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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread

Open Thread

by John Cole|  May 3, 201411:06 pm| 185 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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What is everyone up to? I didn’t even bother to watch the nerd prom tonight because I am already in physical pain and didn’t need to bring mental anguish into the mix.

What, John Cole is hurt, you say? Quelle surprise!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, two weeks after learning I need bifocals, I pulled a muscle in my lower back… getting out of bed.

Shawn is at the bar shooting pool, and I am sitting here with an ice pack watching Orphan Black.

introverts

I think I am on the winning end of the equation even though my back hurts like hell. New SNL tonight, although I did have to use the google to figger out who the hell Andrew Garfield is…

*** Update ***

A friend of mine from when I was a kid sent me this picture:

meandtheboys

That’s my buddy Judd (he’s a university prof), me on the swing with the FUCKING SOCKS, my friend Brad who is now a Lt. Col (or maybe full bird now) in the Army, and a guy named Chris Bolender who I have not seen in 30+ years because they moved away when I was 12 or so.

I have no idea what the statute of limitations is on child abuse in West Virginia, but if a case can still be made, those clothes might be enough evidence for a solid case. We look like the Bad News Bears who got beat up by the cast of Breaking Away.

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Reader Interactions

185Comments

  1. 1.

    EriktheRed

    May 3, 2014 at 11:08 pm

    “nerd prom”??

  2. 2.

    WaterGirl

    May 3, 2014 at 11:10 pm

    Cole, I like your graphic.

  3. 3.

    Howard Beale IV

    May 3, 2014 at 11:11 pm

    Whiner.

    Try having a myelogram where the injection site doesn’t seal up.

  4. 4.

    Jerzy Russian

    May 3, 2014 at 11:11 pm

    I hurt my back loading the dishwasher once. Hurt like hell.

  5. 5.

    Baud

    May 3, 2014 at 11:13 pm

    I thought uniting separately in our own homes is what we were doing on this blog.

  6. 6.

    beth

    May 3, 2014 at 11:15 pm

    I hurt my back once putting on my shoes. Getting old sucks.

  7. 7.

    Keith G

    May 3, 2014 at 11:16 pm

    A few years ago I realized that convention wisdom was correct in this matter – a growing gut puts stress on one’s back and annoying injuries are more common.

    Aerobic work and core exercises have helped. Progress has been made. Still more to do. This is the part of getting old that is about the least fun.

  8. 8.

    lamh36

    May 3, 2014 at 11:16 pm

    no need to watch the whole of nerd prom John, just catch POTUS monologue

  9. 9.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 3, 2014 at 11:19 pm

    @efgoldman:

    it doesn’t seem right that two of the best teams are in Southern California.

    It isn’t right. For me, if the Blackhawks aren’t in it, I root for another original 6 team – except the Red Wings, fuck them..

  10. 10.

    Elmo

    May 3, 2014 at 11:20 pm

    This is our first spring in the new house, so when we got 6″ of rain here in Southern MD, the basement flooded. So I spent today yanking out drywall and carpet, and realizing that while this was the first basement flood for us, it was decidedly not the first basement flood for this house.

    That level of mold and rot behind the drywall did not just grow in the last three days.

    So now I know my main project for the next year. Strip out and replace the rest of the carpet, drywall, and one or two of the studs. Just me and my wife working on our house.

  11. 11.

    Pogonip

    May 3, 2014 at 11:20 pm

    What is a nerd prom?

    I know a guy who runs 5 miles a day and still managed to hurt his back bending over to pick up a pencil.

  12. 12.

    Poopyman

    May 3, 2014 at 11:20 pm

    I love the graphic too, but I thought we’d evolved beyond the fist. Did I miss a memo?

  13. 13.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    May 3, 2014 at 11:20 pm

    You kind look poised to puke in that pic, based on body posture.

  14. 14.

    Tommy

    May 3, 2014 at 11:20 pm

    I am watching Maddow from Friday, cause well I get it via iTunes. Since when does crude oil explode?

  15. 15.

    nellcote

    May 3, 2014 at 11:21 pm

    You MUST watch the reruns of the nerd prom. Both routines were LOL funny..

  16. 16.

    WaynersT

    May 3, 2014 at 11:21 pm

    President’s best line ever – “when you start with ‘ let me tell what I know about the negro’…..you know it’s going to end bad. ” I replayed that 3 times.

  17. 17.

    Tommy

    May 3, 2014 at 11:25 pm

    @WaynersT: That is funny. I don’t recall where I heard it. Maybe the Daily Show related to Bundy. But anytime somebody starts off a sentence with “let me tell you about the negros” you know things are about to go very wrong.

  18. 18.

    Schlemizel

    May 3, 2014 at 11:25 pm

    NERD PROM = WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS DINNER

  19. 19.

    scav

    May 3, 2014 at 11:25 pm

    What is this, sunspots?! I got a scary picture from my youth too, only at least it was one of those fake tin-types so I can deny, repudiate, sublimate and stubbornly ignore the clothing on display.

  20. 20.

    max

    May 3, 2014 at 11:26 pm

    @efgoldman: Kings tied it with :07 left in regulation.

    And won it in OT, which I just finished watching.

    it doesn’t seem right that two of the best teams are in Southern California.

    I wouldn’t go that far.

    max
    [‘Blackhawks are going to finish off the Wild pretty easy, methinks.’]

  21. 21.

    Suzanne

    May 3, 2014 at 11:26 pm

    @Elmo: Might I recommend replacing the drywall with glass-mat sheathing, a la Densglas? No drywall, even greenboard, is a good idea where moisture might occur. Architect nerd OUT.

  22. 22.

    Schlemizel

    May 3, 2014 at 11:29 pm

    Wife turned on CNN to catch the prom replay – Ben Stain is on whining about how mean and hurtful BHO is! Everyone else was agreeing that he was hilarious & doing just what is expected & then ol hack boy Ben comes on. He looked like an idiot.

    EDIT: obviously that is not hard for him but he looked bad even by Ben Stain standards.

  23. 23.

    max

    May 3, 2014 at 11:30 pm

    @Schlemizel: NERD PROM = WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS DINNER

    NERD PROM != WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS DINNER

    WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS DINNER == DC DIPSHITS

    max
    [‘To be a nerd you’d need to know something.’]

  24. 24.

    WaynersT

    May 3, 2014 at 11:30 pm

    @Schlemizel:
    From personal experience I can tell you Ben Stein is a sociopath

  25. 25.

    Elmo

    May 3, 2014 at 11:30 pm

    @Suzanne:
    Thank you! We hadn’t decided – we may just seal the cinder block, but I seriously appreciate the tip! We had talked about greenboard, but I will talk to my wife about Densglas. She loooooves stuff like this so she’ll eat it up.

  26. 26.

    Tommy

    May 3, 2014 at 11:31 pm

    @efgoldman: Well I know the news is it seems to be happening a lot. But as Rachel asked, since when this start happening?

  27. 27.

    Keith G

    May 3, 2014 at 11:32 pm

    @Tommy:

    Since when does crude oil explode?

    Just like gasoline, it doesn’t. The vapors do. TRMS mentioned that this type of oil is more explosive. I assume it means that it gives of more volatile vapors which are the root cause of the tendency to go boom.

  28. 28.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 3, 2014 at 11:32 pm

    @Tommy: Probably not very long after after the first crude oil was pumped out of the ground.

    @Keith G: Good point.

  29. 29.

    Pogonip

    May 3, 2014 at 11:33 pm

    @Schlemizel: Thank you!

  30. 30.

    Suzanne

    May 3, 2014 at 11:34 pm

    @Elmo: No greenboard….it has a paper face, so mold will grow on it.

  31. 31.

    Roger Moore

    May 3, 2014 at 11:35 pm

    @Suzanne:
    I would think some kind of active water removal like a really good sump pump would be a good idea, also, too.

  32. 32.

    Aleta

    May 3, 2014 at 11:35 pm

    …and then arrived too late to help ET go home.

  33. 33.

    Pogonip

    May 3, 2014 at 11:35 pm

    @WaynersT: Got a nice juicy story to share? (Dirothy Parker [?]: if you can’t say anything nice, come over here and sit with me.)

  34. 34.

    jl

    May 3, 2014 at 11:35 pm

    I didn’t know this was nerd prom day. Thanks for the reminder. Now I can avoid news about it.

    ” Yes, ladies and gentlemen, two weeks after learning I need bifocals, I pulled a muscle in my lower back… getting out of bed. ”

    Cole was wearing his bifocals in bed? Again!? How heavy are the new pair?

  35. 35.

    Devon

    May 3, 2014 at 11:35 pm

    Brad looks like a hipster. You…not so much.

  36. 36.

    nellcote

    May 3, 2014 at 11:36 pm

    PBO at nerdprom 2114:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HFLwotYfl0

  37. 37.

    Tommy

    May 3, 2014 at 11:36 pm

    @Keith G: That was kind of my point. You can put out a smoke in a barrel of gasoline as long as there is good ventilation. It is the fumes that are the fire issue.

  38. 38.

    PST

    May 3, 2014 at 11:37 pm

    @Tommy: “But anytime somebody starts off a sentence with ‘let me tell you about the negros’ you know things are about to go very wrong.” True, but somehow it is the use of the singular that really gives you that sinking feeling: “what I know about the negro.” Or add the possessive to fully double down: “what I know about yer negro.”

  39. 39.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 3, 2014 at 11:38 pm

    @Pogonip: Alice Roosevelt Longworth, aka the other Washington Monument.

  40. 40.

    S. cerevisiae

    May 3, 2014 at 11:39 pm

    @max: Not so easy methinks. Watch the Wild take game 2 tomorrow (with a goal by my favorite Bulldog Justin Fontaine).

  41. 41.

    Suzanne

    May 3, 2014 at 11:40 pm

    @Roger Moore: Absolutely. And find out where it’s flooding from. If it’s from hydrostatic pressure, may need a new French drain.

  42. 42.

    David Fud

    May 3, 2014 at 11:41 pm

    @Elmo: Unasked for advice, YMMV: If it floods much at all, sealing it will allow it to inconveniently spring a leak at some point in the future… probably need to put french style drains on the outside of the basement and work on the water flows in the yard to prevent a repeat. Berms, gutter away from the edge of the house, gravel/stone creek beds to redirect around the house.

  43. 43.

    max

    May 3, 2014 at 11:41 pm

    @S. cerevisiae: Not so easy methinks. Watch the Wild take game 2 tomorrow (with a goal by my favorite Bulldog Justin Fontaine).

    I figure they’ll win two, so one tomorrow wouldn’t be a surprise.

    max
    [‘They need a big defender or two.’]

  44. 44.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 3, 2014 at 11:42 pm

    @Suzanne: Sure, now that you have passed all your exams, you go around talking all architecty and shit.

  45. 45.

    Tommy

    May 3, 2014 at 11:44 pm

    @PST: I am as white as white gets. My best friend is AA. He will openly tell you he doesn’t understand the “negro.” Cause newsflash, not every AA is like every AA. Oh and if I said “negro” to him he’d ask me if it was like 1960 and maybe punch me in the face.

  46. 46.

    Elmo

    May 3, 2014 at 11:45 pm

    @Suzanne:

    There are two sump pumps, but I think the main one has failed for some reason. There are French drains all over the property, so I am suspicious of the sump system. Supposedly from my reading there is a thing called a “drain tile,” and I suspect failure. Because it was def hydrostatic pressure, water seeping in through the cinder block on the side of the basement toward the uphill part of the property.

    There was stagnant water in the main sump when I checked it. The float was stuck. But it had not overflowed, which makes me wonder if water is even getting to it the way it’s sposed to.

  47. 47.

    Suzanne

    May 3, 2014 at 11:45 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Heh. This is actually intern-level stuff, tho. It’s always interesting for me to think about flooded basements and extreme wind loads, since houses here don’t have them, and instead we have other joys, like termites and roofs that disintegrate under extreme UV light.

  48. 48.

    lamh36

    May 3, 2014 at 11:48 pm

    @nellcote:

    “@NBCNews: WATCH: Best of Obama’s Correspondents’ Dinner speech http://t.co/2RyiV2aGwU #WHCD http://t.co/6OJ5G6nwNo“

  49. 49.

    hilts

    May 3, 2014 at 11:49 pm

    @Schlemizel:

    Many of the best jokes tonight came at CNN’s expense. Their MH370 coverage has rightfully turned their reputation to shit.

  50. 50.

    Suzanne

    May 3, 2014 at 11:49 pm

    @Elmo: If the house is older, and where you’re at, it probably is, the drain tiles are probably clogged with dirt, or are broken. New sump pumps are cheap. We got one for under $200 installed. Hydrostatic pressure is a bitch to fix. Lots of work around the foundation. Sorry. :(

  51. 51.

    Tommy

    May 3, 2014 at 11:50 pm

    @Elmo: I only have one. But it is my best friend. I don’t know if everybody knows what a split level house is, but I live in one. Half my house is half below ground. Not like a finished basement, just part of my house. My sump pump failed soon after I bought the place and well, that was not a good thing.

  52. 52.

    lamh36

    May 3, 2014 at 11:50 pm

    “@MichaelLinhorst: Pres. Obama at #WHCD just now: “Gridlock has gotten so bad in this town you have to wonder: What’d we do to piss off Chris Christie so bad?””

    Even sweeter since Chris Christie was there

  53. 53.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 3, 2014 at 11:52 pm

    @Tommy: Most of us have seen the Brady Bunch.

  54. 54.

    Gin & Tonic

    May 3, 2014 at 11:53 pm

    @Suzanne: Here in those parts of the country where it still rains from time to time, I’ve always assumed that “below-grade basement” means “will take on water eventually.” Maybe not this year, maybe not next year, but sooner or later water will come in.

  55. 55.

    SatanicPanic

    May 3, 2014 at 11:54 pm

    Wiped out from show last night. Chilling at home

  56. 56.

    Elmo

    May 3, 2014 at 11:55 pm

    @David Fud: thank you! There are drains, I’ve seen them, but this huge rain was too much.

  57. 57.

    Tommy

    May 3, 2014 at 11:56 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: I live in a place it still rains. Most people have basements. Water is NOT supposed to come in.

  58. 58.

    lamh36

    May 3, 2014 at 11:58 pm

    The video with Joe Biden and Julia Louis Dreyfus was cute. I’m gonna miss Ride Or Die Joe, on of the best VA ever

    The most important part though was how radiant and gorgeous FLOTUS looked tonight.

    “@danabickley: “@HuffPostStyle: This may be Michelle Obama’s best look ever #WHCD http://t.co/sxhJBzNiSe http://t.co/NtO1d3U9Ab” @FranBickley”

  59. 59.

    Suzanne

    May 3, 2014 at 11:58 pm

    @Gin & Tonic: Basements can be successfully waterproofed, but it can take high-quality materials and skilled construction, along with regular maintenance.

    The vast majority of houses out here are slab-on-grade, and I really miss having a basement.

  60. 60.

    Elmo

    May 3, 2014 at 11:58 pm

    @Suzanne:

    Okay, can I pick your brain a little? Free legal or dog advice in return!
    So I assume a new sump doesn’t fix a bad drain tile, correct? And if it is the drain tile, is there a fix for that short of lifting the whole house?

    Brick basement rancher built in 1976, so not so very ancient as houses go.

  61. 61.

    Gin & Tonic

    May 3, 2014 at 11:59 pm

    @Tommy: Sure, it’s not supposed to. But it will.

  62. 62.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    May 3, 2014 at 11:59 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: That cracked me up.

  63. 63.

    Suzanne

    May 4, 2014 at 12:00 am

    @lamh36: She looks AMAZING. She is just spectacular. Love her.

  64. 64.

    WaterGirl

    May 4, 2014 at 12:02 am

    @Tommy: Here in Champaign-Urbana, pretty much any house that has a basement gets rain. That’s why I bought a house with a crawlspace instead of a basement.

    Every time we get a big rain and I see all the houses pumping water into the street, I get to feel good about my choice all over again.

    Edit: Not intending to be smug about your water problem. I have lived in rental houses with wet basements, so I feel your pain.

  65. 65.

    Suzanne

    May 4, 2014 at 12:06 am

    @Elmo: No, a sump pump doesn’t fix the drain tile. The drain tile is supposed to be located next to the house below the level of the basement floor slab, so you should be able to access it by trenching. (I have heard of them being located below the slab, but that is less common.) If water is coming up through the slab, that is a different issue. French drains just routinely get clogged. CMU is also very porous, so you will need a membrane on the interior.

  66. 66.

    ? Martin

    May 4, 2014 at 12:06 am

    @efgoldman:

    it doesn’t seem right that two of the best teams are in Southern California.

    SoCal is a white tornado of awesome.

  67. 67.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 12:06 am

    @lamh36: Joe just rocks. My dad worked at high levels within the DoD. Joe literally cold called him once. It was like 7 AM and he didn’t think he’d get somebody on the line. My dad picked up. They talked. And talked. Said he was the first time in a long time that somebody gave him a straight answer to a pointed question. He likes to joke, to this day, the amount of paperwork those calls produced would choke a horse, cause a US Senator doesn’t usually call a GS17 at work.

  68. 68.

    Gin & Tonic

    May 4, 2014 at 12:07 am

    @Suzanne: A few years ago, in March, after a relatively wet and snowy winter we got 10+ inches of rain over a 2-3 day period. Can’t tell you how many times I heard “I’ve never had water in my basement before.”

  69. 69.

    Suzanne

    May 4, 2014 at 12:10 am

    @Gin & Tonic: Yeah, not good. Waterproofing is expensive and most production home builders don’t do a good job of it. And, like I said, French drains can back up and there’s not really a good way to keep them clear.

  70. 70.

    Karen in GA

    May 4, 2014 at 12:11 am

    I’ve stolen that graphic. It is mine now.

  71. 71.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 12:12 am

    @WaterGirl: You are not smug. I assume there are people here that are like what the heck is a sump pump. Or don’t even understand the concept of too much water, cause where they live it doesn’t rain much. As you said, I literally have a machine in my house that pumps water out to the street.

  72. 72.

    WaterGirl

    May 4, 2014 at 12:12 am

    @Karen in GA: My favorite button – ever – back when everybody wore buttons, was:

    Dyslexics Untie

    Edit: my second favorite was “Uppity Women Unite”

  73. 73.

    Elmo

    May 4, 2014 at 12:13 am

    @Suzanne:

    No, it wasn’t coming up – it was def seeping in through the drywall. The plan right now is to strip out all carpet, all drywall on that wall, and put up a nonpermeable sealant or membrane as you say. It was a BIG rain, 6″ plus in three days, so I’m hoping that what is left of the drain tile can handle normal rainfall.

    Big trenching job is more than I can handle right now.

  74. 74.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 4, 2014 at 12:13 am

    Speaking of comedy….

  75. 75.

    danielx

    May 4, 2014 at 12:15 am

    @Elmo:

    I had to deal with the same problem with my late mother in law’s home, although it didn’t flood, it was just damp all the time. Got our attention because the walls were out of true – convex inward, you might say. Fix involved jackhammering a trench around the perimeter of the basement, drilling new drain holes in the bottom course of masonry because all the original weep holes had silted up with dirt and mud. No place for the water to drain, so the masonry wall (concrete blocks) had filled with water. Once the trench was dug, pea gravel, then drainage tile (that black perforated stuff about four inches in diameter all the way around the perimeter, then a special membrane to allow drainage to the trench leading to a new sump and new pump, then concrete to fill in the trench with the membrane showing against the wall.

    Then – and you might want to look for this – measures to correct the bowed walls, because hydrostatic pressure had pushed the walls out of true. Hold a plumb line close to the wall and if the wall is closer to the line in some areas than in others, you have issues. Her walls were out close to an inch at the most bulgey spot. If this is the case, DON’T use anchor bolts to try to pull the wall back in line. Talked to an architect pal who’s in historic preservation and he said don’t do that whatever you do, concrete/cinder block masonry doesn’t like point pressure and the wall is already fucked up – you just don’t want it to bow any more. What was done instead was to embed carbon fiber straps running from top to bottom of the wall in some kind of special epoxy, then more epoxy on top. This will mitigate any potential structural issues and a structural engineer will sign off on it. The whole shooting match, which included hauling about forty 80 lb sacks of concrete down to the basement, was done by these two hispanic guys built like fire hydrants in two and a half days (these dudes could seriously work) and cost $7600 – not paid by me, fortunately. Work and drainage was warrantied with transferable warranty for the life of the structure.

  76. 76.

    Gin & Tonic

    May 4, 2014 at 12:15 am

    @Suzanne: I just figure it’s part of the charm of living here. If you live in California your house will burn down or fall in the ocean, if you live in Missouri it will blow away in a tornado, and here my basement will fill with water or a hurricane will drop a tree on it.

    Except flood insurance doesn’t cover damage from ground water infiltration.

  77. 77.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 12:16 am

    @WaterGirl: Not a button, but my favorite bumper sticker of all time:

    Frodo Has Failed, Bush Has the Ring

    For those that don’t know that would be a Lord of the Rings reference.

  78. 78.

    lamh36

    May 4, 2014 at 12:17 am

    is this now a thing with the Obama admin on nerd prom night

    “@BlogsofWar: Al-Qaeda confirms death of commander in Yemen http://goo.gl/kSGavr”

  79. 79.

    WaterGirl

    May 4, 2014 at 12:18 am

    @Tommy: My favorite bumper sticker of all time:

    Bee sweet, eat your honey.

  80. 80.

    Elmo

    May 4, 2014 at 12:19 am

    @danielx:

    Oh good Lord. What a story, and thank you. Yknow, I’m from Southern California – where I come from, if cinder block walls are suddenly out of true, it’s because the whole continent shook, not because it fucking RAINED.

    The east coast is a scary place, precious!

  81. 81.

    Villago Delenda Est

    May 4, 2014 at 12:19 am

    If the “nerd prom” included a public vivisection of Ed Henry and Jonathan Karl, I might watch.

    Otherwise, not so much.

  82. 82.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 4, 2014 at 12:21 am

    I know it is an Italian-smearing travesty and all that, but I think the woman in the Häagen-Dazs gelato argument ad is hot.

  83. 83.

    WaterGirl

    May 4, 2014 at 12:21 am

    @Villago Delenda Est: I don’t know… it was pretty fun to see Eric Cantor get skewered, among others. The president was more pointed than usual, but still funny, very gratifying to watch.

    And it was awesome to hear President Obama say that nothing good ever came of a sentence that began with “let me tell you what I know about the Negro”. Seriously gratifying.

  84. 84.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 12:21 am

    @Gin & Tonic: A client of mine lives in CA. He runs a large park district (why he is my client) and he sent me pics he wanted up on the site I did for him. Wildfires. Flash foods. Mudslides. Earth quakes. I am like we got weather issues where I live, being near the Mississippi we flood. But not like you.

  85. 85.

    Villago Delenda Est

    May 4, 2014 at 12:22 am

    @lamh36: Stick in the knife, Barack. And twist it. Again and again.

  86. 86.

    Gin & Tonic

    May 4, 2014 at 12:23 am

    @Elmo: Oh, you didn’t say you were from SoCal. Here on the east coast, as you have seen, we have water in the ground. Unfortunately you may have to learn to deal with it.

  87. 87.

    MomSense

    May 4, 2014 at 12:24 am

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Both the President and McHale were really tough on the media and the Republicans. Worth watching.

  88. 88.

    nellcote

    May 4, 2014 at 12:24 am

    The White HouseVerified account
    ‏@WhiteHouse
    The Westeros Wing. #WHCD pic.twitter.com/wG4KbQ7BLn

  89. 89.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 12:25 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: I am kind of stunned you mentioned that. Every time I see the ad, which is on Hulu 24/7 I think why is it OK to think being angry is sexy. Of course I know you are not saying that, but it is something I find disturbing.

  90. 90.

    danielx

    May 4, 2014 at 12:25 am

    @Elmo:

    Note: if it’s a concrete masonry wall, there’s no such thing as an impermeable sealer, Dri-Loc or whatever. It may, and I repeat may, work temporarily, but the wall is already compromised – if it wasn’t you wouldn’t have so much of a problem. As hydrostatic pressure continues the wall will open new cracks/leaks over time and you’ll have to do it again…and again…and again, and it will STILL leak. Look for stairstep cracks running along the mortar joints of the block wall.

  91. 91.

    WaterGirl

    May 4, 2014 at 12:25 am

    @MomSense: I was glad to see them both skewer the republicans, but Joel McHale is no Stephen Colbert.

  92. 92.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 4, 2014 at 12:26 am

    @Elmo: Stuff in the upper midwest is built to significantly different standards that many other parts of the country. The hard freezes in the winter and heat in the summer cause the ground to heave a bit. All the fucking time, year after year. Basements tend to be bombproof.

  93. 93.

    Gin & Tonic

    May 4, 2014 at 12:27 am

    @Tommy: Pro tip. I’ve found that here you don’t have to give people references. Even if you’re quoting from Medieval Hungarian poetry, if you get it wrong, one of the commenters will get the book from their shelf and correct you.

  94. 94.

    beth

    May 4, 2014 at 12:27 am

    @WaterGirl: I thought his delivery was weird – like he was reading jokes he’d never seen before. I did love his joke about Chelsea Clinton’s baby – when it’s born, do you give Bill Clinton a cigar?

  95. 95.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 4, 2014 at 12:28 am

    @Tommy: I didn’t say the character or the anger was hot. I think the actress is very attractive. There is a difference. Sorry I shocked you.

  96. 96.

    Roger Moore

    May 4, 2014 at 12:28 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    Republican concept of diversity:

    We got both kinds. We got Country and Western.

  97. 97.

    WaterGirl

    May 4, 2014 at 12:29 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: Speaking of sexy, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything quite so sexual in a non sexual situation: Susanna Hoffs

    I loved the song you posted so much I went looking for more songs with the incredible harmony of Different Drum, and ended up down a rabbit hole.

  98. 98.

    Elmo

    May 4, 2014 at 12:31 am

    @Gin & Tonic:

    35 years in California. I’m still getting used to the “water in the ground” thing.

    And trees! That grow on their own, with nobody taking care of them! Amazing!

  99. 99.

    WaterGirl

    May 4, 2014 at 12:31 am

    @beth: Yeah, McHale’s delivery seemed very stilted. The amazing thing about Stephen Colbert is that he seemed completely comfortable in 2006. McHale did not seem comfortable.

  100. 100.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 12:32 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: You didn’t shock me at all. And I agree she is smoking hot. I just can’t watch anything on Hulu and not see that ad like ten times a day. It always makes me uncomfortable. That you would happen to mention it, well I just found that interesting. Nothing more, nothing less.

  101. 101.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 4, 2014 at 12:32 am

    @Gin & Tonic: My nipples explode in delight.

    And thank you for saying that, it ground on me a bit, but I didn’t want to argumentative.

    @WaterGirl: Ms. Hoffs was a crush of my college years.

  102. 102.

    Roger Moore

    May 4, 2014 at 12:32 am

    @Tommy:
    My favorite was one that said “Ignorance is Strength”, with a picture of W instead of Big Brother.

  103. 103.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 12:36 am

    @Elmo: Where did you live before that folks had to care for trees?

    I live in the house I grew up in. Bought it a few years ago. At school in like 1980 for Arbor Day we were given a little tree to take home and plant. It is outside my window at this moment. About 120 feet high. The only thing we did to care for it was I didn’t run it over when I mowed the lawn :).

  104. 104.

    WaterGirl

    May 4, 2014 at 12:36 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: “Ms. Hoffs was a crush of my college years.”

    I can see why! And what a voice. I am headed to bed, but one of these nights I may hit you up for suggestions of other great songs (by Susanna Hoffs and Matthew Sweet) with great harmony. None of the others I found seemed quite as sweet, though I did really like You Were On My Mind, which was just Susanna Hoffs.

  105. 105.

    Suzanne

    May 4, 2014 at 12:38 am

    @Elmo: As was mentioned upthread, regrading outside to redirect the sheet flow to go around the house is a wise idea.

    I don’t blame you. Foundation work sucks.

  106. 106.

    Roger Moore

    May 4, 2014 at 12:41 am

    @Tommy:

    Wildfires. Flash foods. Mudslides. Earth quakes.

    The big advantage of those is that except for the earthquakes, they tend to disproportionately affect people rich enough to deal with them. This is much better than tornadoes, which have a well known preference for trailer parks.

  107. 107.

    SiubhanDuinne

    May 4, 2014 at 12:41 am

    @lamh36: She is just gorgeous. We are so lucky to have those two in the WH. Wish there were some way to stretch out the next 2-1/2 years for a long time. I don’t want the Obama administration to end (except for my eagerness to read both of their memoirs).

  108. 108.

    Roger Moore

    May 4, 2014 at 12:42 am

    @Gin & Tonic:

    Oh, you didn’t say you were from SoCal. Here on the east coast, as you have seen, we have water in the ground.

    We have ground water here in Southern California. In most places you have to drill a few hundred feet to get to it, but it’s there.

  109. 109.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 12:44 am

    I am not normally a reality TV show kind of guy. But watching Deadliest Catch. I can’t pull myself away from it. Other then the fact king crab might be my favorite food of all time, those are some bad ass dudes. I am not sure I could last five minutes on one of those boats.

  110. 110.

    Suzanne

    May 4, 2014 at 12:46 am

    @Elmo: Every place has its troubles. Here in AZ, we obviously don’t have flooding, but significant damage by pests, as well as mold and dry rot. And the extreme solar exposure just beats the hell out of roofs. At my office, when it rains, we all have to put our trash cans on our desks, there are so many holes in the roof.

  111. 111.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 4, 2014 at 12:47 am

    @Tommy: Let’s just say that our senses of humor are very different. And I seldom do earnestness.

    Also as a general matter, I tend to be a generalist. I know a certain amount about an extremely wide variety of things. I am an expert on a few. Quite a few, if not the majority, of people around here are like that. At least passing familiarity with a wide variety of things like Tolkien and split level houses. And some are stunningly good experts on some topics. Just sayin’. People tend to dislike feeling that they are being patronized – not that such a thing is your intent at all. But if, you say something about Frodo and the ring and then say it is a LotR reference, people may feel patronized. I don’t mean any offense, but I have been reading your comments for a while and they inspired this.

  112. 112.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 12:50 am

    @Roger Moore: Oh I hear you. I live to the far east of what I’d guess you’d call tornado alley. But we have them more then most people might think. When you have a tornado warning system in town, well I guess that says it all. When those sirens go off they are not messing around. Get to ground.

  113. 113.

    SiubhanDuinne

    May 4, 2014 at 12:50 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    My Hovercraft is full of eels.

  114. 114.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 4, 2014 at 12:51 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: Aren’t they all?

  115. 115.

    max

    May 4, 2014 at 12:53 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: Let’s just say that our senses of humor are very different.

    “Psycho bitches are better in bed!” — the late great Anonym™

    max
    [‘Yea, verily, a truly obscure reference.’]

  116. 116.

    Lurking Buffoon

    May 4, 2014 at 12:53 am

    @WaterGirl: To be fair, I think once Letterman retires Stephen Colbert will be no Stephen Colbert. Though yes, while Joel McHale was good, it’s pretty much impossible to be Colbert good.

    Best bumper sticker I ever saw: “Exercise your right to arm bears” along with a picture of a bear armed to the teeth like Rambo. I used to have one that read “Nuke Gay Whales for Jesus” which I was rather fond of.

    EDIT: Fixed grammar.

  117. 117.

    Roger Moore

    May 4, 2014 at 12:53 am

    @SiubhanDuinne:
    I will not buy this record, it is scratched.

  118. 118.

    SatanicPanic

    May 4, 2014 at 12:54 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: Dude, bringing up LotR on a saturday night? Let’s argue! I’ll start:

    For the record I didn’t give a shit about Peter Jackson’s treatment of Faramir.

    +2

  119. 119.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 12:54 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: I dislike you say I am talking down to people. It is always hard to know what people know and don’t know. I’ve not read the books nor even seen all the movies. Well I did see the first three. I am no expert on the topic. It was just a statement. Clarification. I mean I didn’t say hey you folks are all stupid, let me explain this to you.

  120. 120.

    Hill Dweller

    May 4, 2014 at 12:55 am

    The Cincinnati Kid is currently airing on TCM. McQueen and Malden are good, but Edward G. Robinson steals the movie, IMO.

  121. 121.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 4, 2014 at 12:56 am

    @max: Never sleep with someone crazier than you are. Rule to live by. Or violate. YMMV.

  122. 122.

    Roger Moore

    May 4, 2014 at 12:56 am

    @SatanicPanic:

    For the record I didn’t give a shit about Peter Jackson’s treatment of Faramir.

    Them’s fightin’ words.

  123. 123.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 4, 2014 at 1:00 am

    @SatanicPanic: He fundamentally did not understand Faramir. Faramir was the person Boromir could and should have been. Would things have been different if Denethor had send Faramir to Rivendell instead of Boromir? Discuss.

  124. 124.

    Suzanne

    May 4, 2014 at 1:00 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: That takes all the fun out of it.

  125. 125.

    SatanicPanic

    May 4, 2014 at 1:03 am

    @Roger Moore: And The Scouring of the Shire is lame and I’m glad they left that out.

    Also, The Star Wars Prequels weren’t that bad

    ETA- OK, I’m just outright trolling with that comment about the prequels. Those really did suck.

  126. 126.

    SiubhanDuinne

    May 4, 2014 at 1:03 am

    @Roger Moore:

    Bouncy bouncy.

  127. 127.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 4, 2014 at 1:04 am

    @Suzanne: Oh, shit, I have violated that rule any chance I had. I just knew that the blowback was my own damned fault.

  128. 128.

    SatanicPanic

    May 4, 2014 at 1:05 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: Won’t argue that, but Boromir was definitely the more badass of the two. He took like 50 arrows for those two idiots Elrond inexplicably decided allowed in the Fellowship.

  129. 129.

    Lurking Buffoon

    May 4, 2014 at 1:06 am

    @SatanicPanic:

    Also, The Star Wars Prequels weren’t that bad

    Now THOSE are fightin’ words!

  130. 130.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 4, 2014 at 1:08 am

    @SatanicPanic: LotR was a variety of stories/sagas crammed into three books. One of the stories was the coming of age story of Merry and Pippen who were minor characters in the major war but were the main characters of the Scouring of the Shire.

  131. 131.

    Ruckus

    May 4, 2014 at 1:08 am

    @Elmo:
    Basement wall in my house in OH broke the cinder block because of hydrostatic pressure. Wall had to be reenforced with C channel and augurs after the dirt around the house was removed down to the basement floor level. After the augurs the wall was sealed with what looked like plastic roof tar and insulated and the dirt replaced. Not cheap but the builder picked up half even though the house was out of warranty. And I had to purchase a larger, better sump pump. Hope your fix is easier and cheaper.

  132. 132.

    Suzanne

    May 4, 2014 at 1:08 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: Yeah, well, I made the mistake of marrying crazy. That went about as well as anybody could have predicted.

  133. 133.

    SatanicPanic

    May 4, 2014 at 1:10 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: I know, but they were just a pain in the ass. Frodo and Sam were enough. Merry and Pippin were dead weight. Waking up Balrogs, looking at Palantirs- Pippin was nothing but a menace. At least Merry stabbed that Nazgul.

  134. 134.

    SatanicPanic

    May 4, 2014 at 1:14 am

    @Lurking Buffoon: OK, I admit I was just trolling with that. But let’s be real- the originals were pretty damn corny too.

  135. 135.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 4, 2014 at 1:15 am

    @Tommy: I did not say you talk down to people. I worded my comment very carefully. You may choose to ignore it or not. Look at the discussion that has happened here about LotR, do you think that the community here needed the reminder? This website, for whatever reason, attracts a very bright, well-read, and knowledgeable crowd. Explaining split level houses and Frodo references isn’t really necessary.

  136. 136.

    danielx

    May 4, 2014 at 1:20 am

    @Suzanne:

    See, the married part was the problem. Of course just associating with a crazy can have its own problems depending on how crazy the, hm, temporarily significant other is. I had experiences with someone tossing a concrete block on my car windshield and waking up one morning and finding a toilet in the front yard (sort of busy street too), bowl, tank and all assembled. That woman was a lot stronger than she looked and seriously crazy.

  137. 137.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 4, 2014 at 1:20 am

    @SatanicPanic: Merry, Pippen and Sam. represent the importance of love and friendship. Also too. Merry and Pippen were the equivalent of 2LTs in the main war. The Kids need to learn somewhere if they are going to be useful later. FWIW Pippen is one of my favorite characters. He grows. He learns and he becomes someone who matters as a result.

  138. 138.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 1:20 am

    @Suzanne: LOL. Maybe the best or worse choice I ever made was not marrying “crazy” when I could. Well not crazy really, just maybe a little off. Like myself. One of our first dates ended with us sleeping at the Lincoln Memorial. That was like 15 years ago. Not sure I’d do that today, and that is what is sad. Crazy was kind of fun.

  139. 139.

    max

    May 4, 2014 at 1:21 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: Never sleep with someone crazier than you are. Rule to live by. Or violate. YMMV.

    Three bank shot on my part. Anonym was a kook hunter on Usenet back in the day, and somebody had accused him of protecting crazy women (true enough) so he could sleep with them (not really). The response belonged in the ‘pitiful sally’ hall of fame. Because it worked!

    I have never read Lord of the Rings. (I *did* read The Fountainhead when I was 11 or 12 and I thought it was stupid, particularly the speech at the end.) As a consequence, I accidentally forgot to see any of the movies, except for the part of one battle scene on saw on cable when somebody else had it on. So nobody give me any spoilers unless I forget to kick it before I see the entire thing.

    max
    [‘ASK ME
    about Tron!’]

  140. 140.

    Suzanne

    May 4, 2014 at 1:21 am

    @danielx: Was it a nice toilet? That would be pretty awesome, I think.

  141. 141.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 1:25 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: I know you worded what you said to me carefully. I appreciate it. It was clear to me you did that. Trying to do the same on my end. I just didn’t mean to offend anybody either. That I explained what a spilt level house is or a bummer sticker was in reference to LoT doesn’t seem like a terrible thing.

  142. 142.

    Ruckus

    May 4, 2014 at 1:25 am

    @Tommy:
    Crazy can be amazing for a short while. But it can start to wear after that. Actually it can start to ruin your life in not too long a time. Unfortunately it can be hard to know that someone is crazy in a short time. Some have learned to hide the crazy pretty well but eventually……

  143. 143.

    danielx

    May 4, 2014 at 1:29 am

    @Suzanne:

    No, this was your basic plain old white five gallon commode she evidently found on the side of the street somewhere waiting for heavy trash removal. It is sorta hard to explain to your neighbors…yeah, I stopped, uh, dating, that’s it, dating this crazy girl because she’s crazy and she’s letting me know she’s pissed. And getting crazier.

  144. 144.

    SatanicPanic

    May 4, 2014 at 1:34 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: But Pippen only really proves his worth by saving Faramir, who spends the last battle in the hospital cozying up to Eowyn, and by his actions at the Scouring of the Shire, which I thought was tacked on and superfluous. But he does grow on you a bit. I always liked Merry better- he’s much more level-headed.

    I always felt like at the point when they escape Moria the fellowship would all turn around and look at Pippen and say “good job dipshit, you got the best guy killed” but maybe that would have been a bit much

  145. 145.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 1:35 am

    @Ruckus: Yes that is a good point. I met her father. He literally pulled me aside and said his daughter was a little off. Did I know what I was getting myself into? I guess that was maybe a clue.

    I also want to note one thing. I’ve said “crazy” in quote marks. I don’t think she was mental ill. Just well different.

  146. 146.

    Suzanne

    May 4, 2014 at 1:35 am

    @danielx: LMMFAO. Yeah, awkward! Funny, though. Crazy people are so entertaining, from a distance.

  147. 147.

    Lurking Buffoon

    May 4, 2014 at 1:37 am

    @SatanicPanic: No argument here. Fortunately they were the good kind of corny, and not the painful kind. Certainly not high art, but entertaining. The only way I’ve seen anyone make the prequels remotely palatable is a webcomic where the entirety of Star Wars is written as a D&D campaign… and largely the reason that works is by actually having a better story written around the stills from the movies than the movies actually had.

  148. 148.

    Lurking Buffoon

    May 4, 2014 at 1:39 am

    @Ruckus:

    Some have learned to hide the crazy pretty well but eventually……

    That sums up a good 90-95% of the women I’ve dated.

  149. 149.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 1:40 am

    @Suzanne: I know the people that live around me pretty well. I am 110% sure if somebody did this to me we’d all laugh about it. Then they’d ask what kind of car she drives so they can be looking out for it.

  150. 150.

    Suzanne

    May 4, 2014 at 1:40 am

    @Lurking Buffoon: I thought Revenge of the Sith was not embarrassing.

  151. 151.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 4, 2014 at 1:41 am

    @Tommy: No one said anything about terrible. You seem like an extremely earnest and decent person. You also seem like you want to make sure that you don’t say something that is above the heads of your readers. I have two pieces of advice for you: Not everyone traffics in earnestness and it is better to assume that people here know your references. As far as references go, people will either ask or look it up.

    You may choose to dismiss what I say, and that is fine. I just offer it as constructive criticism, much like you suggesting to me last night that I should fight with someone (with whom I was not fighting (read for context, will you?))

  152. 152.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 1:45 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: I can totally take constructive criticism. In fact I don’t mind it. So I have heard what you said. I think I get it. That people here are either smarter then me (and I mean that in a good way, not bad BTW — I know many people here are smarter then me) or if I reference something they don’t know, they will look it up. Got it.

  153. 153.

    Lurking Buffoon

    May 4, 2014 at 1:49 am

    @Suzanne: I actually didn’t see it. I was too pissed off at Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones being utterly terrible to want to spend money on another Lucas movie. I’ve been told it’s the best of the prequels, but that’s like saying the smartest Republican is the one that’s not drooling all over himself between shouting racist slurs: Being the best in a group like that really isn’t saying much.

  154. 154.

    Suzanne

    May 4, 2014 at 1:53 am

    @Lurking Buffoon: That is totally reasonable. Man, those first two prequels just sucked so much ass.

  155. 155.

    SatanicPanic

    May 4, 2014 at 1:54 am

    @Lurking Buffoon: Oh yeah- the best thing about the originals is that Luke is a whiny teen in the first one but by the end he’s convincingly a hero. There’s a real arc there and people learn stuff. The prequels is just a bunch of shit that happens to annoying people making bad decisions. I still can’t tell you why things happen the way they did, and I’ve seen them all at least a few times.

  156. 156.

    Omnes Omnibus

    May 4, 2014 at 1:56 am

    @Tommy: That’s fine. You just annoyed me tonight, so I made my comments. Wide-eyed innocence isn’t all that believable for a a guy in his 40s.

  157. 157.

    Lurking Buffoon

    May 4, 2014 at 2:00 am

    @SatanicPanic: I subjected myself to episodes 1 and 2 twice. Never again. You’re a much braver/stronger person than I.

    And this is coming from the guy that loves shitty, low budget movies cause they’re hilarious!

  158. 158.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 2:01 am

    @Lurking Buffoon: Same here. I couldn’t watch them all. Still have not I got them on DVD right next to me. The first time I went to see a movie was Star Wars. Make my grandmother take me to it three times in a day. I literally have a closet of Star Wars stuff. It was the only thing I asked for. Heck I have the Millennium Falcon from like X-Mas 1980 hanging behind me from a hook.

    The toys are all beat to hell. Cause well I played with them all the time. Coolest thing. When my mom gave them all back to me a few years ago, she gave me an entire trash bag of unopened figures. Said we thought they might be worth something someday. Honestly never looked into it. Not sure if they are worth anything.

  159. 159.

    SatanicPanic

    May 4, 2014 at 2:08 am

    @Lurking Buffoon: Watched em with my son. They’re OK as mindless entertainment, except when Anakin is on the screen. That guy is awful.

  160. 160.

    Lurking Buffoon

    May 4, 2014 at 2:10 am

    @Tommy: I’m no collector, but they’re probably worth something, especially since they’re unopened. Heck, if I had the time to sort through them all, I could probably make a good amount of money selling my old Magic the Gathering cards. I didn’t have much in the way of Star Wars toys growing up, but I did play the hell out of TIE Fighter and a lot of their other computer games in the 90’s.

    All this just makes the prequels all the more disappointing. God damnit Lucas!

  161. 161.

    Mnemosyne

    May 4, 2014 at 2:25 am

    @Schlemizel:

    This is the kind of asshole Stein is — when Mel Brooks’ Broadway version of “The Producers” came out, Stein decided to write an article for the New Yorker scolding Brooks for making fun of the Nazis. After all, Stein’s father-in-law had been an officer in World War II, and Brooks was a liberal, so obviously Brooks had never been anywhere near a war, right?

    Except that Brooks was a combat engineer in World War II. He defused land mines so officers like Stein’s father-in-law could travel safely after the fighting was over. And he was barely 18 at the time.

    If anyone gets to mock the Nazis, it’s Brooks, and Ben Stein can take his ignorant ass and go fuck himself.

  162. 162.

    Anne Laurie

    May 4, 2014 at 2:25 am

    @WaterGirl: The one I had said “Dyslexics Untie — together we can trip up the world!”

  163. 163.

    Ruckus

    May 4, 2014 at 2:28 am

    @Lurking Buffoon:
    I’d say that you need a better filter then. My record is about 10%. Not sure if that is normal or not. Or maybe our idea of crazy is just different. And @Tommy: , crazy in relationships is generally not about mental issues but being in sync enough to be able to enjoy each others company with out knives and/or firearms coming into play. But sometimes the heart (or organs lower in the torso usually) wants what it wants. And sometimes gets exactly that.

  164. 164.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 2:28 am

    @Mnemosyne: Did Ben Stein serve?

  165. 165.

    Mnemosyne

    May 4, 2014 at 2:32 am

    @Tommy:

    Ben Stein was born in 1944 and never served a day in his life. That was why he tried to hide behind his father-in-law’s service to attack Mel Brooks.

  166. 166.

    Ruckus

    May 4, 2014 at 2:37 am

    @Anne Laurie:
    I don’t understand, I always thought it was spelled Lesdexisc.
    But then I’m always getting letters improperly arranged. Thank whomever for spelling correction.

  167. 167.

    Ruckus

    May 4, 2014 at 2:38 am

    @Mnemosyne:
    Why did anyone ever think Stein was funny? Did I completely miss the memo?

  168. 168.

    Mnemosyne

    May 4, 2014 at 2:42 am

    @Ruckus:

    It’s an 80s thing — specifically, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

    Stein is pretty much proof that a funny bit part does not equal a funny writer or a funny actor. Or even much understanding of comedy, for that matter.

  169. 169.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 2:43 am

    @Mnemosyne: Why did I kind of already know this. Of course he didn’t. Folks like Stein piss me off to no ends. I could rant on for hours, and I have here from time to time, that I didn’t serve. But almost everybody in my family has back many generations. Not a single one of them drafted. They did this thing calling enlisting.

    Ben born in 1944 could have enlisted. Pretty sure there was a war going on when he was 21 or so..

  170. 170.

    Anne Laurie

    May 4, 2014 at 2:43 am

    @SatanicPanic:

    I always liked Merry better- he’s much more level-headed.

    Poor guy’s problem was he had that major crush on Eowyn, who only had eyes for Arrowroot, son of Arrowshirt, son of Stuffedshirt. [Bored of the Rings reference.] Speaking of knowing better than to sleep with fall in love with crazy…

  171. 171.

    Mnemosyne

    May 4, 2014 at 2:44 am

    @Tommy:

    He was too busy working for Richard Nixon. Not a joke.

  172. 172.

    Anne Laurie

    May 4, 2014 at 2:46 am

    @Lurking Buffoon:

    That sums up a good 90-95% of the women I’ve dated.

    My old man used to say “After the third nut case, you should consider whether maybe you might be a crazy, too.”

  173. 173.

    Tommy

    May 4, 2014 at 2:52 am

    @Mnemosyne: I am not an expert on Stein but I did know he worked for Nixon, which says a lot. I feel like anytime he says something on my TV that disclaimer needs to be said. Stein worked for Nixon.

  174. 174.

    ruemara

    May 4, 2014 at 3:03 am

    @Omnes Omnibus: exactly. I can’t watch the two towers just for that reason.

  175. 175.

    Ruckus

    May 4, 2014 at 3:03 am

    @Anne Laurie:
    Or at least reassess your priorities.

    Or one could learn to like crazy.

  176. 176.

    ruemara

    May 4, 2014 at 3:04 am

    @SatanicPanic: shut your mouth. Merry and Pippin both played key roles in the war that swung things in the right direction.

  177. 177.

    max

    May 4, 2014 at 3:48 am

    @Suzanne: Man, those first two prequels just sucked so much ass.

    You saw the second one? Why?

    Bil (with one L): “What do I call you?”
    Zombie-lookin’ dude: “Men call me…X!”
    Bil: “What do women call you?!”

    — Bill, the Galactic Hero, Harry Harrison

    max
    [‘One notes that Amazon indicates that Bill is in ‘Stainless Steel Rat’ series. This is ALL WRONG.’]

  178. 178.

    chopper

    May 4, 2014 at 9:07 am

    @ruemara:

    shut your mouth

    I’m just talkin’ bout Pippin.

    Right on!

  179. 179.

    tybee

    May 4, 2014 at 9:55 am

    @chopper:

    hah

  180. 180.

    Susanne

    May 4, 2014 at 9:59 am

    Best joke of the nerd prom, from POTUS: “These days, House Republicans give John Boehner a harder time than they give me. Which means orange really is the new black.”

  181. 181.

    Susanne

    May 4, 2014 at 10:01 am

    P.S. I once threw my back out for weeks by just stepping off a curb.

  182. 182.

    WaterGirl

    May 4, 2014 at 10:14 am

    @Susanne: He told the truth and made it funny. All the best comedians do.

  183. 183.

    Lurking Buffoon

    May 4, 2014 at 12:14 pm

    @Anne Laurie: A better argument for my complete disinterest in dating anymore I’ve never heard!

  184. 184.

    JoyfulA

    May 4, 2014 at 1:02 pm

    @Tommy: Water will never come in if you live at the top of a hill. If you live near the bottom of a hill, eventually (for my parents, 50 years) water will start seeping in somewhere and require remediation.

    Of course, this applies only where there are hills. Flatlands may vary.

  185. 185.

    JoyfulA

    May 4, 2014 at 1:35 pm

    @Tommy: I know nothing about Lord of the Rings. I don’t read fantasy or science fiction because I find it silly. Whenever I see anything LotR, I skip it, like I skipped the 20 or so responses to your comment.

    As for split-levels, I suspect some areas of the US and all of many other countries do not have them and may not know the term. Personally, I hate them: no privacy, a sound anywhere is a sound everywhere, steps, steps, steps. The only worse style of house is the raised ranch, like the one that replaced the horse pasture across the street from me. (A homebuilder built it for himself and had to regrade the driveway three times. And then it wasn’t accepted for occupation until he installed handrails on the steep steps to the front door.)

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