beer--but the malt is supposed to be secondary to the hops.
And to an extent, the same was true with Arrogant Bastard. It was a very unique beer. Some people might have thought the intent was to be similar to a barleywine with the darker color, higher ABV, and hoppiness, but it sure as hell didn't drink like one. Much like the West Coast IPA, malt wasn't intended to bring in much sweetness in that beer. You certainly get the malt flavor coming through, but it intentionally drinks much more "dry" than a barleywine.
The mere existence of SNPA as a "hoppy West Coast ale" prior to some of these beers doesn't change the fact that many of them were different and groundbreaking in their own way.
it was typical in Texas so............ it was typicalTexas, Minnesota, Florida, New Mexico, and every other place not named California that I traveled to between about 1992 and 1999.
Those are my two favorite kinds of beer.My favorite kind of beer is free.
I agree, I saw the same thing with zinfandels, every wine maker tried to "top the previous alcohol" levels, some were over 18%. It was a game to make unbalanced "wines".
Fads. We saw the same thing with chardonnay, how buttery and oaky could they get?
As I clarified in my second paragraph, these "differences" were really only apparent to the hops/bitter fanbois. People with more balanced tastes weren't going to like ANY of them. The race to out-bitter one another was of no interest to those of us who didn't like the bitter hops to begin with.Getting to something more general, it seems to me that bitterness is far less of a "fad" than some other things. Obviously in beer that's IPA... But who would have EVERY thought that crushingly bitter beer would resonate the way it does? It seems to certainly not be a fad.
Getting to something more general, it seems to me that bitterness is far less of a "fad" than some other things. Obviously in beer that's IPA... But who would have EVERY thought that crushingly bitter beer would resonate the way it does? It seems to certainly not be a fad.It's an interesting question. And I'll comment that I definitely don't think IPAs are a fad.
And IMHO what we're seeing more widely is a societal pivot away from sweet and more towards bitter. It feels--to me anyway--that we're seeing a resurgence of bitterness. Pushing towards dark chocolate, robust coffee, use of bitter ingredients like certain greens in salad (as opposed to iceberg lettuce), more bitter vegetables like Brussels sprouts, bigger ingredients like lemon zest, etc...
I think there are some people who may just NOT like bitterness at all--I suspect that @utee94 (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=15) might be one. Just as there are some people who do NOT like spicy food at all.
But are we seeing more widespread tolerance to--and even affinity for--bitterness?
I'd call vying for more and more bitterness is a fad. Maybe it sticks for a while, maybe a few folks pretend to like it. To me, it's a fad even if it persists for years.Why can't it be both a preference and a fad? It's a preference for some, that can also be a temporary fad for others?
I enjoy balanced IPAs just fine, but not the silly ones. I enjoy a decent zinfandel, but not the silly ones. I view the folks who try and find more and more bitter IPAs as "fadish", braggarts, just folks who claim to like hotter and hotter peppers, it's to them some mark of, well, faddishness, uniqueness, they claim to "LIKE" super hot peppers when in reality they don't, except they think it makes them look special.
Fad.
It's an interesting question. And I'll comment that I definitely don't think IPAs are a fad.And there's another possible take... Maybe the percentage of people who like bitter is unchanged, but that the market has changed to better cater to us?
Sticking specifically to the area of packaged alcoholic beverages though, are we REALLY seeing a move toward bitter? The IPA certainly seems to have a stronghold within the American craft beer industry, and although I'm seeing a little bit of a move toward more European styles, compared to 10-20 years ago, IPA still dominates this segment.
But craft beer isn't the fastest growing segment within this market. White Claw style seltzers and ciders plus other spirit-based "ready to drink" beverages, are currently the big movers and shakers. And although some of these have "lemon" or "lime" flavors, I don't consider any of them to be particularly "bitter." Not in the way that American IPAs are. Most of them range from neutral to very, very sweet.
And then of course the dominant packaged alcoholic beverages are still the macro-beers, none of which would be considered "bitter" for the purposes of this discussion, either.
So is "bitter" actually growing in this market? Or is it just a perception due to the ubiquitous nature of IPAs at the types of places you and I like to go drink?
Today I learned....I'm not nearly as beer-savvy as @betarhoalphadelta (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=19) and unlike @Cincydawg (https://www.cfb51.com/index.php?action=profile;u=870) my only knowledge of wine relates to Mad Dog and Boone's Farm so I'm with ya!
How Uncultured I am.
But, I really already knew this. I just drink american macro-swill beer.
It's an interesting question. And I'll comment that I definitely don't think IPAs are a fad.In re ciders:
Sticking specifically to the area of packaged alcoholic beverages though, are we REALLY seeing a move toward bitter? The IPA certainly seems to have a stronghold within the American craft beer industry, and although I'm seeing a little bit of a move toward more European styles, compared to 10-20 years ago, IPA still dominates this segment.
But craft beer isn't the fastest growing segment within this market. White Claw style seltzers and ciders plus other spirit-based "ready to drink" beverages, are currently the big movers and shakers. And although some of these have "lemon" or "lime" flavors, I don't consider any of them to be particularly "bitter." Not in the way that American IPAs are. Most of them range from neutral to very, very sweet.
And then of course the dominant packaged alcoholic beverages are still the macro-beers, none of which would be considered "bitter" for the purposes of this discussion, either.
So is "bitter" actually growing in this market? Or is it just a perception due to the ubiquitous nature of IPAs at the types of places you and I like to go drink?
He has the same number of wins since May 2 as the Colorado Rockies. 3https://twitter.com/Rockies/status/1930335923809726537
Speaking of fads, my wife likes yogurt, but not "Greek yogurt", and good luck finding NGY at Kroger theses days.Not unlike the Greeks who labeled their spaghetti dish as "chili" so that it would sell.
I like GY fine. Everything is Greek now. Started by a Turk who figured Turkish yogurt would never sell.
(https://i.imgur.com/zHqKXDK.png)...you didn't have to drive it every day, lol.
My daughter had one of these for a while, it had absolutely NO options at all. I thought it was a pretty decent car.
Gonna go look at this one in the couple days.I thought you were a cabin cruiser kind of guy.
(https://i.imgur.com/OjHKauI.png)
I thought you were a cabin cruiser kind of guy.I was, when we were on Lake Michigan and lived on it every weekend (and for the last three months we lived up North after we sold our home). I sold that boat up there and have had two Cobalt boats since we moved here. That was a Four Winns - also great boat.
Must be a pretty light boat. It's floating, and it's not even in the water!It's a hydrofoil, DUH! I'll show myself out
Have I mentioned that I gave up my 100-ton USCG Master Captain license?Even Capt. Stubing had to hang it up eventually
[img width=273.619 height=394]https://i.imgur.com/kR3O15s.png[/img]Is it me or do some of these seem implausibily high?
It's probably caused by a bunch of rich Californians who saw Yellowstone moving in and buying things up and ruining everything in the state, tbh...
Obviously you have to look at the methodology...
But one key aspect is that it says "median" rather than "mean". That can sometimes be a more intuitive and useful metric; sometimes less.
Also note that this site (https://www.umt.edu/this-is-montana/columns/stories/montana_regions_2of3.php) says 80% of all Montanans live in or within 50 miles of their 7 largest cities. We might think of Montana as rural--but rather I think it means it's mostly empty, and clustered around those cities.
However another google search shows median Montana home prices being in the >$500K range.
It's probably caused by a bunch of rich Californians who saw Yellowstone moving in and buying things up and ruining everything in the state, tbh...
Obviously you have to look at the methodology...WRT methodology:
But one key aspect is that it says "median" rather than "mean". That can sometimes be a more intuitive and useful metric; sometimes less.
Also note that this site (https://www.umt.edu/this-is-montana/columns/stories/montana_regions_2of3.php) says 80% of all Montanans live in or within 50 miles of their 7 largest cities. We might think of Montana as rural--but rather I think it means it's mostly empty, and clustered around those cities.
However another google search shows median Montana home prices being in the >$500K range.
It's probably caused by a bunch of rich Californians who saw Yellowstone moving in and buying things up and ruining everything in the state, tbh...
Median tends to be better when the set of numbers is skewed or not normally distributed. Which, I kind of would assume is the case for the population set of home prices. But who knows. If accurate, I'm inclined to think median is more representative than mean in this case.More than $400, less than $4,000. Hope that helps!
But don't listen to me. I don't even know how much a good computer costs.
Median tends to be better when the set of numbers is skewed or not normally distributed. Which, I kind of would assume is the case for the population set of home prices. But who knows. If accurate, I'm inclined to think median is more representative than mean in this case.Yeah, I would think median is probably generally more representative. But I highlight it because in some places it might skew if the distribution is wonky.
But don't listen to me. I don't even know how much a good computer costs.
I believe it's median sale price.
- Is this based on sales in the last year or the value of all homes? If it is sales only then the "rich Californians who saw Yellowstone" could REALLY swing it because there probably aren't all that many sales among Montana natives to begin with so a few thousand high-dollar homes sold to Californians could potentially skew the figures.
And it's a relatively small state with small sample size (looks like Google is showing maybe 1K home sales per month), so a small number of sales could skew it upwards. The population also appears to be steadily growing, and if the growth is primarily rich[ish] transplants, that could certainly skew it upwards too.That would make sense and it also likely means that even though the median sale price is ~$500k the median value of a home in Montana is likely less than half that but the turnover is higher for the more expensive homes.
None of you are ever, EVER allowed to call out Texicans for being overly sensative again. We have a new leader in the clubhouse.The WWI thing doesn't NOT belong here... It's just far MORE appropriate for the Weird History thread.
;)
Seriously though, this is not really a news thread, it's the catch-all discussion thread (as long as that discussion isn't political). So I don't think the WWI thing necessarily belongs somewhere else.
The other two probably do though.