Still whittling away at tasks- got a load more done. Finally went and got a haircut and trim for the beard, as it had been several months and was quite unkempt. Tomorrow is the vet appointments and the oil change, and from here on out it is just packing and getting ready. I’m doing a bunch of cleaning, too.
I am so sick and tired of hearing about the economy- inflation is at 3.1%, gas is $2.75 a gallon, unemployment is low. The economy is fine- it’s how we are sharing the filthy lucre that is not, and greedy fucking corporations are jacking up the prices on shit because they can.
And I am tired of hearing about Biden’s age- of course he’s too fucking old. Anyone over 70 is too fucking old. A lot of us are too old at 60. I was too fucking old for this shit at 45.
And Harris is a fine VP, you racist fucking twats. She’s had no gaffes, follows the company line, and does EVERYTHING A FUCKING VP IS SUPPOSED TO DO.
Whatever. I started out a pleasant post on my upcoming trip and pissed myself off halfway through writing it.
Johnnybuck
It’s a all going to work out in the end. It’ll still be mostly shitty, but that’s what we got.
HumboldtBlue
All the leaves are brown (all the leaves are brown)And the sky is gray (and the sky is gray)I’ve been for a walk (I’ve been for a walk)On a winter’s day (on a winter’s day)I’d be safe and warm (I’d be safe and warm)If I was in Tempe (if I was in Tempe)
Arizona dreamin’ (Arizona dreamin’)On such a winter’s day
Miss Bianca
But that’s part of what we love about you, JC!
dmsilev
@Miss Bianca: Can you imagine his post describing his wedding? It’ll start out lovely and happy and all that, and two thirds of the way through writing it, something will piss him off(*) and the narrative will veer into left field.
(*). Prediction: whatever food is served afterwards will benefit from mustard, which has inexplicably gone missing.
Suzanne
I am looking forward to becoming a hermit. Like the kind of person the neighborhood kids are scared of.
RevRick
@HumboldtBlue: The Mamas and the Papas want their song back.
wmd
I’m impressed that he’s able to do this without alcohol.
RevRick
John, we’re all sick and tired of hearing the mainstream media channeling rightwing talking points. But since that garbage isn’t going to change, the only thing we can do is counterattack and scream “God-damned fascist” every chance we get. At least that’s what I do on X, and woo-boy are there opportunities.
Miss Bianca
@dmsilev: Oh, my Lord. We may have to insist on a wedding post from Joelle instead. Or would that be, in addition to? The mini-Rashomon effect might be quite amusing.
Starfish
@Miss Bianca: Right? John has been a cranky old man on this blog for about twenty years now, and we love it.
At this moment, it is a little strange because there are a subset of commenters who definitely do not want to see negativity because they are tired. I think that desire to keep things upbeat is understandable, but I find it exhausting.
dmsilev
@Suzanne:
Just watch out for a gang of ostensible teenagers with a talking Great Dane; they seem to have a grudge against hermits who just want to be left alone.
WaterGirl
@Miss Bianca: He said, she said – version of the wedding.
It was a beautiful day, Joelle looked beautiful and OH FUCK! I tripped on the carpet, hit my head and bled all over her dress.
Starfish
@WaterGirl: We need to send multiple bloggers to let us know if John forgets to wear pants to his own wedding.
Betty Cracker
Huh. I usually start off disgruntled and talk myself into a better frame of mind during a post.
I envy you the upcoming road trip. I’ve done a couple of cross-country trips and many less ambitious forays into other regions, and I love it!
The mister is less enthusiastic about being on the road, so I usually travel with my sister and/or friends. But I am hoping to tempt the man into a snowbird lifestyle eventually.
Sure Lurkalot
@Suzanne:
I assume with rigorous yoga and skin care regimens? You can still scare the kids ranting and raving to yourself while still looking and feeling fabulous.
piratedan
@Betty Cracker: just tell him you want to see all of the National Parks….. :-)
I wish JC and his crew safe travels and hope that the weather doesn’t make it tougher than it already is.
One of these days I’m going to go across the country and do so staying off the Interstates just because during the holidays, it gets a bit manic out there and while the time on the road may be longer, with luck it will be less stressful.
Suzanne
@Sure Lurkalot:
Absolutely. The whole point of becoming a hermit is to do more of my favorite things (sleep, hot yoga, etc.) and endure less bullshit.
God. I’ve gone to hot classes a few times in the last few weeks and thought, “you know…. it could be hotter.” I have my left and right splits back….. almost back to middle (box) splits……
dmsilev
Here’s a feel-good story: A Tesla Cybertruck gets stuck in California forest. Let the trolling begin
From the press release:
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@dmsilev:
There are so many great memes on the Cylon Transport Vehicle (because this thing reminds me of the original Battlestar Galactica).
It’s the ugliest car since the Pontiac Aztek…and that’s insulting to the Pontiac Aztek.
My favorite meme:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adZztW0YbJ0
“I never realized that getting kicked by white dudes in sneakers is one of the leading causes of auto damage nationwide. Glad Tesla is on top of this with the Cylon Transport Vehicle.“
wmd
Has anybody posted the Tesla Cybertruck nickname yet?
Incel Camino.
Alison Rose
I hope we get some photos of you standing grumpily next to random roadside attractions along the way.
Alison Rose
@wmd: LOLLL
I had called it a Steroidal DeLorean, but Incel Camino is excellent.
Wapiti
@dmsilev: I’m wondering if these people just went into the forest and cut down one of OUR trees.
Steeplejack
@Betty Cracker:
“The mister”! Love that more than a proper name. It’s a worthy Crackerism.
Suzanne
@comrade scotts agenda of rage:
Ex-Mr. Suzanne and I referred to it as the Asstek.
I remember when they tried to give one away to some guy on one of the reality shows, and he was like, “Oh my God, it’s a new car….thing!”
wombat probability cloud
@wmd: Breaking Bad, Walter’s car, no?
dmsilev
As stupid as it looks, the name even stupider. What is Cyber about it, besides the fact that it looks like a vehicle from a vintage-1988 video game?
wombat probability cloud
John, your four-legged companions need an oil change? I missed that in my user’s manual.
schrodingers_cat
Cosigned.
Suzanne
@dmsilev: It reminds me of when they tried to rebrand masturbating in front of your computer as “cybersex” and not just “jacking off in front of the computer”.
WaterGirl
@Suzanne: I am counting myself lucky that I missed that the first time around.
schrodingers_cat
@WaterGirl: I answered your question about Guru Dutt in detail in the Medium Cool thread.
Starfish
@dmsilev: Given that that man took a well-loved brand and renamed it X, the name “Cyber” is one of the most inspired names that he could have ever developed.
satby
@piratedan: Do what I did last year and take the train cross country. Even economy is pretty comfortable, and you get to really see what you’re travelling through. Planning on doing it again in ’24.
BruceFromOhio
Its why I post rarely, too.
dmsilev
@Starfish: The four main models that Tesla sells are, put together, S3XY. And yes, he wanted to sell a Model E instead of the 3, but thankfully someone else (Ford I think) had it trademarked already.
CaseyL
John and Joelle’s wedding and road trip = “National Lampoon Honeymoon.”
(A quick search tells me that Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis sort of did this already, during what was apparently an ill-fated honeymoon/RV trip across the US, but I’m sure yours and Joelle’s will be much better.)
Suzanne
@dmsilev: I rode in a Tesla once and the interior felt like a Chevy. It needs to get S3XYier.
Percysowner
And on the Dobbs was the worst decision the Supreme Court could have made for the Republican takeover Whoa! Florida Abortion Activists Gather 1.4 MILLION Signatures. Of course the State Attorney General has announced that “viablility” is far to vague for the voters to understand and so the Supreme Court should ban this from the ballot AND Florida needs 60% to change their constitution, so it might fail anyway, but LORD, did the Sanctimonious Six screw the pouch with Dobbs.
HumboldtBlue
@Betty Cracker:
Have you ever been gruntled? I don’t think I have, yet, I have regularly been disgruntled.
Sister Golden Bear
@Suzanne: Me too. Need to start working on cultivating an air of mystery.
“Who lives there, Mommy? Well my child, the legends say, she went into quarantine and was never seen again.”
cain
@dmsilev:
More likely Steve or Thurston doing something macabre like shitting on the wedding bed and so now they got to sleep on the couch type of story
Quinerly
Is Cole getting nuptialized on this trip? I may have lost the plot.
Oddly, JoJo las Orejas and I are leaving for Arizona Wednesday. I guess we could crash the nuptialization. We are driving around looking at things until after the 1st.
cain
@dmsilev:
It was Mercedes.
Suzanne
@HumboldtBlue:
This is a term I have been trying to bring back, actually. Also feckful. I figure one can be feckless, but why wouldn’t you want to have feck? Don’t be feckless, be feckful.
Suzanne
@Sister Golden Bear: It sounds great. Really, most of my problems stem from other people. As long as Amazon Prime continues to bring the nice toilet paper to my house, I am happy.
It’s one of the few good things about this timeline.
Almost Retired
I love road trips. There are so many interesting routes to take between WV and AZ. And you’re doing it with a dear friend who loves you. And Phoenix in the winter is delightful. Life is good. But I do still want to hear you complain about shit because it’s entertaining and it’s healthy to not be too optimistic as well. Also try to not die from stepping on a scorpion nestling in your shoe.
dmsilev
@Suzanne: Just be careful when cheerfully telling someone that they should get fecked; you’re one small typo away from a dramatically different message.
twbrandt
@Alison Rose: Someone on bluesky referred to it as sport-futility vehicle.
Alison Rose
@twbrandt: Brilliant.
MomSense
@Suzanne:
Asstek! Ha!
Today I had a really nice time caroling. At the last house we went to the woman who came to the door was so sweet. She said she had never been caroled before and she really loved it. We sang a few extra songs for her and she was a little teary. It feels good to connect with other human beings. Life could be so much simpler and happier if we could just focus on being kind to each other.
I’m so sick of all the drama and conspiracy about the basics of modern society. It’s absurd and tragic. All this ridiculous shouting and dysfunction over health care for everyone, a planet that will sustain life, education, work that pays enough for people to live.
It seems like universal desires but instead we get a cartoon villain, weird ass, arrogant billionaires, corrupt and inept GOP Congress and judges/justices and so much meanness.
It’s exhausting and yes it also makes me want to be a hermit sometimes. But that’s what they want. They want to wear down and disgust and turn off enough people that they can win in the next election. Well fuckem. There is enough good in this world to fight for.
twbrandt
@cain: It was really Ford who had the trademark for the Model E, as part of old Henry’s lineup of the Model A, Model T, etc. Ford refused to let Tesla use it. https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2022/03/02/ford-model-e-electric-tesla-trademark/9339917002/
Narya
@MomSense: well-said. I especially liked your channeling of Sam Gamgee at the end (seriously).
MomSense
@Narya:
He’s my favorite character. Named my youngest after him.
Mike in NC
Price gouging has been a big problem for the past two years.
frosty
@piratedan: The two lane roads seem like a really low-key to do your cross country trip but we hate them. They suck when you’re pulling a trailer and traffic stacks up behind you. We end up pulling over a lot to let them by.
frosty
@Betty Cracker: I got lucky; I married a Road Tripper. Ms F also got lucky and married one. We’ve done three laps of the country since I retired. I still have one more to plan, through the Canadian Rockies and all the National Parks in Washington. And Glacier, while there’s still ice left.
piratedan
@frosty: understand, the better half and I haven’t graduated to those as of yet. We’d be keen to take what remains of the menagerie along with us when we’re ready to hang it up, so a towing scenario isn’t as likely for us…
Still, there’s a LOT of country to see and there’s no right way to do it I suspect.
Ruckus
@Starfish:
I agree all sugar is a bit much. All burnt whatever is a bit much.
Sure the world sucks some days, it likely would be a rather shitty novel if the story was all sugar and no starch, the same as it would be the other way round. And sometimes it’s hard to find an anything, any relief from it all, but not having it all would not be better. I’ve learned, if nothing else in my 3/4 of a century, that breathing, standing upright, walking, ain’t all that bad. Every day may not be the greatest, but it’s another day. I’ve learned a bit, forgot a bit (more) and I’m still not close to done.
TriassicSands
Well, it is in some places, but where I live it is still well over $4.00/gallon. I support high gas prices, because that is the only way to even begin to limit the reckless use of cars and trucks. Lest, you think I’m an elitist, I am low income and make every effort I can to limit how much I drive. The overwhelming majority of my trips are to medical appointments that have to done in person. I know that it isn’t possible for everyone to drive as little as I do, but I also know that countless Americans have bigger and less efficient vehicles than they need, which they drive faster than necessary, and make trips that could be consolidated into fewer miles driven. The American people generally, regardless of whom they vote for, haven’t begun to take climate change seriously in their personal lives.
I’m not likely to be around much longer, but what human beings, led by the rapacious economic system of the U.S. have done to the planet and the other species that need to share it with us, is unforgivable. And there is no sign that any adequate change of course is imminent. We continue to hold international meetings to decide on climate goals that no one ever manages to meet and in most cases there is no real effort to even try.
Yes, it is, but prices are mostly significantly higher than they were in the recent past and people’s incomes, for the most part, have not kept pace. I don’t blame the Biden Administration for inflation, but expecting the American voter to ignore current prices is unrealistic. The typical American voter is poorly informed and blames politicians for things they don’t control, while simultaneously giving them credit for other things they don’t control. It is critical for Biden to win next year, but simply stating that inflation is now low, fails to recognize that the current 3.1% is the rate at which prices increase on top of the current already higher prices.
Yes, many (Most? All?) American corporations are greedy and predatory, but that isn’t going to change and there is no sign that any adjustments, like requiring some level of corporate social responsibility, will ever be a part of the U.S. economy.
All true, and that does nothing to improve her standing with the electorate. Unless someone figures out a way to encourage or force American voters to take politics more seriously — that means being actively involved and well-informed, not simply getting angry because things are a mess — things are likely to get worse, not better. Voters turn out to show their rejection of the Republican’s forced birth policy, but they still elect Republicans in horrifying numbers. Once a state constitutional amendment is in place protecting a woman’s right to control here reproductive life, are voters willing to continue to vote for Republicans because that threat has been removed? If not, then general election results ought to look more like special election results. And they don’t.
Americans have a right to be angry, but their anger is too often misdirected and not the fault of politicians, but of the people who elect them. Want a better Congress? Elect better senators and representatives, which means more Democrats. A lot more. Want a good president? You’ve got one, so don’t even consider voting for Donald Trump or any other Republican.
Ruckus
@Betty Cracker:
I’ve crossed this country by truck and 50 ft trailer, by truck alone more than once, by motorcycle more than once, and by car also more than once. It’s a hoot. And I never want to do it again. But that’s mainly because I’ve done it enough already.
Neal
I was never the brightest bulb in the class so I have always admired those who are nimble with language.
Yet everywhere I turn to read interesting insights and solid news is now extremely laced with profanity. I am almost at the point, at the ripe old age of 61, of not wanting to click on anything–including here more and more.
No, I am not a prude. Rather it is simply that I am interested in wish others have to say as I can learn from them. But how am I supposed to be impressed with someone’s line of argument if it relies solely on profanity? Even the village dolt could do that. If has become a lazy person’s crutch.
And place don’t say that this is merely a way to show one’s true “passion” and investiture in the topic. Please… Passion is dedicating oneself to something or someone in a meaningful way, not asking WTF every 6.32 seconds.
Joseph Conrad once said that the beauty and power of the English language is that one can convey profanity without actually using it. I love that quote and while I often fall with it, I consider it a good goal.
My gosh I am getting to be a grumpy old man, but I truly pine for the days when individuals worked on expression and I so admired them for being bright, witty, puckish, insightful, and many other things as they spoke.
TriassicSands
@wmd:
I think of it as the FuckUp Truck.
I’ve always favored function over form (for most utilitarian things), but your aptly named “Incel Camino” fails in both categories. Millions of Americans have adopted pickup trucks they don’t really need, and Musk has now created a truck that is both hideous and poorly suited to many of the tasks for which such vehicles were originally designed. That could mean there may be a sizable market for it in the U.S. (Yes, I am cynical about some things.)
NotMax
Earlier you mentioned you’re having the tires rotated. If your vehicle has one of those stupid donut spares, make sure to check its inflation.
Ruckus
@dmsilev:
And it’s the car you never want to get in that video game. I call it a modern day Edsel, it has the same amount of, is it charm? The Edsel may have looked better in it’s day.
NotMax
@Neal
Come sit by me. Overuse of blue terminology dilutes the impact.
NotMax
@Ruckus
Grand Effed Auto?
TriassicSands
@Neal:
After having stated my crude name for Musk’s truck, I still have to agree with you. The language in films and TV shows (some of which get raves) are laced with non-stop vulgar language. Long ago, it was obvious that the language used in films and TV shows failed to match reality. Entire films about the military at war had not a single swear word in them. Today, it often seems like even members of the clergy are using F-this and F-that almost nonstop. Moms tell their kids to shut-the-F up.
I’ve always thought that f*ck, was a very expressive word if used sparingly and appropriately. Today, it almost seems that “hour-long” shows could fit into a 30-minute slot, if all the vulgarity were edited out.
RaflW
@Alison Rose: Took me a minute to realize it is an IncEl Camino.
Now I think it’s hilarious.
RaflW
@Betty Cracker: BF and I did an epic 6,600 mile one-month loop trip from MN down via Nashville to Selma, AL, east to Raleigh Durham, up the Atlantic coast to Cape Cod, then west to Niagra (then into Canada) and finishing with a coal-fired ferry across Lake Michigan and back to MN. And that’s a very partial list of stops.
Lots of very memorable moments. A few absurdly bad hotels (we got to the point that we were like an Indy pit crew-could unload food/coolers/ luggage/etc and be in our room in minutes, and the reverse the next day or two at checkout). And we still liked each other when we got home!!
Fair Economist
@Suzanne:
And “ept”, opposite of “inept”. I actually find it a pretty useful word.
Fair Economist
Cybertruck: Incel Inside.
Alison Rose
@Neal: I mean…this is a blog, not the NYT or something. It’s fine to not choose to use profanity or to not like hearing it, but a blog, when it comes down to it, is largely the thoughts of the authors. And some people just think that way. As anyone who has read at least three comments from me knows, I curse like a drunken sailor. I can cheekily blame that on having two older brothers and a mother raised in Brooklyn. But it’s just the way I talk, and has been for a while, since adolescence really. It’s not an affectation or anything I do consciously. I do it even when I’m just mumbling to myself. I don’t think of it as caused by “passion” but just…me being me.
And I will note that being “nimble with language” and using profanity are not mutually exclusive. I have worked as a writer and editor, in some cases where I could curse and some where I couldn’t, and I was equally skilled at both. And I think it’s a bit unfair to say that just because someone uses profanity, it means you cannot be impressed with their arguments. Since you referenced the “village dolt” I will also note that, despite what many people want to believe is true, cursing a lot is not a sign of low intelligence. I don’t think it’s specifically a sign of high intelligence; rather, I don’t think profanity and IQ are correlated in any sense.
And as I have ranted about elsewhere in life many times: Curse words are just words. They are just words that someone at some point decided were “bad”. (Please note I do not include slurs in this category.) Why is “darn” okay but “damn” isn’t? Why would someone be okay with saying “crud” but not “crap”? Why is less offensive for me to say “this fricking thing” than “this fucking thing”? All language is made up, and thus none of it has any inherent goodness or badness — that is poured into it by us. Slurs are different because that badness is meant to harm and violate another human. Curse words are just meant as, I don’t know, linguistic decoration. Sprinkles on a cake, crown molding in a fancy home, gilt lettering on book spines — all things that don’t really serve a necessary purpose and that could be removed with no damage to the rest of the object, but which add a bit of interest or flair and also don’t cause damage to the rest of the object. Maybe you hate when sprinkles get stuck in your teeth, think crown molding is the upper middle class way of pretending to be in the 1%, are one of those weirdos who shelve their books page-edges out so who cares about a spine…and maybe you personally think blog posts read better without a bunch of swears. Totally fine. But you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, and people like John and I are probably beyond the point of modifying our native blue tongue.
Also, there is no other word in the English language more versatile than “fuck” and dag nammit, I’m gonna use it in every possible way I can during my time on this mortal coil.
NotMax
@Fair Economist
Ept is a word found in the dictionary, whereas gruntled is not. In fact have used it on multiple occasions here.
ceece
@Fair Economist: I just saw someone else call it a sport futility vehicle, but I think incEL Camino is inspired also.
Saw a test one on the road a couple weeks ago and they really do look THAT stupid.
Glidwrith
@Alison Rose: I cursed less when I was younger. As I have aged and become more aware of evil being done using the most civil of language, I have chosen to curse when I see or read of such acts.
It is fun, however, to construct imaginative insults:
Dog-eared, dung-faced disgrace to a game keepers gibbet (courtesy of Watership Down) is a favorite.
You suck the sweat off a donkey’s balls through a straw (from a lawyer friend).
Copraphagic cowardly cur works too.
NotMax
@Glidwrith
A Welsh classic.
Dim gwerth rhech dafad.
Not worth a sheep’s fart.
prostratedragon
Communication is fundamental to marriage: scene, The Long, Llong Trailer
HumboldtBlue
I’m hoping for some video, with pizzazz!
I just had a mini debate in my head bout should I use an exclamation mark after using pizzazz and the answer was yes.
gene108
@NotMax:
The alternative to “stupid” donut spares these days, for most cars, are run flat tires, which are becoming more common.
Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)
@TriassicSands:
Virginia Dems took control of both houses of the state legislature this year and it was a general election, albeit an off-year one. And who’s to say that GOP attempts to roll back the state constitutional protections for abortion voters approved won’t backfire on them?
HumboldtBlue
I’m thinking it will look something like this.
Only in winter.
Mike in Pasadena
If anyone mentions Biden’s age without noting Trump’s almost as old, my response is :
Trump claims Biden will start WWII and we don’t want to live through that again, but at least Trump’s not old or senile.
Trump claims he beat Obama in 2016, but at least. . . . you get the idea.
Confused about his location – Sioux City Iowa’s or Sioux Falls south Dakota
Continental army in Revolutionary War took control of the airports more than a hundred years before the Wright brothers flew over Kitty Hawk
Trump promised health care plan better cheaper than ACA and cover everybody, then forgot about it and never proposed any plan.
TriassicSands
@Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):
Some facts.
Ohio: 57% for abortion rights.
Senator: J.D. Vance (won in 2022 after Dobbs 53.1%)
Kansas: 59.16% — 40.84%
Senate: Jerry Moran (won in 2022 after Dobbs 60%)
Kentucky vote for abortion rights: 52.5%
Kentucky governor: 52.3% Dem
But: Senators McConnell (won in 2020 before Dobbs 57.8%)
and Rand Paul (won in 2022 after Dobbs 61.8% )
House delegation: 5 of 6 are Reps
We’ll see if that changes for the better in 2024.
VA; Senate 21 Dems 19 Reps
VA: House of Delegates 51 Dems 49 Reps
So, far, I don’t think there is anything like significant evidence that Republicans will suffer proportionately at the polls.
Gerrymandering can skew House elections, but not the Senate.
We’ll see if 2024 shows something different, but anyone who bets too much on a positive outcome (meaning shifts that mirror abortion voting) is likely to be disappointed. I hope that kind of change will happen, but it will surprise me.
If Republicans were smart (they aren’t) they’d leave things alone until after 2024. Voters are fickle and have short memories.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
Sadly, even over here in the eastern Med, the media is coming through with a vibe of “inevitable Trump victory”. Had a colleague ask me how the hell that could be happening, and I had to go through the whole thing, the media being half in the tank for the Republicans, the Crazification Factor (the explanation of which took him by surprise), the advent of the Cult of Trump, but I was sure to include the good news, such as Trump being in a much weaker position than eight years ago, the fact that Biden’s already beaten him once, and the election results of the last couple of years (the comment that the Dems are doing better at the polls than in the polls got a laugh). Plus Dobbs. If the last election’s shown anything, it’s just how badly the elites underestimated just how much that has pissed people off.
Unfortunately, the major messaging structures are now in the hands of plutocrats, which means the right wing has a structural advantage in getting out their message.
TriassicSands
@Mike in Pasadena:
People who don’t think Trump is old and deranged are crazy (and incredibly stupid).
People who think that Biden is old (are right) and senile (are really stupid and crazy).
Hmm, maybe there is a common threat among American voters.
Ruckus
@Alison Rose:
@Glidwrith:
I swore since before I was a teen. I learned by working in the family machine shop. Mostly males working there, it’s somewhat dirty and just a tad on the dangerous side. Swearing was part of the daily language. Also I was later on in the Navy and swearing was necessary to basically communicate much of the time. Also had a PE teacher in the 7th grade who didn’t like to look down so he’d pick up kids by putting his hand around your neck and picking you up by it. I figured that if he did that to me my foot would land in exactly the right place and when he got me kicked out of school for kicking him in that place as I was being held up in the air, my father would likely do to him the same as he was doing to me and land a knee in the same location I did. Thus it would have been a twofer. Which seemed rather reasonable. Never got to test this theory. Which I look back upon and feel deprived.
Ruckus
@Mike in Pasadena:
ShitForBrains has some support but a lot of it has seemingly fallen off and he seems to be getting senile rather rapidly. I understand that a number of his speeches have been, let’s say, more on the side of senility than prior. I think that as his sell by date is way past due the results are starting to show up in rather unmistakable fashion. I’d bet he tries to run in the next election but if his regression proceeds at it’s current rate I’m not sure he’ll even come close. Plus a few of his legal issues seem to be coming into a wider view and court dates are looming. One can only hope for the best outcome for the country. Which of course won’t be the best for SFB.
raven
@Neal: bullshit
Betty Cracker
@Alison Rose: Fuckin’ A!
lowtechcyclist
@Betty Cracker:
Me too! My most memorable summer ever was a trip across the country and back 40 years ago. I’ve wanted to do another ever since.
But like your hubby, my wife isn’t up for that. When I was done with grad school and we were both firmly ensconced in academic positions, I broached the subject as our first free summer approached. And she was adamant that she wasn’t going to leave the felines in someone else’s care for more than two weeks.
And I was going, “two weeks?! You can take a 2-week vacation from a regular job. This was the one big advantage of being in academia, and you’re throwing it away!” And eventually we got regular jobs which, a quarter century later, we are now retired from.
The kid’s still a junior in high school, so our days of being footloose and fancy-free aren’t totally here yet. We’ll see how much she lets me travel on my own once our time really is our own.
lowtechcyclist
@dmsilev:
Sweet!
lowtechcyclist
@NotMax:
Alternatively, for $20 at the hardware store, you can buy a gizmo that runs off the not-a-cigarette-lighter in your car that you can use to inflate your tires wherever you happen to be.
lowtechcyclist
@NotMax:
Neither one is in my dictionary, which says that the root of ‘inept’ is ‘apt,’ not ‘ept.’
Paul in KY
@dmsilev: The cybertruck owner was probably stealing that tree from federal land.
Paul in KY
@Alison Rose: I’m going to use that whenever I see one! Note: have not seen one yet.
mrmoshpotato
@Alison Rose: Oh who the fuck is giving you shit for your potty mouth?!
frosty
@Betty Cracker: That was the perfect response!
@Alison Rose: Nice rant!
@Ruckus: I started dropping f-bombs in 7th grade.
Paul in KY
@Ruckus: I think one of the problems with the Edsel was that it came out the same time as 58 Chevy Impala. Check them both out. The Impala definitely looks better and that hurt the Edsel (IMO).
Paul in KY
@Neal: Mr. Conrad had books to sell, back in the day when one ‘damn’ or ‘shit’ could get your work banned.
Geminid
@Paul in KY: Depending on where the Cybertruck owner was, taking the tree might have been allowed. Many National Forests allow someone to cut a tree with a permit. The permits are probably issued on-line.
Paul in KY
@Geminid: Did not know that. Thank you for the information.
Ixnay
@Alison Rose: Fookin’ a right.
Thanks
Ixnay
@Alison Rose: Fookin’ a right.
Thanks
trollhattan
@dmsilev: Heh. :-)
Having hi-centered our old Audi Quattro a few times in snow I’m not unaware or immune to doing Something Dumb in the stuff.
Very happy to visit it, do not want to live where I have to deal with it on mother nature’s schedule.
Nancy
@Alison Rose:
I occasionly try to monitor my use of fuck as an adjective and verb, but I do see the merits of using the word.
Bear with me as I explain.
I work as a mental health therapist. I’ve found that the word fuck has power and meaning for some clients. Some of the women I see feel overwhelmed by conventional rules and expectations. They have believed for much of their lives that they should think, feel, and behave in certain conventional ways.
For these clients, hearing their therapist say, “well, fuck that shit”, judiciously, when appropriate, seems to be validating, possibly even empowering.
And sometimes, when I stub my toe, saying fuck makes me feel better.