ZARDOZ FLORIDA BRUTAL AFTERNOON LINKS

THE GATOR IS GOOD!

 

ZARDOZ SPEAKS TO YOU, HIS CHOSEN ONES. AS OF THE POSTING OF THESE LINKS, IT IS BELIEVED THAT BRETT L IS SOMEWHERE ON THE WATER. THIS MAY OR MAY NOT INVOLVE; MANATEES, GATORS, METH, HURRICANES, CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL, PYTHONS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT. THEREFORE, ZARDOZ HAS AGREED TO FILL IN.

THE CHOSEN ONES HAVE DONE WELL, SNARKING AT THE BRUTALS WHO PLAGUE THE EARTH (AND SOCIAL MEDIA, AND BLOGS, AND WEBSITE COMMENT SECTIONS, AND YOUTUBE…) FOR YOUR EFFORTS, RECEIVE THE GIFT OF THE LINK..FLORIDA BRUTAL STYLE!

  • DENIZENS OF THE BRUTAL STATE OF FLORIDA…CAN TELL THEIR OWN. ZARDOZ IS ALSO SHOCKED TO LEARN THERE STILL IS A TIME MAGAZINE. WAS IT NOT SOLD FOR $3.18 AND A BOX OF DAY OLD KRISPY KREME DONUTS?
  • FLORIDA FEMALE BRUTAL BEHAVES…LIKE A FLORIDA FEMALE BRUTAL. ZARDOZ IS PUZZLED BY THE VERY PRECISE BAIL NUMBER.
  • DOES THIS REPTILE QUALIFY AS “LARGE” IN THE BRUTAL STATE OF FLORIDA?
  • ZARDOZ WAS UNAWARE THAT BEACHES IN THE BRUTAL STATE OF FLORIDA RIVALED THOSE OF THE BRUTAL NATION OF AUSTRALIA FOR DEADLINESS!

ZARDOZ HAS SPOKEN.

Comments

432 responses to “ZARDOZ FLORIDA BRUTAL AFTERNOON LINKS”

  1. Evenin’ ZARDOZ

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      Mornin’

    2. ZARDOZ

      ZARDOZ SPEAKS TO YOU, HIS CHRONOLOGICALLY CHALLENGED CHOSEN ONE. IT IS LATE NIGHT AT THE VORTEX. ZARDOZ HAS SPOKEN.

      1. Rebel Scum

        Sure, but it is evening in the only timezone that matters.

        1. Rhywun

          Did everyone move to Europe or something while I wasn’t looking?

          It isn’t evening yet anywhere in ‘Murica.

          1. Rebel Scum

            East coast. So I suppose it is technically still afternoon.

          2. I’m home from work – it’s evening

  2. I would think that Florida is fertile ground for finding new Brutal Exterminators.

    1. More like the ground itself does the ‘sterminatin’…

  3. CPRM

    Alligator Alley in Broward County.

    Is that where Florida Man goes to mourn the loss of his parents ala Batman?

    1. leon

      Yes. It would be more sympathetic of it hadn’t been him who ran them over for Meth Money.

    2. Juvenile Bluster

      Alligator Alley is about 80 miles of flat, straight road between western Broward County and Naples. Most of it is Seminole Indian land so you don’t see any cops until you get close to Naples. Unless the road is closed by a wildfire, which happens all the time.

      1. cyto

        It is also a great place to take the kids fishing. You can pull up just about anywhere and drop a bobber and worm into the water and pull in just about every native and non-native species right from the bank. I take a vanload of the rugrats out to the first boat ramp west of the toll plaza several times a year. They always have a great time. We usually see several alligators, a few snakes, lizards, all sorts of weird grasshoppers and loads of different species of fish.

        We’ve hooked up alligators a couple of times as well. One was well over 10 feet. I have a great video of a couple of elementary school boys screaming with delight as they attempt to reel it in on a cheap zebco 202. In the background you can hear a much less excited Cyto telling them that we are going to have to cut the line as the enormous predator gets closer…

        1. Spartacus

          I have often looked out over the glades from there and thought “this is the perfect place to dispose of body.”

  4. Stinky Wizzleteats

    “Woman Dies from Flesh-eating Disease on Coquina Beach”

    Sounds like they should have taken her somewhere for treatment.

  5. Tres Cool

    Who on here had the brilliant idea for the “florida-meth-gator-nado”?
    I’d totally watch that.

    1. Tres Cool

      FIF!

    2. Tonio

      As long as Q and I get to cast it.

      1. Count Potato

        Hairy guys with huge boobs?

  6. AlmightyJB

    The last good thing to come out of Austria

    https://youtu.be/BL0fIHI1-sM?t=1m1s

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      I thought it was going to be Hedy Lamarr.

      1. Juvenile Bluster

        That’s Hedley!

        1. Tres Cool

          Harrumph!

          1. Mad Scientist

            What the hell are you worried about? This is 1874. You’ll be able to sue her!

    2. Falco. The answer is always Falco.

  7. The Late P Brooks

    The python’s nest was lodged within the outdoor structure underneath a home. Some of the eggs hatched upon the conservationist’s arrival.

    ——-

    “The Burmese Python poses a significant threat to the Florida Everglades by disrupting the natural food chain,” said Bergeron. “With good fortune, we were able to find a large female, and remove her and an entire nest of up to 50 baby snakes which would have continued killing off our precious habitat.”

    Um wut?

    1. The Other Kevin

      50 baby snakes?
      :: shudders ::

    2. Florida Man

      Pythons are in a class by themselves. Our natives snakes are nowhere that big and we don’t have any predators that eat snakes that big, minus the occasional alligator or panther.

      1. Tres Cool

        Damn you!

        Baby Snakes.

    3. Semi-Spartan Dad

      There was a report released about five years ago that showed most of the python’s prey were actually increasing in population. The report was still framed as the sky is falling from giant pythons.

      1. Francisco d’Anconia

        The sky is always falling.

        I miss the days when sex sold more than fear.

        1. Pythons falling from the sky?

          This sounds like a python flying circus.

          1. Mad Scientist

            It’s!

      2. Florida Man

        I sure hope so. I’m generally skeptical of the sky is falling predictions.

        1. Semi-Spartan Dad

          It’s unfortunate. Like most similar things, it accompanied crackdown by the government. The federal government, pushed by some animal advocacy groups that want to ban pet ownership, outlawed interstate commerce of several snake species through amendments to the Lacey Act. This destroyed many small businesses that breed and sell constrictors. There’s some corollaries to this with gun control. Start with the scary guns/animals and advance. That’s what these groups are trying and largely succeeding as more pet ownership is restricted. Virginia underwent massive regulations several years ago on the restriction of all of sorts of animals. Private, unaccredited zoos are heading towards extinction.

          You can also see the agenda in the media reports about the cause of the epidemic. My understanding is that most of the original Burmese were released into the wild when Hurricane Andrew destroyed some small zoos and one private breeding facility. However, the blame has been continuously directed at irresponsible owners who aren’t under enough regulation. I’m sure there’s some irresponsible owners who released their snakes, but we have the same overtones here of the average gun owner being responsible for mass shooting. There’s been some great articles written about the overlap in tactics used by the left to take down anything not approved of.

          1. Semi-Spartan Dad

            *overlap in tactics specifically by the anti-gun crowd and the anti-pet ownership groups though I imagine it applies to most Left groups.

          2. Florida Man

            That would make a great article.

          3. Semi-Spartan Dad

            That’s a good idea. I think Glibertarians might be the only non-interest group on the planet who would be against banning the ownership of 25 foot constrictors out of principle alone.

          4. Of you decide to write up the article, let me know. I have a paragraph or two worth of anger against the Lacey act for banning interstate shipments of certain “invasive” aquatic plants.

          5. cyto

            in contrast, you can’t just kill these invasive animals. You have to have a special license that is really tough to get.

            Closer to home, we have a plague of iguanas. Also tough to kill until recently. Now we are allowed to dispatch them ourselves, as long as it is done by one of a list of humane methods. 4-10 with #4 shot is not on the list.

  8. Crusty Juggler

    It’s time to play another round of everyone’s favorite evening links game, Fit Lady* Friday! This is where we all post links of our most favorite, fittest gals doing fit gal things.

    Katee Sackhoff climbing a rope.

    *Feel free to sub in a male or trans or other if that’s your thing – all are welcome on Fit Lady Friday!

    1. CPRM

      Wait, it’s Friday?! Shit, I’m supposed to be at work!

    2. (and it’s Thursday)

      1. Raston Bot

        uhhhhhhh alternating her dumbbell snatches *IN MID AIR* is a bad idea.

    3. The Other Kevin

      This is quite the bromance you two have going on here.

      1. Crusty Juggler

        Jealousy is a stinky cologne.

      2. The Other Kevin

        Not at all jealous. Other sites are lucky to have one resident poster of tit links. Now we have TWO!

        1. Count Potato

          Well, they come in pairs.

    4. ZARDOZ

      ZARDOZ SPEAKS TO YOU, HIS OTHER CHRONOLOGICALLY CHALLENGED CHOSEN ONE. IT IS NOT YET “FRIDAY”. UNLESS, YOU ARE PART OF THE CHOSEN ONES IN THE FAR EAST, AUSTRALIA OR CENTRAL ASIA. ZARDOZ HAS SPOKEN.

      1. Crusty Juggler

        lol I’m not some woke libtard – I play by my own rules.

        1. Old Man With Candy

          But you don’t go Full Brooks and refuse to thread. So you’re not a feral juggler.

    5. Tonio

      Hafthor Bjornsson lifting and carrying heavy things.

        1. cyto

          Uh… damn!

          I would say “oh, to be young again”, but I ain’t fooling’ anyone…

    6. JaimeRoberto: Gentleman, Scholar, French Tickler

      “Feel free to sub in a male or trans or other if that’s your thing”. With a name like Sackhoff, I figured she was transgender.

      1. Crusty Juggler

        Now I know I could never possibly have the worst post here.

      2. R C Dean

        Most excellent, Jaime.

    7. Crusty Juggler

      This one hurt to watch. Also, that jiggle…

      1. Did you bang the divorcee?

        1. Crusty Juggler

          A lady never tells…

      1. I miss Annie’s boobs.

    8. Crusty Juggler

      Hillary Swank

      Is she attractive I say yes, but I also say no.

      Then I say yes again.

    9. DEG

      Wonder Woman cosplay.

      Based on her instagram page, she also likes to shoot guns.

  9. Juvenile Bluster

    Kid still in surgery. Been too stressed to be stressed.

    Guess that they haven’t come and told us anything has gone wrong is good.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      You’ve got to burst into the OR and cause a scene. That always motivates the doctors.

      Things I learned from TV.

      (on a more serious note, I wish you and your daughter well)

      1. Crusty Juggler

        Hold the place hostage for some unknown reason until the unknown situation is resolved or you have to pee.

    2. The Other Kevin

      Thanks for keeping us up to date. No news is indeed good news at this point.

    3. Tonio

      Good luck.

    4. Gustave Lytton

      Hang in there, we’re all pulling for her and you.

    5. Chipwooder

      Hoping for nothing but good news.

    6. R C Dean

      I’d be losing my mind. The frontal cortex knows it will be fine. The hindbrain, not so much.

    7. Best to your family. Hoping for an excellent outcome!

    8. Old Man With Candy

      Listen to Chet, he’s pre-med.

    9. Count Potato

      Praying for your kid.

    10. Aren’t you glad this isn’t the NHS where you’d still be waiting for approval of the paperwork to get the paperwork for the admissions board to review your case for scheduling?

    11. DEG

      Best wishes.

    1. The Other Kevin

      “On the Rise” => DO NOT READ

      1. Rhywun

        Also, “some point to”.

        1. “Bacteria Pounce”

    2. prolefeed

      If BBC news is to be believed, it will only do it for 18 more months – their headline:

      “Climate change: 12 years to save the planet? Make that 18 months”

      Someone needs to point out that if you’re gonna make statements that can be observed to be false, 18 months is way too short a timeline.

      1. that can be observed to be false

        They can’t be, that’s the point.

        1. leon

          You’re not suggesting that they would make highly urgent but eventually unverifiable claims? That wouldn’t be “scientific”.

      2. JaimeRoberto: Gentleman, Scholar, French Tickler

        If we don’t do anything now, we’ll be dead by morning!

    3. Hyperion

      “Climate change; is there nothing it can’t do!?”

      I have been assured that there indeed, is not anything it cannot do. Want to start that new career in research? Pick a topic, conclude that it’s tied to climate change. Profit!

  10. Florida Man

    DOES THIS REPTILE QUALIFY AS “LARGE” IN THE BRUTAL STATE OF FLORIDA?-

    16 ft is a big freaking snake for FL.

    1. ZARDOZ

      ZARDOZ SPEAKS TO YOU, HIS HERPETOLOGICAL CHOSEN ONE. THEN ZARDOZ SHALL MOURN ITS CAPTURE – ZARDOZ WAS HOPING IT WOULD REACH BRUTAL CONSUMING SIZE. ZARDOZ HAS SPOKEN

    2. Tonio

      Sixteen feet is a big freaking snake anywhere.

    3. R C Dean

      There’s good eatin’ on a python.

      1. Count Potato

        But you need a really long loaf pan.

  11. The Late P Brooks

    I’m a capitalist, but…

    For decades, we proved that rules are good for business. We generated tremendous wealth while protecting consumers, strengthening the middle class, and lifting workers.

    Then something changed in the 1980s. Our rules weakened, some disappeared. Our leaders (from both the left and the right) changed our economic philosophy from moderated capitalism to unchecked trickle-down. We eviscerated our safety net. Our middle class began shrinking, workers’ wages stagnated, and more and more wealth became concentrated in the hands of a very few.

    The referees were taken off the field, and one team has been running up the score while the average American is made to believe “This is capitalism. Love it or leave it.”

    ——-

    So far only Elizabeth Warren has a plan to put the vast sums of wealth that have been hoarded by the ultra-rich and taken out of our economy back into play – this is money that will be spent by consumers and will strengthen businesses. She will help balance the scales on college debt and lower tuition so our workforce can focus on building their lives. She understands the role financial institutions play in shaping the wealth of our country, but also understands the need to bolster safety nets through consumer protections. And that doesn’t even scratch the surface of what she’s planning on doing. She’s got viable plans to fix it and isn’t afraid to get it done.

    Only Warren has vision. She knows what “Capitalism 2.0” looks like and how to get our country there. She has not lost faith in us, in our democracy, or in American capitalism. Other candidates need to catch up if they want to convince voters they can make this country start working for everyone again.

    Todd Carmichael is the cofounder and CEO of La Colombe Coffee.

    To be sure, to be sure. Plans. She haz.

    I wonder if the Warren campaign will report a dollar value for this kkkorporate kkkampaign kkkontribution.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      Who here doesn’t wish for a return to the 1970’s?

    2. CPRM

      vast sums of wealth that have been hoarded by the ultra-rich and taken out of our economy

      Damn Scrooge McDucks!

      1. BEAM’s not a team player

        . . . vast sums of wealth that have been hoarded by the ultra-rich and taken out of our economy . . .

        Wealth — what is it? How does it work?

    3. leon

      “We eviscerated our safety net”

      :Looks at growing list of federal programs:

      Where is this universe progressives live in and how can I get into it?

    4. Fatty Bolger

      Rules weakened? This is so far from reality it’s ridiculous. Do a little research on any product you might want to buy and you’ll find an ungodly amount of rules that have to be followed, most of which have been implemented in the last 30 years.

    5. Enough About Palin

      “So far only Elizabeth Warren has a plan to put the vast sums of wealth that have been hoarded by the ultra-rich and taken out of our economy back into play”

      So like they keep it in their mattresses? How fucking stupid do you have to e not to realize they invest it. Oh, I get it. Lizzy will invest it better.

      1. Yes, the lion’s share of the wealth held by the ‘uber-rich’ is the value of their stock in active businesses. It’s the opposite of ‘hoarded’.

        Which also goes to show how stupid Warren’s ‘wealth tax’ would be. Let’s say for easy figuring Jeff Bezos owns 20% of Amazon’s stock, which makes up almost the entirety of his great wealth. If he had to pay a 3% ‘wealth tax’ under Warren’s plan, that would mean he’d need to sell 0.6% of Amazon’s stock just to pay the tax. But that would probably have a big effect on Amazon’s share price. So which 3% would he have to pay it on, the share price before or after? And stock market fluctuations can cause such individuals’ worth to fluctuate by millions of dollars per day. Would her plan ‘pick a day’ as the tax target? And if so, wouldn’t the mega-wealthy try to drive down stock prices just before that day, to save themselves a ton on taxes — and what might that do to everyone else in the economy?

        Yes, she’s so smart! She worked at Harvard.

        1. DEG

          Yes, she’s so smart! She worked at Harvard.

          One of these things is not like the….

          oh.

          Right.

          My sarcasm detector must be on the fritz.

    6. JaimeRoberto: Gentleman, Scholar, French Tickler

      You know who else had plans?

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Me before kids?

        1. TARDIS

          Me before kids marriage?

      2. Frank Lloyd Wright?

        1. Count Potato

          *bleep bloop*

      3. A man, a canal, Panama?

    7. R C Dean

      For decades, we proved that rules are good for business.

      Well, some are, sure. But not every single freakin’ rule anybody can dream up, like this implies.

      Then something changed in the 1980s. Our rules weakened, some disappeared.

      Then why is every municipal code, state and federal statute book, state and federal regulatory code, and state and federal regulatory apparatus, vastly expanded since the 1980s?

      1. Mad Scientist

        Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!

    8. Hyperion

      “Then something changed in the 1980s”

      Ah, I see you’re speaking about increased government interference in our free markets. And of course, you conclude that the only cure is more government interference. Brilliant.

      1. cyto

        I think she means the 70’s, when Carter did his deregulation thing. And then there’s the phone company. Yeah, cheap airfares to everywhere and a phone in my pocket that can navigate me to anywhere while I watch HD movies and talk to any place on the planet, all for $50 bucks…that’s a dystopian future alright. Oh, and allowing companies to reverse engineer the IBM BIOS… that really killed the economy.

    9. TARDIS

      What a coincidence this is. Here I am in my first visit to the greatest nation on Earth’s capitol (AKA the Swamp), and I was about to visit this dude’s coffee shop. I’m glad I didn’t because it was too hot outside.

      Capitalism 2.0?

      LOL

      Whatever.

      1. Rhywun

        There’s something about pricey coffee shops that makes them compete to out-woke each other. Hell, just browsing the coffee aisle at the supermarket is a political exercise.

  12. The Late P Brooks

    Pythons are in a class by themselves. Our natives snakes are nowhere that big and we don’t have any predators that eat snakes that big, minus the occasional alligator or panther.

    It’s the “killing off our precious habitat” that got me. Are the pythons building condos and shopping malls in the Everglades?

    1. Florida Man

      I think the concern is eating all the natives mammals and birds. I’m sure they will eat baby turtles and alligators too. With 50 to a clutch, their population is going to explode. Only time will tell.

  13. Semi-Spartan Dad

    Anyone else have Comcast internet? Their mobile service just announced they are now allowing android users to bring their own phones over. I’ve been waiting for this to switch over so thought I’d mention it in case anyone else was too.

    1. Florida Man

      Comcast is the second worst business I have ever dealt with.

      1. Juvenile Bluster

        Same here, but AT&T is the worst, and since my choices are Xfinity or UVerse…

        I haven’t had a problem with my Comcast internet, fwiw, except that they haven’t run speeds higher than 150mpbs out to where I live.

        1. R C Dean

          What do you need those speeds for?

          1. Oh, look at Mister “I don’t have to stream my midget tranny porn” over here. Check your privilege!

      2. Semi-Spartan Dad

        I bitterly hate Comcast. They’re my only realistic internet choice though. If you have their Internet, then you can enroll in the accompanying mobile service which is the only good thing. It’s ridiculously cheap and runs on Verizon’s network. My bill for 2 phones will drop from $75/month to either $3 or $15/month depending on how much data I use.

        1. Florida Man

          Whoa. That is a good deal.

        2. mock-star

          I see alot of Comcast hate around the internet. But I previously had Atlantic Broadband, and I really LOVE Comcast compared to them.

      3. JaimeRoberto: Gentleman, Scholar, French Tickler

        Their internet service has been pretty good, and that’s all I get from them since i cut the cord a couple years ago. They are just too damn expensive.

      4. Hyperion

        “Comcast is the second worst business I have ever dealt with.”

        What? You’ve dealt with government? That’s officially, not a business. Otherwise, no, your claim has to be false.

      5. DEG

        I’ve actually never had trouble with Comcast except their website site is garbage.

        I only use them for Internet. No phone or cable TV.

        I had nothing but trouble with Verizon landline service in the past which is why the landline for my house is not hooked up. I chuckled when Verizon sold their NH landline business to Fairpoint, and then chuckled again when Fairpoint declared bankruptcy.

  14. Tonio

    So today I saw a Pete (Buttgieg?) 2020 sticker on a nondescript mini-suv with one of those thin blue line (don’t ticket me, bro) tribal stickers. WTF?

    1. Gustave Lytton

      They support a politician that admits he is completely unable to control his own police department ?

    2. Bob Boberson

      Statists gonna state. If they are going to be wrong on most issues, why not go ahead and be wrong on all of them?

    3. Bob Boberson

      Also, I find that more consistent that to white trash in WV that like to put both the thin-blue-line sticker and the Gadsden flag in their back window.

      1. Tonio

        We have those in regular Virginia, too, Bob. Most annoying.

    4. I saw a “thin green stripe” flag today for the first time. No idea which branch of government dick it’s supposed to be sucking.

      1. Not Adahn

        EPA?

        Game Warden?

        Park Ranger?

        Federally-funded Gaia worshipper climate scientist?

      2. Tonio

        Red is Firefighter. Blue is Emergency Medical Services.

        “No idea which branch of government dick it’s supposed to be sucking.”

        [golf clap]

        1. I thought blue was the cops, what with the fat blue line stuff.

          1. Tonio

            Oops, should have said dark blue is po-po. Light blue (often with EMS sigil) is EMS. Also, a lot of professional Fire/EMS folk default to red since most professionals (govt) EMS work for combined Fire/EMS bureau.

      3. Stinky Wizzleteats

        Here you go, all the American flag colored stripe related information you can stand:
        http://www.imagesco.org/what-does-black-american-flag-with-green-stripe-mean/

  15. Gustave Lytton

    What a shitty day. Manager decreed that no work will be done via email, all must go through the ticketing/tracking system. Except that most of the other work groups I interface with don’t use or have access to that ticketing system. And self generated tickets are verboten. Oh, to to top it off, guess who doesn’t use the ticketing system to pass on work but instead forwards emails or via phone?

    1. Not Adahn

      Hitler?

      1. Gustave Lytton

        *cue Downfall parody*

    2. Nephilium

      I hate managers who try to make proclamations and then immediately break the rules themselves, while putting more work on their subordinates.

      1. R C Dean

        I have a strict rule for my peeps (Legal, Compliance, Risk Management):

        We. Do. Not. Violate. Policy. I call it the Caesar’s Wife rule.

        Hell, every year I send letters to our law firms reminding them that under our code of ethics I cannot accept any Christmas gifts, including bottles of wine, food baskets, etc.

        1. Crusty Juggler

          And then you meet the aforementioned law firms in a dimly lit parking lot so that you can receive the gift baskets of not kickbacks in the form of cash, right?

          1. Tres Cool

            Worked for Iran and Obama.

        2. CPRM

          I send letters to our law firms reminding them that under our code of ethics I cannot accept any Christmas gifts, including bottles of wine, food baskets, etc.

          But you remind them your wife likes those things?

          1. R C Dean

            Not exactly, but apparently staying on my good side isn’t worth buying her an AMG, and nothing less would satisfy her, so . . . .

        3. I’m reminded of the rules I’m stuck with.

          Law says $70.

          Agency says $0.

          That means even in events where lunch is served to everyone in attendance, we’re not permitted to have any because it would violate the rules, even though A: EMC’s boxed lunches are not enough to sway my recommendation, and B: I don’t actually have that much ability to sway the people who make purchase decisions.

      2. Gustave Lytton

        I think he’s nut flexing in a feud with some of his counterparts, rather than trying to establish a principle.

        1. Lackadaisical

          ^this

        2. DinosaurNeil

          The higher I climb the company ladder, the more sympathy I have for moves like that. It’s probably a response to someone questioning the productivity of the department. People start putting your department in the cross hairs (usually to deflect from their own incompetence), then you have to take measures to make sure you can prove how much work is getting done, even though that itself is a questionable use of scarce resources.

          1. But if you can’t actually follow through with the directive for added documentation, that doesn’t help anything.

          2. DinosaurNeil

            That’s true. I’m not saying it’s right, only that I have sympathy. I understand where the half-assed attempt to track productivity more closely comes from. I find myself trying to balance between demonstrating things that I shouldn’t need to demonstrate and devoting resources to actual productive endeavors… and feeling like blood is going to shoot out of my eyes.

          3. then you have to take measures to make sure you can prove how much work is getting done, even though that itself is a questionable use of scarce resources.

            This is why I’m working at 8:30 on a Thursday night. Meaningless deadline next week, but there will be hell to pay if we don’t make it.

          4. I’m working at 8:30 on a thursday night because we’re migrating production servers to the Enterprise AD domain from the agency one.

            This always breaks something.

          5. DinosaurNeil

            I often stay late to meet tax filing deadlines when I’m 99% certain that nobody ever actually reads the returns.

          6. I think that would be more frustrating than this. I’m writing patent applications, and we have an arbitrary deadline of July 31 to get to a certain number of filed applications. Not because it matters, but because that’s how the GC measures our productivity, and we need to hit our Q3 goal.

            At least the work is valuable, if not the most exciting.

          7. I’m not doing anything as important or interesting as either of those.

            (I’m not a windows admin, I’m wrangling the application testers)

  16. AlmightyJB

    Not really a TV person, but might be worth a look.

    https://youtu.be/KbXy0f0aCN0

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      They’ll wreck it. Guaranteed.

      1. AlmightyJB

        I was thinking that as well

        1. Gustave Lytton

          Sad.

    2. kinnath

      I think I will pass on Star Woke.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Today’s writers are obsessed with jamming virtue signals at every possible point in the script. It’s annoying and distracting from the lack of plot.

      2. AlmightyJB

        This will prolly be fun though.

        https://youtu.be/ZlW9yhUKlkQ

    3. Rhywun

      Not TV. Streaming.

    4. Drake

      He looks more senile than Robert Mueller.

  17. Certified Public Asshat

    Here’s Every Democratic Presidential Candidate’s Plan to Solve Student Loan Debt

    To the comments! Check out this dumbass:

    Except your “plan” is bullshit that demonstrably doesn’t work at all, and just more typical Boomer pull-the-ladder-up horseshit. I came from an impoverished family that lived on AFDC for most of the 80s. My mom finally got a job, as a public school teacher in a remote rural district in northern Wisconsin, in 1989. When I went to school (at a public Ivy) in 1994, the vast riches she accumulated on her (probably 30. I didn’t even have a fucking car for most of the time, and when I got one, it was a clapped-out ‘86 Civic hatchback that I bought for $800, and which was frankly alarming to drive at freeway speeds. After graduating, I “upgraded” to an ‘88 Celica, which quickly fell apart and which I couldn’t afford to fix, so for most of my first six years in Chicago after school, I was strictly CTA. At one point I realized I hadn’t set foot outside the city in more than 18 mos. I never even dreamed of being able to afford a kid, and always took the appropriate precautions accordingly, and find your casual references to them hilarious in their presumption. Didn’t buy a house until last Dec, at 43 years of age. It’s 1000 sq ft.

    Yet, despite paying my loans for decades now, they’re still in the six-figure range, and have completely circumscribed the course of my life. Do you believe that having millions and millions of renters, instead of stakeholding property owners, is in any way good for any local community? Do you believe that poverty-class children should be made to pay a lifelong jizya as punishment for the circumstances of their birth? Do you believe that three individuals holding more wealth than ~165M other Americans combined is in any way good, right or fair? Do you believe that any society can actually long withstand such pathological disparities in wealth? Can you point to a single historical instance where such disparities did not eventually result in the destruction of said society due to class warfare and/or revolution?

    No offense, but fuck your mindset, and fuck into the ground. Forcing millions of people into indentured servitude because you were such a badass back in the day when tuition was $500/semester or whatever is idiotic, and I do not find your accomplishments in any way relevant or even impressive.

    1. kinnath

      Good, good. Let The Hate Flow Through You.

    2. Sean

      Womp Womp.

      “Paying for decades” and still that large of a balance?

      Horse shit.

      1. Gustave Lytton

        Also BS, his childhood story. His mom went from welfare to teaching position… without a degree? A degree she didn’t use during those welfare years? Or she was going to school and receiving welfare?

        1. Tonio

          ^THis. Shiznat don’t add up.

    3. Certified Public Asshat

      Whoops, html fucked up part of the first paragraph. The very hard to believe part:

      I worked the entire time, probably more than you; having torn apart and rebuilt my PC in ‘93 in order to play Doom, I quickly became a PC hardware wiz and was hired as a student sys admin at the university’s IT department, as well as at the Dept. of Biostatistics and Med Informatics. Worked a baseline of 20 hrs/wk throughout school, and very often less than 30.

      1. Gustave Lytton

        Universities often outnumber their student employees’ hours, because they expect them to be students first. Also, if he was such a whiz, graduating in 1998, he would have had stellar opportunities in those pre-bust years. Even in Chicago.

        1. Gustave Lytton

          Oh, he’s trying to say he worked more than anyone. 20 hours a week is nothing. Many people work full time or hold down multiple jobs while going to school. Or did.

          1. pistoffnick

            At one time I had 4 jobs and a full course load of engineering school.

            Did it suck? Fuck yeah it did.

            Did it pay off in the end? Fuck yeah it did.

        2. Gustave Lytton

          Outnumber? Wtf autocorrect? *often limit

        3. Tonio

          ^This (as corrected).

      2. Tonio

        Yeah, no. If he had decent sysadmin skills then he shouldn’t have taken until age 43 to be able to scrape up enough for a starter house, even if he was paying off an overpriced, useless degree in post-colonial grievance studies.

    4. Tonio

      “Forcing…”

    5. kinnath

      Didn’t buy a house until last Dec, at 43 years of age.

      Bought my first house at 48.

      It’s 1000 sq ft.

      Live somewhere cheaper. Like, maybe, Iowa.

      1. BEAM’s not a team player

        My first house was a post-WWII bungalow that was 900 sq. ft. My wife and I loved that place, and still have fond memories of it and the street it was situated on. Good neighbours, and teenagers that weren’t a pestilence on humanity.

      2. Enough About Palin

        In 1987 I inherited my house for absolutely free. Hell of a break. Well, except when I had to buy half of it back when I got divorced. Which reminds mr of the question and answer:

        Why is divorce so expensive?
        Because t’s worth it.

    6. leon

      “Do you believe that poverty-class children should be made to pay a lifelong jizya as punishment for the circumstances of their birth?”

      No that’s why I’m against paying for college for kids fortunate enough to go.

      1. Tonio

        ” jizya”

        WTF? Got to be trolling, and badly at that.

    7. Drake

      Hmm. I remember all the guys I was in the National Guard with who didn’t pay a dime of tuition at Rutgers, Monclair State, or Rowan. All smarter than this jackass from Cornell. On behalf of them, please accept this Nelson laugh.

      1. Gustave Lytton

        Or student loan repayment plan…

    8. A public Ivy? I know Cornell is a land-grant school, but I don’t think any of them are public.

      1. Chipwooder

        By public Ivy, I assumed he was talking about a school like Berkeley, UVA, Michigan, UNC. Those schools are commonly referred to as “public Ivys”

        1. Raston Bot

          we called UVA the ugly-girl school.

          1. Chipwooder

            Eh….it’s not Arizona State or anything, but there are plenty of attractive girls there. It’s not Vippy Sue for crissakes.

          2. Crusty Juggler

            Yeah, there are plenty of attractive women at UVA. It’s not like it’s Penn State or Columbia or Colgate.

          3. Tonio

            “Vippy Sue” LOL

      2. Certified Public Asshat

        I cleared my browser out and lost my kinja troll account unfortunately (fortunately?) or else I would have some follow up questions.

    9. Chipwooder

      Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let’s just break this one down here.He went to a “public Ivy in 1994”. No shit? So did I. How in the holy living fuck do you still have “six-figure range” outstanding loans two decades later????? College simply wasn’t that expensive back then. I went to a private school my freshman year, Pepperdine, and a public school after that, Virginia. For the 1994-95 year, Pepperdine tuition+room and board was somewhere around $30K. 1995-99, my UVA tuition was about $8K a year.

      OK, but that was in-state. What if this guy were paying out of state? Well, UVA’s out of state tuition was around double in-state, $16K or so. So then…..how exactly have you been paying your loans for two decades and owe six figures?

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Don’t pay, accumulate interest and penalties

        1. Chipwooder

          Which would disprove the “paying for two decades” bit

      2. And working 20 hours a week as an IT whiz who couldn’t get such a job after graduating.

        1. Gustave Lytton

          In 1998 when anyone with a heartbeat could get IT jobs, some dropping out of college for opportunities.

        2. leon

          You’re not suggesting that he might have made the story up…

        3. Certified Public Asshat

          Truly the saddest story ever told.

    10. Not Adahn

      children should be made to pay a lifelong jizya

      ZOMG ISLAMOFOBERAYSIST!

    11. Somebody call the WAAAAAAAAAAAAHmbulance.

    12. Timeloose

      No mention of what in demand degree was obtained.

      Let’s take a guess.

    13. Hyperion

      “Here’s Every Democratic Presidential Candidate’s Plan to Solve Student Loan Debt”

      Let me take a stab without reading any of that. Tax the fuck out of you and I to pay for it?

  18. The Late P Brooks

    “Free” college?

    You get what you pay for.

  19. Bob Boberson

    Well, I may be changing my handle soon to Bob Escaped WV. Looking at a potential move back to WA state. Since I left they passed alll sorts of heinous gun laws. Any WA Glibs out there know how many times over I’ll be a felon once my arsenal crosses the state line?

    1. AlmightyJB

      You just need to “lose” everything in a boating accident.

      1. The Other Kevin

        There are a lot of lakes between WV and WA.

    2. Drake

      If I ever fight my way out to a free state, I’m never leaving.

      1. Bob Boberson

        WA was great when I lived there. Over the counter CCW purchase, no ban on anything related to a rifle, no handgun registry. I don’t know what they have now but I heard its bad.

        1. Gustave Lytton

          Yes. By a vote of the People.

        2. Drake

          I grew up in MA back when it was relatively free. Still have family there but I’ll never live there again.

    3. Go to Alaska. Same as WA, just a little colder and with a whole bunch more liberty.

    4. The Last American Hero

      None of you move back to Republic

  20. Rebel Scum

    flesh -eating bacteria…warm and salty

    I guess I need to move somewhere cooler and safer. I hear Vermont is nice.

    1. leon

      But is it Minnesota nice?

      1. Pope Jimbo

        The weather may not be the best in the nation, but we have the smartest and best looking Glibs around.

  21. Tres Cool

    Where’s Yufus? I got a HVAC question. Jugsy’s 2nd car needs some work, so I was gonna evacuate/leak-check/fill the ac
    My gauges are for residential a/c- R410, R404, and R22. The car, obvs, uses 134a.

    How much pressure variance will I see if Im too cheap to go get a set of automotive gauges from Harbor Freight ?

    1. Did you check the thermostat?

      1. Tres Cool

        I dont know where it is on a GMC Envoy.

    2. Crusty Juggler

      14psi

    3. blackjack

      It don’t even matter. However, if you evacuate 134 into your tank, it’ll be contaminated. It’s easier to just pay someone 75 bucks to do it all for you.

      Theoretically, you evacuate, hold a test vacuum for 10 or so minutes and then charge with the prescribed amount. Unless there a problem, you don’t even need gauges.

      1. Tres Cool

        Tank? Dude…..I do air pollution testing for a living. You really think I have an issue letting maybe 12 oz of refrigerant loose ?

  22. Ed Wuncler

    OT: I don’t really get what everyone’s (media, political elite) problem is with Boris Johnson. He has a lot of policies that the left would love, his cabinet is diverse (Chancellor of the Exchequer is of Pakistani descent and a woman of Indian descent is Home Secretary), and is well educated according to their standards. But yet everyone thinks that he will be the end of the UK simply because he wants to leave the EU.

    I don’t get it at all.

    1. Drake

      Trump’s somewhere between Clinton and Bush politically but people think he’s the anti-Christ.

    2. A) He favors Brexit
      B) He’s a Tory.

    3. Sensei

      Pro Brexit.

      So anything he does is evil.

    4. Chipwooder

      Not the right kind of Pakistani and Indian woman, though.

      1. BEAM’s not a team player

        Obviously not! They’re working for Boris! /ewwwwwwww!

    5. Crusty Juggler

      He has dumb hair.

    6. Rhywun

      It’s just another version of Trump’s “Make America Great Again == racist”. Or: you know who else who wanted to put their country first?

    7. Tonio

      Yeah, a friend who should know better called him an idiot. He may be a clown and a showman; but the man is not an idiot.

      Also, WTF is it with US citizens getting exercised over Brexit. These are the same people who wailed long and loud about “muh russha,” “co-lusion,” and “teh interferez.”

      1. The number of Americans upset that Brexit ain’t Brexit-ing fast enough puzzles me as well.

        1. Because I hope my very very very distant cousins will get a sniff of freedom.

          1. Meh, they are just swapping one master for another, nothing I’ve seen from the UK makes me think they are more liberty oriented than the EU.

          2. Better the Tyrant in Westminster than the Tyrants in Burssels.

          3. Not necessarily, would people in California be freer under the commie rule of Sacramento without the freedoms guaranteed by the federal government?

          4. In this case, the Totalitarian Bureaucrats in Brussels are still worse than their local counterparts.

      2. Ed Wuncler

        I remember I stayed up all night watching the live Brexit response. It was just a taste of the deliciousness of the left’s sorrow Election Night 2016.

  23. The Late P Brooks

    And besides, it’s what Trump wants. That’s reason enough to be opposed.

    Another reason policy makers at the Fed and ECB are poised to push ahead is their confidence that lower rates will not lead to an outbreak of unwanted inflation. Indeed, they’ve signaled that they’d welcome a rise in price pressures to help lift inflation rates they reckon are too low. The ECB meets Thursday and the Fed next week.

    Powell himself has suggested that the last two U.S. economic expansions ended not because inflation got too high, but because asset markets got too bubbly. In 2000, it was stock prices, especially those of high technology companies. In 2007, it was house prices.

    With U.S. stock prices already flirting with record highs and about $13 trillion of bonds yielding negative rates, there’s a concern that history may repeat itself.

    “Certainly in a period where asset prices are elevated, you should be a little concerned about actually heating up those asset prices,’’ Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said in a July 19 CNBC television interview in which he signaled his likely opposition to a widely-expected rate cut.

    I don’t believe for an instant that Bloomberg is making an argument based on principles.

    Right answer, wrong reason.

    1. Lackadaisical

      Trump desperately wants the economy to last until the election is over. Democrats are praying for havoc before then.

  24. Rebel Scum

    Sills was charged with grand theft of a vehicle, fleeing and eluding police with injury or damage and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without the intent to kill as well engaging in prostitution, according to St. Lucie County jail records.

    Would not.

  25. Juvenile Bluster

    Kid out of surgery. Everything apparently went well. Still under sedation.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      Good news

    2. Raston Bot

      glad to hear it.

    3. Tres Cool

      Great to hear!

      Ask for some sedation for yourself, now that you can try to relax.

    4. Sensei

      Awesome.

    5. Sean

      Good news!!

    6. The Other Kevin

      Great news. But to warn you – some kids get angry or upset when they come out of sedation. My niece cried for a half hour and then was fine. My daughter was angry and upset for about an hour, and she was fine. It’s heartbreaking but it does happen, and thankfully it’s over fast.

      1. Chipwooder

        Oh my god, do they ever. My daughter had a cyst removed from her tongue a few years ago – apparently, there was a slight chance it might become cancerous eventually – and she was inconsolably angry for a few hours afterwards. Kept trying to pull the stitches out.

    7. Florida Man

      Huzzah!

    8. JaimeRoberto: Gentleman, Scholar, French Tickler

      “Still under sedation.” You or the kid?

      Seriously though, good luck. I can’t imagine having to go through something like that.

      1. Lackadaisical

        They couldn’t use local anesthetic?

        1. I thought it was some form of heart surgery.

          1. Lackadaisical

            I put this in the wrong spot. Was supposed to bee asking chip wooder regarding good kid’s cyst.

          2. Lackadaisical

            His kid’s *

            I’m rolling.

          3. Ah…

            Nuh mouph sugury

    9. Semi-Spartan Dad

      Great! Thanks for the update.

    10. BEAM’s not a team player

      “Exxxxxxcellent, Smithers!”

    11. Nephilium

      Good news man. I’m glad for you.

    12. R C Dean

      Glad to hear it.

    13. Pope Jimbo

      Fantastic! Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

    14. Gustave Lytton

      Good good! Time to calm down for when she wakes up and sees her confident smiling dad.

    15. Tonio

      Hooray! Hoping for an uneventful recovery.

    16. grrizzly

      Great! This site was down for a while when I wanted to check how your kid was doing.

    17. Spudalicious

      Woohoo!!!

    18. Old Man With Candy

      YES!

    19. Rufus the Monocled

      Super!

    20. Count Potato

      Great to hear!

    21. DEG

      Good!

  26. Thot Thursday bringin’ da tits.

    http://archive.is/qvxuW

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      Can’t make fun of lying leftists.

    2. Chipwooder

      Pathetic

      1. BakedPenguin

        Damn, they are still killing it.

    3. Pope Jimbo

      Has snopes picked up all the rakes lying around their offices? Or are they still constantly stepping on them and smashing their faces?

      Uffda. You’d think that they would learn from past offensives against BB that things won’t go well. I think even the Chicoms have learned to stop using The Onion as a news source.

      1. Rufus the Monocled

        Meet the genius fact checker behind this one:

        https://www.snopes.com/author/dan/

    4. Raston Bot

      i luled at pocket sand. it’s the little details that set them apart.

    5. Rufus the Monocled

      “Snopes Needs Your Help
      We’d rather be focused exclusively on fact-checking and investigative reporting right now, but a legal battle has forced Snopes to fight for its very survival.”

      Tee-hee!

      Lemme sign this check for $1 million dollars signed by Paul Likmyas.

  27. Rebel Scum

    Tulsi files a pantlawsuit

    Representative Tulsi Gabbard, the long-shot presidential candidate from Hawaii, said in a federal lawsuit that Google infringed on her free speech when it briefly suspended her campaign’s advertising account after the first Democratic debate in June….

    Tulsi Now Inc., the campaign committee for Ms. Gabbard, said Google suspended the campaign’s advertising account for six hours on June 27 and June 28, obstructing its ability to raise money and spread her message to potential voters.

    After the first Democratic debate, Ms. Gabbard was briefly the most searched-for candidate on Google. Her campaign wanted to capitalize on the attention she was receiving by buying ads that would have placed its website at the top of search results for her name.

    The lawsuit also said the Gabbard campaign believed its emails were being placed in spam folders on Gmail at “a disproportionately high rate” when compared with emails from other Democratic candidates.

    “Google’s arbitrary and capricious treatment of Gabbard’s campaign should raise concerns for policymakers everywhere about the company’s ability to use its dominance to impact political discourse, in a way that interferes with the upcoming 2020 presidential election,” the lawsuit said.

    Ms. Gabbard and her campaign are seeking an injunction against Google from further meddling in the election and damages of at least $50 million.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      Might be interesting, but will probably go nowhere

    2. One call from a lobbyist and that disappears.

    3. Bob Boberson

      I’d be interested to hear what Glibs think and who they would vote for if 2020 was Gabbard Vs Trump? I’m not sure I’d like that choice; an anti-war (in a very principled way that I respect) prog or a quasi-anti war populist. She gets lots of love from libertarians but she’s no friend of liberty…….then again neither is Trump in many aspects.

      1. Sean

        That’s an imaginary contest. She won’t make it through the Primary.

        1. Bob Boberson

          Of course, this is purely hypothetical.

          1. Sean

            Trump. Any day of the week. Dude is legitimately funny. “Bolton, is Ireland one of the countries you want to invade?”

          2. Commit raptio on all the hot gingers.

          3. How are they going to be distributed? That’s important before I support or oppose your policy.

          4. Tonio

            “Hot gingers.”

            I’m in. [Sheds single manly tear remembering when I had a soul before the first of a long series of gingers got to me.]

      2. The gun grabbing and socialism of Tulsi make her a non-starter for me.

        1. Bob Boberson

          The gun grabbing might be enough for me to say, “yeah, fuck her.” As evil as foreign interventionism is I’d rather we continue with the status quo and retain our arms than the other way around.

          1. Crusty Juggler

            Maybe I’m overthinking this but the President can’t grab any guns, but they can end endless wars.

          2. Tell that to the bump stock owners.

          3. Raven Nation

            “but they can end endless wars”

            But they don’t because they defer to their experts. I think Obama was reflexively anti-war and he couldn’t do much about it. Yes, he followed the Iraq timetable but he let others advise him to deal with Libya.

          4. R C Dean

            Maybe I’m overthinking this but the President can’t grab any guns

            But she can support and sign legislation that does, and, of course, direct her multitudinous agencies to clamp down on gun owners and the gun industry.

        2. Semi-Spartan Dad

          #Metoo. Will never vote for a gungrabber no matter what their other platforms look like. Socialism is a very close second thumbs down. Foreign intervention isn’t even a blip on my radar compared to those two items.

      3. Crusty Juggler

        If she would actually pull troops out of Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, and everywhere else we are fighting terrorism it would probably be Tulsi.

      4. Hyperion

        “I’d be interested to hear what Glibs think and who they would vote for if 2020 was Gabbard Vs Trump?”

        I’m a vote for the commie twat. Yeah, right.

    4. R C Dean

      Not sure what her actual legal claim might be.

      The gun grabbing and socialism of Tulsi make her a non-starter for me.

      Same here. She may be the best of a bad lot, but she still part of a bad lot.

      1. BakedPenguin

        Yeah, I can respect her principled fight against the deep state entrenched bureaucracy and industrial-military complex other interests, but the socialism…

      2. Florida Man

        I would vote for Williamson for the lulz.

    5. Raven Nation

      Fox just announced a poll that has Biden at 33% among Dem primary voters.

      1. Florida Man

        So Biden vs Trump. Forced to pick I would go with Trump just because I want to see the media melt down again.

    6. Stinky Wizzleteats

      Gabbard’s excellent on foreign policy and downright terrible on just about everything else, especially guns. Trump it is I guess.

  28. The Late P Brooks

    Kid out of surgery. Everything apparently went well. Still under sedation.

    Glad to hear it. Take a deep breath, and let it out slowly.

  29. Rebel Scum

    Keeping the world in context

    Hughley said that “you could worship the devil and be a better human being than if you worshiped Donald Trump.” He then told his audience to “look up the tenets of the Church of Satan… and then go to a Trump rally and you’ll feel safer around Beelzebub than this dude.”

    Throughout the panel discussion, the group debated if a person could still be considered “good” and also be a Trump supporter. Co-host Jasmine Sanders said, “I don’t think you can do that. That’s like saying ‘I’m going to eat a burnt piece of toast but scrape the burnt off.’ It still tastes burnt.”

    Hughley argued that “you can’t be a little Trump supporter” and that “it’s not because of his vocal supporters that he’s in power. It’s because of his benign ones.”

    I mean, you shouldn’t “worship” any human, especially politicians.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      Keep it up and what comes after Trump will make you wish for him back.

    2. Chipwooder

      Totally NOT a secular religion!

      These people are a pamphlet away from being a political version of Jack Chick.

    3. R C Dean

      ‘I’m going to eat a burnt piece of toast but scrape the burnt off.’ It still tastes burnt.”

      No, it doesn’t.

      the group debated if a person could still be considered “good” and also be a Trump supporter.

      You want death squads disappearing political undesirables, this is a good start on it.

      1. They’re Millenarians. They want a final showdown between Good and Evil, like ISIS. I think the explicit desire for Civil War is becoming more and more prevalent among progs.

        1. Florida Man

          Lol, cuz the last one was so much fun.

    4. “you are a vacant human being”

      Or Untermensch, if you will.

    5. Raston Bot

      that’s not unhinged in any way whatsoever.

    6. Rhywun

      “Comedian”.

    7. Tonio

      it’s not because of his vocal supporters that he’s in power. It’s because of his benign ones.

      Someone doesn’t know what “benign” means. Sad.

      Tacit supporters. Silent majority, even.

  30. The Late P Brooks

    You know who else had plans?

    Albert Speer?

    1. BakedPenguin

      Outer Space?

    2. Tonio

      Nice.

  31. Pine_Tree

    Anybody have a reco for what to do with a spare Friday afternoon in/near Asheville?

    We’re getting there mid-day Friday (me, Mrs. Tree and 5 spawn 10-18). Sat am is a Spartan race, then Chimney Rock for very casual hike Sat pm. Sun am church and Sun pm at Biltmore.

    1. Florida Man

      Brewery tour. I can’t remember the name, but it was a blast.

      1. DEG

        Hier. Recommended.

    2. AlmightyJB

      Blue Ridge Parkway

      1. AlmightyJB

        Alternately go east from the Blue Ridge Visitors Center for some great views. If you can make it to Mt Mitchell, you’ll be at highest point east of the Mississippi I believe. Quite beautiful. Walk from parking lot to top is short but quite steep.

        Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center

        https://maps.app.goo.gl/6QML6gRhVMAEnz9CA

    3. AlmightyJB

      So pretty part of Pisgah Forest around here. Looking Glass Falls is nice. 276 will take you right up to the the Parkway. You can head back towards Asheville on the Parkway, but I would go the other direction for a couple of miles first for some some really nice Vistas.

      Pisgah Ranger Station/Visitor Center

      https://maps.google.com/?cid=12094190735562807034

    4. AlmightyJB

      They have have a Bus Tour that’s quite fun as well. We got on it at the Heywood. There is a pinball museum in town if your into that. I didn’t have a change to but it looks like you could blow through it in 5 minutes.

    5. AlmightyJB

      There’s a parking garage next to this cool little taco place. Be careful with Google maps or you may end up in Biltmore Village instead. Right by the Taco Shop is an Ice Cream place and around the corner is French Broad Chocolate which a very popular desert place.

      White Duck Taco Shop Downtown
      12 Biltmore Ave, Asheville, NC 28803

      1. Pine_Tree

        Thx for all the feedback.

    6. Tonio

      Location where the (actual) whitewater scenes in “Deliverance” were filmed.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chattooga_County,_Georgia

  32. The Late P Brooks

    Throughout the panel discussion, the group debated if a person could still be considered “good” and also be a Trump supporter.

    Bless their hearts.

    1. Of only we could take all those people and concentrate them somewhere, y’know so we can keep an eye on them. Like a camp or something.

      1. Tonio

        Inorite?

        And who doesn’t like camp? Wedgies, pranks, hazing…

    1. DEG

      Kinda like in PA.

  33. hayeksplosives

    On my Thomas Massie Facebook feed:

    This week, the House voted on a supposedly non-controversial resolution to support Israel, but I read the resolution and I voted no.

    Here’s why:

    I voted against H. Res. 246 because it calls for the full implementation of a bill I voted against back in 2014. That 2014 bill spends taxpayer dollars on “green” energy subsidies for another country, despite the fact that we face a debt crisis of over $22 trillion in the U.S.

    In addition, H. Res. 246 calls for Israel to implement a so-called “two-state solution.” Rather than dictate to Israel what the U.S. believes is best for Israel, Congress should instead refrain from interfering with Israel’s own decisions regarding its foreign and domestic policy.

    I also do not support federal efforts to condemn any type of private boycott, regardless of whether or not a boycott is based upon bad motives. These are matters that Congress should properly leave to the States and to the people to decide.

    Here is a link to the resolution: https://bit.ly/2GsVypJ

    1. JaimeRoberto: Gentleman, Scholar, French Tickler

      He sounds surprisingly reasonable for a politician.

    2. Rhywun

      Good for him. I’m tired of them slipping in unrelated bullshit knowing the MSM won’t bother to mention it.

      1. Raven Nation

        https://tinyurl.com/yyc4yne2

        Story on upcoming Richmond/’Pies clash.

        1. Rhywun

          Yay, Fox Sports is showing it at 5:30am. I’m going to need to need some hard liquor before I sit down and watch that tomorrow evening. Which Collingwood will show up? Place your bets!

    3. Juvenile Bluster

      Amash/Massie 2020

    4. Tonio

      “But we’re different. And special.” /Israel lobby which really doesn’t exist anyway

    5. BakedPenguin

      I missed going outside to watch the SpaceX launch, but heard the sonic boom a few minutes ago.

  34. Unreconstructed

    Do any of y’all use an antenna for local stations? I’m trying to find one that will pick up my local stations (all located 27-28 miles away) without breaking the bank. Ideally, I’d mount it in the attic and run it through an existing patch panel to distribute signal to multiple rooms. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

    1. Florida Man

      Get a ?. More interesting than broadcast TV.

    2. Tonio

      Yes, I have an HDTV unamplified antenna which I use as an emergency backup. Antenna placement, particularly elevation is important. Highly recommend amplified antenna given 30 mile distance between you and transmitters. Or change out patch panel for amplified splitter.

    3. BakedPenguin

      I have one of these, which works well when the satellite is down. However, I also am closer to the TV stations and live in a generally flat part of the US.

    4. Hyperion

      I used to have many and found it fun to experiment with them. Then I had a 10′ satellite dish. I loved that thing and messing around with it. That was the peak of TV. Then came cable and TV has sucked donkey ballz since then.

    5. Scruffy Nerfherder

      I have in the past. I recommend not splitting the signal if you’re 30 miles away. Get an amplifier and situate it close to the antenna.

      There are options for recording broadcast tv on your computer that will allow you to share it out to multiple TV’s.

    6. Scruffy Nerfherder

      Also check this site for recommendations on a setup based on your location.

      https://antennaweb.org

    7. Nephilium

      The Leaf ones aren’t bad and have a fairly small footprint, I’ve got the internal ones and they work for all but two channels.

    8. I ended up breaking the bank and getting one of these. Depending on the “line of sight” to the antenna (how many trees and buildings are in the way), you can probably get away with something much cheaper. Amp is definitely worth it at 30 miles out. You can get one where it sends the power back up the line (so you don’t need to install a plug in the attic) for $20 or so.

      1. BEAM’s not a team player

        That is an awesome antenna. I love antenna theory and design. I was born a couple of decades too late — hardly anybody uses ’em any more . . .

        1. Antenna theory is one of the few classes I regret not taking in engr school. I took a class on compilers instead. More useful for the career, less interesting than antennas.

    9. Sean

      I have an Amazon basics one. Works ok. Not so good at the low end of the channel spectrum. Cheap though.

  35. Florida Man

    Speaking off hypothetical match ups, has anyone actually placed a bet on an election? Which site did you use and would you use them again?

    1. Florida Man

      Huh. Online odds have K. Harris as the dem to beat, but still have trump beating her.

      1. Rhywun

        My (figurative) money has been on her for a while.

        1. Florida Man

          I have an idea I’ve toyed with. In an event with only two outcomes, one of which you prefer, you should bet on the outcome you don’t want, that way you’re happy either way. You get what you want or money to soften the blow.

          1. That only works if there’s an outcome which has net happiness.

          2. Florida Man

            I was thinking something simple like a sports game. You want hometown to win, so you bet $20 on out of town. If your teams wins, yay team. If they lose you shrugs and go out to eat.

      2. Stinky Wizzleteats

        Isn’t Biden still the leader right now?

        1. Florida Man

          Not according to the bookies. They have Harris & Warren ahead of Biden.

          1. Hyperion

            “They have Harris & Warren ahead of Biden.”

            Both would lose to Trump in a historic landslide. Biden is probably the dems only hope.

          2. Florida Man

            I trust bookies more than polls. People have actually put their money where their mouth is.

          3. Hyperion

            So, you trust the bookies who said Trump had no chance in 2016 more than the polls who said Trump had no chance?

          4. Florida Man

            Yes

          5. wdalasio

            I think the reasoning there is that if one drops out, the other will pick up her votes. However, I think Biden is still ahead. Biden’s strategy should be to keep as much of the clown car in the race as possible. His goal should be to keep any one of the hard-line progressives from unifying their base behind them. So far as I can tell, Biden’s got a lock on the moderate vote. If he can keep the progs split, he can probably build the momentum to win the primaries.

          6. Dem Primaries are not about who gets more votes.

          7. Stinky Wizzleteats

            The bookies must be placing odds with their hearts and not their heads.

            https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/democratic_nomination_polls/

          8. Florida Man

            It’s my understanding that bookies don’t set the odds. The odds are set by people placing bets and the odds change as more money/bets are placed.

          9. Stinky Wizzleteats

            That makes sense then, I’d expect highly motivated partisans to disproportionally place bets. Biden might be the frontrunner but no one’s thrilled about voting for him.

          10. BakedPenguin

            Exactly. The line is meant to divide bets 50/50 in a 2-way contest. The odds give the bookies a 3-6% vig.

            Of course, you could get accounts with multiple bookies and look for differential odds as an opportunity to arbitrage.

    2. Tonio

      Thinking of doing some time travel, FM?

      1. Florida Man

        I’ve almost cracked it. I lose days at a time but always end up in the future. Disoriented and unaware of events. I just have to figure out how to go back!

    3. Urthona

      The Ohio polls that came out today were interesting. They have Trump sitting ok or better than every Democrat candidate. Except Biden.

      Biden is somehow beating Trump by 8%.

      Biden has already had a terrible debate and it hasn’t really done much except a slight temporary bump. Is he the Democrats Teflon candidate?

      1. Florida Man

        I’m thinking those polls are cooked. If Uncle Joe is the nom and I get odds on Trump, I might make a bet on Donny 2 Scoops.

        1. Bob Boberson

          Biden already said he wants to fight Donny. I for one welcome the sight of two old men flailing at each other on the debate stage. Secret Service should have a stand-down order in the case of said event.

          1. Rhywun

            LOL Donald would use every dirty trick in the book. Poke his eyes out, groin stuff, whatever works.

          2. Sean

            Folding chair. Duh.

          3. “Look, an unaccompanied minor!”
            *Biden turns*
            *clobbers him with a metal chair*

          4. Sean

            ? this guy gets it.

          5. Mad Scientist

            Biden already said he wants to fight Donny.

            So he’s not interested in making the office of the president dignified either.

    1. Why? It’s been Oct 31 for how long?

      1. Florida Man

        So it’s always on a Saturday.

        1. No. I hate these floating holidays thjat don’t stay put on a set date. New Year’s, Independance Day, Veterans’ Day, Christmas, these are reliable holidays that I know when they’re going to fall. It’s the fuzzy ones that are always “X Monday of Y” that drive me mad by sneaking up on me.

          1. Raven Nation

            “The first Tuesday following the first Monday.”

          2. *apoplectic tirade*

    2. AlmightyJB

      I recall AR some point locally them wanting not have beggars night on the weekend due to more drunk drivers.

    3. Sean

      How will I remember the correct day for my blood sacrifices?

      Asking for a friend. An eldritch friend.

      1. AlmightyJB

        I just let the voices in my head keep track of blood sacrifice days.

        1. But he’s terrible with keeping appointments!

  36. Count Potato

    I’ve decided that we live in a simulation.

    I just saw a guy in a red baseball cap driving a Wrangler Unlimited with no roof or windows. Mounted behind the front seats was a flagpole. From it a huge American flag waved bigly as he drove down the road with the stereo blasting…

    … Moonchild by King Crimson. WTF? Really? Greg Lake singing sappy ballads to own the libs? That’s a programming error, like that cat in the Matrix. Many such cases.

    1. Urthona

      Awesome.

    2. AlmightyJB

      Are you tripping, cause that’s the kind of thing that always happens to me when I’m tripping balls.

      1. Count Potato

        Nope, I was totally sober.

    3. Hyperion

      The only problem is that there are not enough of those sweet glitches in the realitysphere. I promise when I get the source code and get elected Supreme Overlord, I will double the glitches, Hyperion for Supreme Overlord / Moar Glitches, Feature not Bug.

      1. BEAM’s not a team player

        Could I get the glitch that keeps me young, handsome and virile forever? Now that’s what I call a feature.

  37. While seeking inspiration, I was browsing images of Ancient egyptian treasures, and in the high res images, I noticed that a number of them are not actually that good in terms of execution. Absent the knowledge of the limitations of tools and time available for the ancient artists, when you compare them to the mass-produced egyptian themed silver in my collection, the modern schlock looks better.

    It’s one of those “Say it ain’t so” moments.

  38. Shpip

    In the off chance that any of you want to become Florida Man, my family home of 46 years is being listed soon. It’s in Dunedin, right on the Gulf of Mexico west of Tampa. Something like eight microbreweries in the little downtown, a couple of very good restaurants, an annual Highland Games festival, a rails-to-trails project through the town, a Donald Ross golf course. It’s a pretty nice place to live, if you can stand the summer heat.
    To the likely horror of my agent, I’ll knock a few grand off the price for any Glibs.
    (Aside to The Other Kevin — my wheelchair-using mother lived here from early 1973 until her passing in late 2017. If you want to change hockey teams, I’ll knock an extra couple grand off for you.)
    Email me at pjshpip_at_gmail if you want more info.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder

      Does it come with pythons?

    2. AlmightyJB

      My sister is just across the bay in Bradenton. Florida is too humid for me though.

      1. Scruffy Nerfherder

        Is that why your sister lives there?

        1. AlmightyJB

          Moved there for a boy many moons ago. Still with him.

    3. Not a Bob Ross golf course?

      1. Created a happy little divot while driving the ball into a happy little tree by the happy little sand trap…

  39. DEG

    “The Burmese Python poses a significant threat to the Florida Everglades by disrupting the natural food chain,” said Bergeron. “With good fortune, we were able to find a large female, and remove her and an entire nest of up to 50 baby snakes which would have continued killing off our precious habitat.”

    Nuke it from orbit.

    1. Hyperion

      High tech puritanism, what more could we ask for!?