OT - NO POLITICS Subs, taxes and frozen pipes edition

[NeelyDan]

Hmm.

As stated previously, everyone should be conscripted to work in retail, hospitality, or the "service industry" for at least three months.

That would strip the bark off of a lot of self-absorbed, inconsiderate, clueless behavior.

I get that perspective. You'd have to know him - it was less malice, more being catered to his entire life (people in those positions often come from VERY privileged lineages) and a complete disconnect about what is 'normal' when dealing with the commoners

I never minded or felt taken advantage of.

 

[Dueling Banjos]

We stayed in the city itself this time, next time I can roadtrip to Hoover Dam.

One thing I noticed, the dryness really got to me and I woke up dehydrated both mornings (and I only drank alcohol the second night, so I think it's just the climate and possibly elevation). The weather wasn't hot at all, but you really feel the lack of humidity.

My preferred way is to stay on the edge of the city and drive in, Treasure Island casino offers free parking on the strip.

 

[McGarnagle]

My preferred way is to stay on the edge of the city and drive in, Treasure Island casino offers free parking on the strip.

We stayed at the Virgin (formerly the Hard Rock), which is slightly off-strip. When I looked at the location on the map it looked walkable, just two blocks down, but I didn't take the scale into effect, everything in Vegas is bigger than it looks, so the two city blocks were like a 25 minute walk. So we were beat on the first day. On day two we did some research and found you can self-park for free at the Venetian so we did that and walked that section.

 

[GordonHowe]

I get that perspective. You'd have to know him - it was less malice, more being catered to his entire life (people in those positions often come from VERY privileged lineages) and a complete disconnect about what is 'normal' when dealing with the commoners

I never minded or felt taken advantage of.

I'd still like to get a guy like that into the "food service industry."

 

[NeelyDan]

I'd still like to get a guy like that into the "food service industry."

I'm gonna challenge you a little on this - tell me why

 

[McGarnagle]

I get that perspective. You'd have to know him - it was less malice, more being catered to his entire life (people in those positions often come from VERY privileged lineages) and a complete disconnect about what is 'normal' when dealing with the commoners

I never minded or felt taken advantage of.

 

[TD Charlie]

Bought a bread maker guys, shows up today

This should do nothing but positive things for my body composition

The lady friends mother has one, and every time I enter her house and the bread maker has been running it is heavenly. It’s probably worth it just for the smells it fills a house with

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

About this time exactly 20 years ago I got a call from the owner of a satellite truck in Somerville and the owner just said NBC needed to do a live hit from Rhode Island for the Today Show and all the RI trucks were not available.

To this day I wish I had said no.

Details were still sketchy as we headed south on I-95 but watching a steady stream of ambulances racing north toward Boston did not give me a good feeling.

It was awful to be there.





WPRI Channel 12 was doing a story that night on nightclub safety - chilling

Reelz covered this last night

 

[shelbysdad]

Hmm.

As stated previously, everyone should be conscripted to work in retail, hospitality, or the "service industry" for at least three months.

That would strip the bark off of a lot of self-absorbed, inconsiderate, clueless behavior.

I would add construction.....being a roofer will certainly motivate you to pick something else

 

[GordonHowe]

I'm gonna challenge you a little on this - tell me why

I understand that you didn't feel as if this fellow was disdainful or jerky to you.

Let me put it like this: My father came from modest means. He was American born but was also second generation Albanian.

My father's family moved to Grosse Pointe, Michigan. Which, even in the 70s while I was growing up, and certainly when my dad was in high school, was lily white, affluent, and shall we say, "exclusive." He didn't fit in to that category and they let him know it.

He put himself through law school repossessing cars in the dark of night. He became a very successful attorney and a self-made man. So much so that he was qualified to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court, which in fact he did.

As he became a success, the same country clubs and other playgrounds of the rich that rejected his applications for membership in the past came calling. I think you can guess what he told them.

My point: Both my father and my mother (who grew up on a farm) made it explicitly clear to their eight children that everyone -- including a trash collector, a waitress, or a cashier -- deserves respect. And should be treated accordingly.

Often, those who come from privilege, as I did, are completely oblivious to the hard work and hardships experienced by those they consider their social inferiors. Many are born on third base and think they've hit a home run.

I've worked plenty of retail jobs, and I know what it's like to be treated poorly by self-absorbed jerks, demanding Karen's, and clueless dopes.

If you have any compassion or thoughtfulness at all, live the Golden Rule.

Treat others as you wish to be treated yourself.

End rant.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

Historical. Mostly Napoleonic era. I started building scale models too. Working on the aircraft I flew in the Nav, marked like they were in the 3 squadrons I was in. Doing a standard F-14A, a TARPS bird and a B with LANTIRN configuration and GBU-12s. Wife got me a new airbrush and compressor for Christmas which has been really handy.

Getting the custom decals right has been a chore though. I don't have a lot of phots and my memory isn't what it used to be.

Very nice. I did both my honors and masters theses on Revolutionary/Napoleonic history, have a bookcase full of books on the period and a few prints, been to a few of the battlefields. I've never gotten into miniatures though, but I can see why people do. There's so many different personnel, uniform, equipment types etc. to choose from and paint.

 

[RoccoF14]

Very nice. I did both my honors and masters theses on Revolutionary/Napoleonic history, have a bookcase full of books on the period and a few prints, been to a few of the battlefields. I've never gotten into miniatures though, but I can see why people do. There's so many different personnel, uniform, equipment types etc. to choose from and paint.

Outstanding. I'm a big fan of the era as well and am currently reading "With Musket, Cannon and Sword" by Brent Nosworthy. Very well done, but you really have to be into Grand Tactical and Tactical thinking of the era to enjoy it (like the formation St Hilaire's division used to storm the Pratzen Heights at Austerlitz......you know, really light reading!). It busts a lot of myths of how the various armies fought during that time period.

Happy to continue this conversation off-line if you want to get into the details.....

 

[McGarnagle]

Very nice. I did both my honors and masters theses on Revolutionary/Napoleonic history, have a bookcase full of books on the period and a few prints, been to a few of the battlefields. I've never gotten into miniatures though, but I can see why people do. There's so many different personnel, uniform, equipment types etc. to choose from and paint.

Outstanding. I'm a big fan of the era as well and am currently reading "With Musket, Cannon and Sword" by Brent Nosworthy. Very well done, but you really have to be into Grand Tactical and Tactical thinking of the era to enjoy it (like the formation St Hilaire's division used to storm the Pratzen Heights at Austerlitz......you know, really light reading!). It busts a lot of myths of how the various armies fought during that time period.

Happy to continue this conversation off-line if you want to get into the details.....

My undergrad thesis was on Napoleon, I was always fascinated by him as a personality. By the time I went into my grad program I got pushed into more modern history. I sometimes wish I kept a focus in the Napoleonic era, but either way there's rapidly dwindling demand for European history in both publishing and teaching which is why I got out of academia altogether.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

Outstanding. I'm a big fan of the era as well and am currently reading "With Musket, Cannon and Sword" by Brent Nosworthy. Very well done, but you really have to be into Grand Tactical and Tactical thinking of the era to enjoy it (like the formation St Hilaire's division used to storm the Pratzen Heights at Austerlitz......you know, really light reading!). It busts a lot of myths of how the various armies fought during that time period.

Happy to continue this conversation off-line if you want to get into the details.....

I've read that. It's a good book, pretty technical as you say but really informative and well-written.

And sure, happy to chat further on this. I'll drop you a line when I have some time.

 

[RoccoF14]

My undergrad thesis was on Napoleon, I was always fascinated by him as a personality. By the time I went into my grad program I got pushed into more modern history. I sometimes wish I kept a focus in the Napoleonic era, but either way there's rapidly dwindling demand for European history in both publishing and teaching which is why I got out of academia altogether.

Yep. Its not a line of study for people looking to make a buck. However as a casual enthusiast, its a fascinating period with a lot of very complex personalities and events. There's also a LOT of misconceptions, biases and outdated thinking on the period and the people that has been perpetuated over the past 200 years.

 

[quietbruinfan]

My undergrad thesis was on Napoleon, I was always fascinated by him as a personality. By the time I went into my grad program I got pushed into more modern history. I sometimes wish I kept a focus in the Napoleonic era, but either way there's rapidly dwindling demand for European history in both publishing and teaching which is why I got out of academia altogether.

That's not a bad move. Publish or perish is a tough standard.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

My undergrad thesis was on Napoleon, I was always fascinated by him as a personality. By the time I went into my grad program I got pushed into more modern history. I sometimes wish I kept a focus in the Napoleonic era, but either way there's rapidly dwindling demand for European history in both publishing and teaching which is why I got out of academia altogether.

I didn't end up pursuing an academic career either but yeah this is my understanding also of the trend away from European history in universities. It's driven by some fairly obvious things that we probably can't discuss here, and it's a shame. Wanting to diversify and broaden the field is great but it shouldn't come at the cost of marginalizing some pretty core and important historical subjects.

 

[McGarnagle]

Yep. Its not a line of study for people looking to make a buck. However as a casual enthusiast, its a fascinating period with a lot of very complex personalities and events. There's also a LOT of misconceptions, biases and outdated thinking on the period and the people that has been perpetuated over the past 200 years.

That's not a bad move. Publish or perish is a tough standard.

Without getting down a rabbit hole about the internal politics of academia that's not of interest to the general population here, one of my advisors kept pushing me to make my work "more global", etc. Which is fine, but in the end not the stories I'm interested in learning about and doing all that research on, and not stories that I care about telling. Started work on a prospectus that I quickly realized I had no passion for, which definitely affected the course the research was taking, so I decided it wasn't worth my effort and cashed out my master's and left. And I was incredibly fortunate to get out right before COVID because that screwed over the whole field as we know it.

 

[Glove Malfunction]

Historical. Mostly Napoleonic era. I started building scale models too. Working on the aircraft I flew in the Nav, marked like they were in the 3 squadrons I was in. Doing a standard F-14A, a TARPS bird and a B with LANTIRN configuration and GBU-12s. Wife got me a new airbrush and compressor for Christmas which has been really handy.

Getting the custom decals right has been a chore though. I don't have a lot of phots and my memory isn't what it used to be.

This is super cool. I have a model of the modified NP-3D I flew on my last squadron. But I bought it from SquadronToys. I can paint a wall and door trim, but anything requiring artistic talent is beyond my scope of capability. My former BIL was really into Warhammer, so was wondering if you into the same thing.

 

[Glove Malfunction]

I would add construction.....being a roofer will certainly motivate you to pick something else

Truth. I worked for a roofer several summers in HS and College for a friend of my mom's. ON the roof as soon as there was any sort of light, and had to be done before lunchtime because it was so hot. Lots of concrete tile, which is not fun to schlep across the pitch. There's a reason I sit behind a computer all day.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

We stayed at the Virgin (formerly the Hard Rock), which is slightly off-strip. When I looked at the location on the map it looked walkable, just two blocks down, but I didn't take the scale into effect, everything in Vegas is bigger than it looks, so the two city blocks were like a 25 minute walk. So we were beat on the first day. On day two we did some research and found you can self-park for free at the Venetian so we did that and walked that section.

Haha, yeah "blocks" here are a 1/2 mile to a mile long. Free parking on the Strip is pretty much Treasure Island, Venetian, Fashion Show Mall and OYO Casino (its technically off strip, but is only across from MGM Grand)

The drying out is real, I drink at least 100oz a day of water just as a baseline intake.

 

[Kovi]

Oh

We stayed at the Virgin (formerly the Hard Rock), which is slightly off-strip. When I looked at the location on the map it looked walkable, just two blocks down, but I didn't take the scale into effect, everything in Vegas is bigger than it looks, so the two city blocks were like a 25 minute walk. So we were beat on the first day. On day two we did some research and found you can self-park for free at the Venetian so we did that and walked that section.

Everything in the Southwest takes a long time to get to. I always add 10 minutes or so to the GPS. In the East I can drive for two hours and go through 3 states. here, 2 hours and I'm barely through Scottsdale (and @Glove Malfunction will want to stop at Portillos anyways)

Next time youre out this way....stop by. We're only a few hours from Vegas.

 

[Kovi]

View attachment 654171

I don't wish to be morbid, but recall this all too well.

I searched unsuccessfully for the Herald's front page picture. It was chilling. It showed the fire igniting, and as here, someone pointing their finger to bring attention to this.

A terrible, terrible tragedy.

Survivors of the Station nightclub fire reflect on tragedy's 20th anniversary

Two decades after 100 people were killed in the West Warwick, R.I. fire, those affected by the incident are reflecting on that tragic night.

www.boston.com

Awful. I will never forget that.

 

[Fenway]

Seattle poutine

 

[Olden McGroin]

It was only a 700 pound 10 foot long gator

An 85-year-old Florida woman died Monday while trying to save her dog from a 10-foot-long alligator.

700-pound alligator kills Florida woman, 85, who tried to save dog from attack