Cryptid New Year Party invitation list (but no Wendigo, him mean drunk).
HAPPY NEW YEAR, GLIBERTARIAN HOOMANS! IT CRYPTID PARTY TIME. JERSEY DEVIL COME EARLY AND BRING GOOD DRINKY STUFF. SO WE JUST LEAVE OPEN POST AND ZOOM FOR HOOMANS.
HAVE A BLESSED, CLEANSING NEW YEAR, CHOSEN ONES.
HAVE A HAPPY, RAPEY NEW YEAR! STEVE SMITH PROVIDE MUSIC.
SEAS SMITH WANT ALL FUNNY GLIBERTARIAN LAND HOOMANS HAVE GOOD YEAR, AND COME INTO WATER, IT FINE!
SEA SMITH BRING SNACKS!
Happy New year from the rest of Glibs Staff. We appreciate your contributions and readership.
New year first!
👎
Happy New Year, Sean.
I played https://squaredle.com 01/01:
*27/27 words (+3 bonus words)
⏱️ In the top 10% by speed
🔥 Solve streak: 99
I played https://squaredle.com/xp 01/01:
21/21 words (+2 bonus words)
📖 In the top 14% by bonus words
Fine, fine… seems a bit quick to post these – but might as well.
I played https://squaredle.com/xp 01/01:
*21/21 words
🎯 Perfect accuracy
I played https://squaredle.com 01/01:
*27/27 words (+3 bonus words)
🎯 Perfect accuracy
🔥 Solve streak: 162
I played https://squaredle.com 01/01:
*27/27 words (+11 bonus words)
🎯 Perfect accuracy
Why I don’t get “In the top 1% by bonus words” is beyond me.
My best guess is it only lists one “achievement” and Perfect Accuracy overrides everything else if you get it.
Do you people even work?
I played https://squaredle.com/xp 01/01:
9/21 words
Not if I can help it.
I played https://squaredle.com/xp 01/01:
*21/21 words
🎯 In the top 17% by accuracy
I played https://squaredle.com 01/01:
*27/27 words (+2 bonus words)
🎯 Perfect accuracy
🔥 Solve streak: 123
Happy New Year, SMITH family (and ZARDOZ, of course!)
Happy New Year, Glibs — since this is an open post — throwing this out there. No surprises to anyone here.. and the complete lack of accountability is what I’m assuming will be the theme of the year. Yay?
I really should have made hot dog octopi for my son when he was younger. Teenage lad is more likely at the “roll his eyes at his wacky dad” phase.
The Republicans, if they weren’t the Stupid Party, should be tying this to every Democrat across the country.
I’d argue part of the reason TEAM RED has a majority in the House is because New York’s Republican Party was smart enough to try to tie every single Democrat to the unpopular bail reform that led to a rise in crime. This being New York it didn’t always work (or work enough), but I think it did have a big effect.
Wasn’t there a gerrymandered map that was struck down by the courts (which the Donkeys have made damned sure has been fixed by 2024) that gave them an actual shot in 2022 as well? Or am I misremembering….
Yes, and the Democrats are trying to get that map thrown out.
Ah — I thought they already had via their captured New York top court.
Yes, that is the main reason the Stupids took over. They flipped 4 seats in NY with the court-drawn map.
And yeah, the Dems just won the right to redraw it again – I’m sorry, to get an “unbiased” commission to redraw it. You know, in the same manner as the grossly gerrymandered one that got thrown out in the first place.
Round and round she goes.
And I’m reminded of another reason the Stupids lived up to their name when they sided with the Dems to kick out Santos.
They just don’t know how to play the game.
https://youtu.be/cjOPLTTjnwc
Another piece on how Republicans need to be the sword of vengeance.
And I can’t really say he’s wrong. You either pick up the pieces and use them, nearly as wrongly as the left has, or you simply surrender. Just don’t kid yourself that you are restoring the republic – you’re just a different set of hands behind the ongoing destruction.
Oh, yay, moar laws.
https://www.fox29.com/news/new-laws-taking-effect-in-pennsylvania-new-jersey-and-delaware-in-2024
Looks like more regulation of business and personal life and laws for stuff that is already illegal.
See – that’s the difference – that nasty old king did it (well, really Parliament, but we didn’t get to vote for them). So when we vote to do this to ourselves… DEMOCRACY!!!
So when England told us to go fuck ourselves…. the fates took notice?
The perception of the public that retains a sucessfull legislature is that they must pass anything is really something we ought to make a law about.
The urge to do something is strong.
Reading through those laws is like bad stand up comedy. Not funny and not necessary.
““Unfortunately, the real minimum wage is always zero, regardless of the laws, and that is the wage that many workers receive in the wake of the creation or escalation of a government-mandated minimum wage…” Tom Sowell
A fact that California Fast Food workers are going to be painfully reminded of this year, I think. Yay Commie Labor Panel and pricing labor out of the market!
It is like the perfect storm for creating unemployment in a sector.
Pick a low-wage, low margin business. Impose higher than normal wages (higher even than other industries), then also do that in a state at the forefront of automation.
If someone set out to create a test case they couldn’t do any better.
That one IIRC is really obscene – it applies only to “fast food” workers, right?
And yes, it is exactly a punishment. They KNOW it will cause suffering and that is the point because the left hates “fast food”.
Not entirely sure — most of what I’ve seen is fast food workers only (the “Council” certainly is…) but there’s some mention of “health care workers” in there too. Since they absolutely have been trying desperately to kill non-big hospital / big pharma stuff (like kidney dialysis clinics) over the last few years — a Trojan Horse to do that wouldn’t surprise me.
Phew!
Complete anarchy almost broke out, but our vaunted public servants have saved you.
Well PA gas tax will go down 3.5 cents (a boon for those.of you living too far from Delaware where you can save another 30 cents. ) Of course, turnpike tolls are going up again for the tenth time in the last eight minutes!
https://www.metv2.com/features/mummers-parade/
You can watch the Mummers parade live nationwide.
Mummer’s the word!
I thought it was The Bird — or did that flip to them?
So did everyones team win the football?
Not yet. Go Blue!
Go team!
Yep.
Mizzou knocked off Ohio State and the Chiefs won their eighth straight division title. Not a bad few days of sportsball for my region.
Sports Go Sports!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fraSdN-PG8
Yes!
Eff the Patriots.
🤘🤘
Yep, but mine really didn’t have a choice. The city was (is) mad as hell that we suck (versus years past).
One cup down, caffeine withdrawal thwarted. New Year started with a good night’s sleep, all is merry (sort of) and half bright.
News for the ‘go fast, turn left ‘ fans.
https://sports.yahoo.com/3-time-nascar-cup-series-champion-cale-yarborough-dies-152511347.html
For me 2023 went in a different direction than what I would have guessed. I’m not sure how 2024 will work out, but a happy and healthy new year to you all.
Hopefully it went in the right direction…
“”One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do”. Nilson
With fewer friends and relatives left every year it gets tougher to be optimistic.
Can’t help you with the relatives, but we’re doing what we can to at least help you break even in the friends department.
It was great to meet you and see all the other Glibs again at HH. Always a good time, we’re starting to think bees already.
I bought a new couch, it was 37% off on clearance.
That is how much my life has changed/gone off track…
Shecky Greene died.
I was shocked he was still alive.
Good thing Lou Reed is still with us.
Good morning and a very happy new year to you all. Got on the scale this morning, it said get off your ass and walk more.
Does making more trips to the bathroom count? So grateful for indoor plumbing, I grew up in a different era…
Just as I think the DNC planted that question against Haley, I believe Vivek planted this question himself.
Politically smart but now I kist wonder if all his ‘gotcha’ questions are pure theater.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/vivek-slams-cnn-egregious-interference-after-town-hall-answers-go-viral
Narrator: Everything in politics is theater.
Planting your own “gotchas” isn’t as bad – it’s just like an FAQ section.
Haley screwed it up – any half decent candidate would have known how to answer.
21 out of 25.
https://www.fox29.com/news/at-least-25-shots-fired-in-deadly-kensington-shooting-police
Too accurate for Sand People.
And way too accurate for police?
I jawa-tched you did there…
I died. Thanks.
I thought zombies were pretty slow on their feet.
The Kensington area of Philly. What a shock…
84%, Solid B?
https://www.metv2.com/entertainment/celebrities/happy-new-year-and-happy-birthday-meet-the-stars-born-on-new-years-day/collection_f3b9a06d-1f96-5ed9-873c-2eb867d5b592.html#1
Happy birthday Poppy!
SMDH.
A lot of those people I just have to take their word for it that they’re “celebrities”.
Verne Troyer is the only one I’ve ever heard of.
That’s a short list.
You really had to hand it to the guy. I mean, he couldn’t reach it himself.
Happy New Year!
It’d be nice if this circus closed this year. Though it would be nice if someone would hold Boris Johnson (and his presumed handlers) responsible for all the crap that followed given this was the obvious result when it all started.
I’m sure all that slush fund money and Raytheon purchases made its way back to DNC coffers — and that’s What’s Important ™ All Along….
Happy New Year!
My favorite car review channel on YouTube has come out strong. I’m assuming no they will be getting no more GM press cars for a while.
https://youtu.be/goyRo4l7Bj8?si=d50KVjeoM8XQf1cP
Hate reviews, the reviews that hate?
Ha! Nice… I don’t know what the hell a CUV is… and “Camaro SUV” makes me want to puke…
And 3 cylinder? Jesus… won’t take much to kill gas powered cars at this rate. Even for a city car, that’s pretty bloody wimpy.
Just glad I’m not looking for a car these days. Nice to see Chevy has kept up the “Interior by Tupperware” standard these days, though.
Wasn’t the Geo a 3-cylinder?
Yeah, I rented one once, fun to drive on I-35
The Suzuki Swift was the same car with a four cylinder and nice seats.
Compact utility vehicle. Something that car companies from nations that don’t drive houses on wheels actually put engineering resources behind.
I thought it was just the Station Wagon Mk 2
The way CAFE works there is little incentive for a domestic manufacturer to throw resources at small cars.
I thought it means only small cars and SUVs (since they’re not “cars”).
I, and presumably others, want actual wagons (and large sedans) but CAFE rules mean only the luxury brands offer them.
It’s easier to pay the penalty or buy indulgences for their trucks.
At this point they can’t sell enough small cars internationally and Ford’s ex US small cars didn’t sell well here.
I think the last wagons are mainly Volvo, and didn’t they go electric this year?
Volvo still offers a standard hybrid. I’m eying the V60, perhaps.
Audi & Merc make wagons too.
Some argue the Outback is a wagon. Maybe. Feels like every third car here is an Outback.
I’d love if Genisis had a wagon version of their G70 or G80
We looked at Subarus years ago.
The interior quality is such crap, worse than my 80 Brat. They do go forever if you change the oil and don’t get the STI or WRX.
I’m too big for them anyway.
Was interested in the Volvo but went with a newer used suburban instead. It drives like a car, passes like a beast with the 6.2L and gets almost 20 mpg. Interior is lacking and a bit cramped though, they got smaller inside after 2000 or so.
So glad I’m getting a non turbo engine.
I was looking up historical models and quite shocked at the low HP and torque numbers for even pre cafe/pre oil shock pickups.
We almost got a Volvo. Most comfortable car seats I’ve ever sat in. Seemed very solid, and not overly electronified. Our mechanic was not a fan, which was enough of a tie breaker that we stuck with Toyota.
I’ve got an unusual issue – my driveway entrance is really narrow.
I was somewhat intrigued by the GV70 but then I realized it’s 10 inches wider than our current (small) car. I’m not at all sure it would even fit through the mouth of the driveway.
So no big SUVs for me.
An Outback is a wagon (we have one, there is no hiding that fact.) But I do with Subaru would make a Brat version of the Forester. I loved my ’70s Brat, and would have loved something in that size today, but alas.
Of course, we can’t have nice things:
https://www.motortrend.com/news/2022-genesis-g70-sport-wagon-shooting-brake-preview/?galleryimageid=9fd5de95-47d5-4ae8-a139-a30911b88242
Sensei, it seems that Toyota has finally come out with a Prius that I would entertain purchasing.
I am not sure what is going on.
They knew they needed something in both looks and performance to renew interest in their best in class hybrid tech.
All their new trucks are hybrids.
Woo hoo! 1/2 ton pickups with only 1/2t of actual payload, here we come!
That would be sad.
My father-in-law has a buddy that bought a new Trailblazer with the 3 cylinder engine. It went through a quart of oil in the first 4,000 miles so he went back to the dealership to complain. They told him him it’s fine. He made them document it
Brutal.
I had a Trax as a rental car last year. It was a surprisingly decent vehicle. So I looked it up. It’s designed and manufactured in S Korea and rebadged for the US. So, not a US vehicle at all, which explained a lot.
“When you put your center arm rest up there is about enough storage for a small butt plug.”
A commenter nailed it – exactly what I think about GM and Ford:
“It’s like GM doesn’t realize that they’re competing against Honda, Mazda, and Toyota…”
Everyone forgets about Nissan.
On that tangent, I watched Grand Turismo the other night. It was a fun movie.
Because Nissan is the GM of Japan. They mostly quit innovating and just concentrated on pushing out more and cheaper models. Their VQ V6 engines were fantastic and they lived off that reputation forever while steadily pushing more and more terrible products. Almost every CVT produced is from a Nissan wholey owned subsidiary.
Bingo!
Also the French came in and destroyed their R and D.
GM decided long ago not to put US resources into small cars due to limited profitability. The outcome of that has been people stepping into terribly engineered rebadged Daewoos and Suzukis (they can make a motorcycle, cars are another story). Then these same customers, after realizing they have been burned, swear off all “GM” products forever, even though most of their domestically produced vehicles were solidly engineered and manufactured. Then as market share declined, they continued doing the same thing with their mid-level products to make up for dwindling profits in those segments and so that those are also now shit. Throw in distractions like engineering resources directed at EVs and it’s not a surprise GM isn’t nearly as capable as it was 30 years ago.
Historically GM has been incredibly innovative. Somebody else just actually made it profitable or just produced it.
Also most every piece of shit engineering from GM was a bean counted way to comply with DC mandates. Shitty diesels from gas blocks, cylinder deactivation both current and the Caddy of the mid 80s, the list goes on.
The Malibu has always been a solid car.
And they don’t make them anymore.
America has no interest in full size sedans. There is a small, but declining interest in the German ones.
I have no idea WTF Toyota is thinking with the Crown.
https://www.caranddriver.com/toyota/crown
BMW can get away with a bloated combo sedan and crossover, but Toyota?
The Corolla is also a solid car.
And in the mid-to late ’80 was rebadged as a Malibu.
I was mistaken, ’twas the Nova that was a rebadged Toyota.
Mine is from ’13! Has served me fairly well, though I’ve only had it ~6 months.
Day 1 – I find myself already needing to venture forth in search of supplies. Hopfully I can make myself unappetizing to the roving bands of cannibal vegans who have surely taken over the wasteland.
Cannibal vegans? Sounds like they’d leave you alone instead of stalking you.
Here’s hoping.
Stalking the Wild Asparagus.
Spargal
You know they don’t get enough sun.
https://www.amazon.com/Celery-Stalks-Midnight-Bunnicula-Friends/dp/1416928146
So do cannibal vegetarians eat vegetables, or people who look like vegetables? Asking for a friend.
No, they eat people like Joe Biden.
You know, vegtables.
Day 1 – The Butcher shop is closed, I had to venture further in search of sustenance. I was able to find some cheese.
“This fuckin’ chair, ah swear tae god”
https://twitter.com/SlenderSherbet/status/1738354111542690029
This guy gets it.
So instead of getting drunk on NYE this year I decided to eat some mushrooms and enter 2024 in a slightly different reality…
That didn’t go too well. I didn’t freak out or anything but the combination of fungi from questionable sources coupled with all the chilli cheese dogs I had for dinner did a real number on my stomach. I swear, my guts tripped harder than my head, and not in a fun way…off to the toilet again, happy new year!
Oof. At least 2024 should improve from here.
Set the bar low to start. Interesting strategy.
Hawt.
We had a couple of fiction pieces here based on that premise.
Happy New Years Reprobates!
Glad to have all you weirdoes out there, and of course all the Tulpas.
We are all TulPoppy.
Until we get the new user registration sorted out, we’re going remain low on Tulpas
For real? That’s sad. I love tulpa.
A temporary situation, hopefully.
Another year. Woohoo.
So, a new year, and I turn 53 in a couple weeks.
What fresh hell is this?
Welcome to the club.
I assume you’re getting the AARP mailings already.
Oh yeah. Weekly reminders that death is only one insurance payment away.
Happy birthday then, whippersnapper!
Three cylinder turbo, 150 hp. How much does it weigh?
I’d rather have a mint condition Vega wagon.
Too much.
My wife wants a Vega wagon. Bad.
Happy New Year!
My cat is still skittish about noises since the fireworks last night. Goofy cat.
Here’s a compilation of Ramirez political cartoons from 2023.
https://michaelramirez.substack.com/p/top-ramirez-cartoons-of-2023
Well, I did it and my marriage is still basically intact.
We hosted my wife’s insufferable woke Uber Alles cousins (5 of them!) for over two weeks and I managed to keep my cool (mostly) and smile through inconsiderate bathroom use, Marxism in action (we got to pay for EVERYTHING), teenage-levels of skulking off to guest rooms to nurse neurosis’s, vegetarian cooking and parody-level progressive pronouncements. To boot we got to host a member of their polyamorous household who showed up without an invite after they managed to get all their money and passport stolen on a train, for eight days.
If this doesn’t build character I don’t know what does. Also, marrying a saint with the patience of Job does have a downside.
Good lord. You’re a better man than I.
What’s the decompress plan?
Continue drinking; it’s brought me this far.
Spoken like a true Glib*
Sláinte.
* majority Glib, anyway. We still live you tea totaling Glibs.
Wait, there are glibs who don’t drink?? How do they stand the rest of us???
I laugh at your drunken antics.
Y’all are quite entertaining. Keep drinking, we needs ya.
Oddly enough I am almost a tea-totaller these days. Not working has cut down dramatically on my need to drink.
Funny how that works. I drink less on vacation.
I’ve noticed that as well.
You’re fine till you’re not amusing anymore.
/Slinks silently away.
See my footnote. We have special respect for those Glibs who had enough wisdom to say “Basta!”
s/wisdom/grief/
Grief+time=wisdom?
Five house guests for more than two weeks might be tolerable if they were like-minded, did all the cooking and cleaning up, AND did our laundry.
That sounds like my worst nightmare. Bless you, Bob! 😳
Also, I think that qualifies as a “home invasion.”
That’s what I told my wife; she just doesn’t see it. We were also hosting her parents (who I adore) for part of it. She and her mom just can’t accept that just because they are family, doesn’t mean they aren’t assholes.
That just about covers it. Maybe why we don’t get invited for visits.
Sounds totally awful.
I had one house guest we kicked out after three days.
Another that stayed a week and we wish had stayed a month or more.
Inlaws and outlaws Al an be trying.
We had an aunt and uncle stay at our house for a year while the uncle recovered from a car crash. They were lovely guests. Super helpful and always chipping in for groceries. Had many nights chatting and watching tv series. We still miss their company.
Tell me you put them out of our misery.
The good news is this generation is basically self-castrating between the alternative lifestyles, gender dysmorphia, antidepressants and generally being too shitty and selfish to reproduce.
Cousins? GTFO.
You’re lucky they didn’t start getting mail there.
Strong Stoicism there, Bob.
Fortunately, Mrs. Dean has a similar tolerance for house guests, family or no, as I do. One of her sisters (from Minnesota) was planning on staying with us for a month when we first moved to Tucson. That turned into a long weekend before she got on the plane.
My stoicism was tested and found wanting; mostly ending in late night seething to my poor wife. Odysseus butchering the suitors was never far from my mind.
Now don’t forget, that was a father-son joint project.
Huh, didn’t realize we were related, Bob.
‘vegetarian cooking’
Now you’ve gone too far.
No vacancy
Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday the U.S. is “full” in saying a solution is desperately needed for the surge of migrants at the Southern border.
“When you come to our border, we say: I’m sorry, we’re full,” the South Carolina Republican said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
The surge of migrants arriving at the southern border and claiming asylum has left a record number of them in legal limbo as they wait for their cases to be resolved.
Graham said the best solution is to ship large numbers of migrants back to where they came, something he said would discourage others from attempting to enter the country: “1.7 million people are ready to be deported. Let’s deport them before we let new people in.”
He also said President Joe Biden should utilize the Title 42 authority that was used during the Covid years to expedite the removal of undocumented immigrants. “It’s not complicated,” Graham said, twice in a row.
We’re a long way from being all full up, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do a better job of deciding who gets in.
True, I’m not against increasing the number of legal immigrants per year and creating a guest worker program that works. What’s going on right now is just a mess.
This.
If it was up to me, I would close the border to new immigrants for probably five years, including the notoriously abused student visas. Legal immigrants currently here could stay and move through the process to citizenship or extensions if they want. All “asylum seekers” who don’t have valid Mexican, Canadian, or Caribbean ID would be deported as quickly as possible. New “asylum seekers” would have to apply outside the US and wait for approval to come here. The NGOs facilitating the migrant invasion would be ruthlessly prosecuted and dismembered.
The five year pause would be used to completely retool US immigration policy and enforcement.
I would close the border a minimum of twenty years after the last illegal alien has been removed or shot, and give those in the country the option of “Go home or be shot”, stip thopse who aided and abetted the invasion of their citizenship, and give them the option of being shot or being gassed, declare the US to not be a safe country for asylum seekers, and start a witch hunt for marxists and globalists.
Go on
Provided I can finish the purge of marxists and globalists, the big issues will have been sorted out. Not sure how many people will be left, but they’ll sure as hell be more productive people.
Parody post, yeah?
I am willing to negotiate down to thirty years closed border and stripping citizenship from traitors – which includes marxists, globalists, and islamists.
I am not willing to bend on mass deportations.
If you have no legal right to be here, you should not be here.
Yes – It can be done.
I’m on board with giving people a choice. They can choose a resident status (term limited or permanent, depending on situation) with zero services and zero chance of citizenship. Any attempt to circumvent those restrictions is a felony and results in deportation after they serve their time for fraud. Alternatively they can emigrate back (if applicable) and hop in line for a limited number (capped at 5% of prior year’s national birth rate) of citizenship eligible visas.
Take away the desired result, and the problem will go away. Most immigrants (particularly illegals) will jump on the resident status option, which is very much against the goals of the left.
As a prerequisite, No one can be born a citizen unless they have at least one citizen parent.
“They can choose a resident status (term limited or permanent, depending on situation) with zero services and zero chance of citizenship.”
I don’t think they should be rewarded at all. Most of the money spent on illegals now is laundered through NGOs – not sure how you solve that since the administrative state likes it that way.
No amnesty – they just lay the foundation for the next invasion.
The NGOs need to be tackled by other means, IMO. The immigration ones are just a drop in the bucket, and Big Non-Profit is a huge canker on our society.
I’m torn on the more hardline approach. In many ways, the illegals are being defrauded, too. They’re being sold a bill of goods by the NGOs and FedGov, and the reality is just plain different. It strikes me as similar to Jan 6th. When you have people in positions of authority waving you in, you don’t expect to be criminally charged for following them in.
If we’re full, I’m willing to push Graham off the raft in favor of someone else.
Well, let’s at least put him on the scales against some others. It’s a sporting chance.
A Happy New Year to all! Since 2024 is a year of the dragon, I’ll need to get current on Sicilian Defense theory.
Calendar. Since China is lunar you can kick back until early February.
Happy New Year.
Sicilian Defense? Queens Indian declined!
Following Graham on the CBS show, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston both also saw surging immigration as a crisis, but directed their ire toward Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican who has been shipping migrants to their cities and others governed by Democrats without coordinating basic logistics with officials in their communities.
“What we have attempted to do is to create structure and some coordination around this humanitarian crisis,” Johnson said of the situation in Chicago, adding that Abbott “is determined to continue to sow seeds of chaos.”
Keep those damn Mexicans down there where they belong.
I imagine the Mexicans do stay down there – it is all of those other “asylum-seekers”.
I have, for the second time, laid down the law in my marriage.
The first was my wife cannot have Facebook Marketplace randos come to the house if I’m not here.
The second is that non-immediate family GTFO after 5 days.
Meant as a reply to Sean but whateve’s
Five days is too generous. Charge them $500 for an overnight and require them to have checked out by 11am.
Agree but I want to stay married. This is the compromise position, probably should have said 3 days.
Better set forth a completely unambiguous definition of “immediate” family.
Way ahead of you; Parents and siblings. Maybe subsequent off-spring on a case by case basis.
Immediate family members prefer to stay less than 5 days, even with a guest house that provides privacy. Glibs are welcome but wait ’til April and the driveway is snow free.
We sound like we’re a little soft.
⬅
We’ve sold a few things on Facebook Marketplace. A couple came to the house (they were buying furniture), several I met in parking lots. Mrs. Dean never met any of them face to face.
I have bought and sold things on Craigslist and FB Marketplace for years. Some of it was for furniture; there’s no helping people coming to your house/going to theirs for furniture.
I had an experience once where I the lady seemed a little skittish to come to my house, and I assured her I was a woman. She said, “Well, now that you’ve said that, I’m scared, so no.” I just shrugged and the next lady got it. Lately, someone wanted to either meet or contactless porch pickup and she’d pay with Venmo. She didn’t want to pay cash because she’d have to “go into the bank and they’re closed.” Um, ATM?
Anyway, those were my two most weird encounters.
I’m usually a buyer but have more of an issue with no shows when I’m selling than hesitant people. I’m relatively rural and in the inland NW so that probably makes a difference.
When I travel and buy in bigger cities people will usually want to meet me in public places which is logical. But not practical for anything under $50.
I just don’t have a problem with people coming to my house. Usually, I’m okay with meeting people elsewhere unless I just don’t feel like going out.
Anything small is shippable, and goes on eBay. Anything that isn’t shippable goes on Craigslist.
I make a lot of money on eBay.
So YOU ARE TO BLAME for the new 1098 reporting requirements!
I remember the old days we would buy and sell furniture, cars, and shit via classifieds and it was never any issue. And this in a dying, high-crime Rust Belt city.
We’re so much more progressive now. 🙄
Occasionally, law must be laid.
Husband and I have a “Who’s more emotionally invested in this issue?” and “Whom does this more directly impact?” and the person more invested/more impacted gets his/her way.
If it were only a matter of emotional investment I think I’d be on the losing side of this issue. For reasons I don’t pretend to comprehend, there seems to be an expectation among my wife’s family that cousins are no different than siblings, my wife and her mother both think that extended family should be able to stay whenever and however long they want. My wife seemed to get it when I explained that 5 days allows the visits to keep happening; me throwing them and their shit in the street after I can’t take anymore will probably preclude subsequent visits.
If cousins were no different from siblings, they’d understand that overnight is the limit.
Seems to me you’re the one with more skin in the game here, unless her family just is that pressure-y and dogged.
My wife is just like her Mom. She wants everyone to be happy and wants the family to stay close and has a “pay it forward” [her words] ethic. Her parents traded cousins around in the summertime and some Of them grew up very close. To her it’s normal and expected.
What she doesn’t see is they suck and are happy to use her (and by extension, me).
You’d get a firm NTA on r/AmITheAsshole.
Thanks! You all were my little corner of sanity through this!
“She wants everyone to be happy”
Does that include you?
A question that was asked several times during the ordeal.
“They’re family! You’re just some guy I met in a bar.” /sarc
Families are weird. My wife as basically no family, and so dealing with the vaugeries of mine drivers her up a wall. And mine isn’t very big, or close. I can’t imagine how she would deal with my mothers family (7 aunts and uncles, all of which have 3-4 kids. And all of them lived in the Berkeley hills.)
5 days is plenty generous.
:And by ‘stay with us’, I mean sleep in a tent in the yard.”
Heh – I could endure my in-laws longer than my wide could.
Wide? Interesting, if Freudian, slip.
Dark money carpetbaggers
Boebert said on Wednesday that she was moving from Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District to the 4th Congressional District, a more conservative part of the state.
Her announcement comes after Frisch vastly outraised her. On Tuesday, Business Insider reported that Frisch had raised over $7.7 million, according to the FEC.
That is more than triple the $2.4 million that Boebert raised, per the FEC.
“I will not allow dark money that is directed at destroying me personally to steal this seat,” Boebert said in a Facebook video on Wednesday.
“It’s not fair to the 3rd District and the conservatives there who have fought so hard for our victories,” she added.
I guess she’s going to move to Limon and carpetbag the rubes of the eastern plains. Good luck with that.
Meh, the Dems always outraise the GOP. It must have something to do with their non-stop arguments against “dark money”.
The Dems stopped complaining about dark money once they got better at it than the Repubs.
The second is that non-immediate family GTFO after 5 days.
Something something houseguests and fish.
You shouldn’t microwave either?
A directed microwave on a houseguest arse might get it out the door.
I think the longest I have ever stayed with relatives was 5 days at my parents for Christmas or Thanksgiving.
The longest I have ever stayed with relatives was eighteen years between birth and leaving for college.
My wife’s relatives stayed with us for some extended periods, it was necessary. Fortunately they were well behaved, independent and respectful. My MIL and SIL stayed for 2 years, an MIL that doesn’t speak English is a jewel.
My morning…happy new year!!
https://media.giphy.com/media/BA8Fly9RBEuIM/giphy.gif
Happy new year! I hope 2024 is better for all.
New years day for me includes starting a couple fermentation projects and getting going on a batch of pepperoni sticks. Lunch will be Jalapeno Cheddar Sausages I finished smoking yesterday. Have fun! Now I must grind my meat.
Don’t grind your meat too firmly
Looking forward to CPRM incorporating Steamboat Willie into his next animation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hardie_Boys
Did he have a cousin named Mary Nancey Drew?
Happy new year everyone.
Life has been great.
Kids are older, which should not be shocking but the baby is almost two and that just crazy, the other one is almost six which is beyond belief.
I bought stupid stuff and went on my first vacation in 12 years. It was nice. I’ll have to do more of that.
And thanks to inflation I’ll have to work at least five more years for retirement.
I hope everybody has a better 2024 than they did 2023!
Starting a new job in 2 weeks. Internal transfer at MegaCorp. Depending on workload, I may be scarce around here during the day.
Good luck (we’re all counting on you)!
I hope congratulations are in order and the new gig is better in (almost) every way (other than possibly interfering with Glibbing.)
This is supposed to be a lateral transfer with a path to promotion. It should be a good thing.
This was actually arranged by my management chain who think I am wasted in my current role. Came as a surprise to me and is happening fast.
I am guardedly optimistic.
On the other hand, in January 2020, I was expecting to retire in 2024. But something happened in the intervening years.
Yeah…
https://youtu.be/Vsayg_S4pJg
Please don’t let there be any nuke plants nearby this time…
More seriously, hope it is a relatively “normal” one for the Ring of Fire and no big damage or loss for our Japanese friends.
If I’ve learned anything from Octonauts it’s that the entire Ring if Fire can erupt at once.
None of the no longer posting Japanese Glibs live near there.
They lowered the alert levels, but I expect there will be some deaths and significant property damage when the dust settles.
Happy new year! Started the day in our gym. We’re not where we want to be with memberships, and Bidenomics gave us a double nut punch of inflation and high interest rates, so money is very tight. But January is the big month for gyms so here’s hoping.
Youngest kid got all A’s in her first semester of college but hates her roommate and college life. But her boyfriend passed all his tests and is now officially a sailor. The other two kids, well they are alive and employed so there’s that.
Have a Glibtastic 2024!
Can confirm – always saw a big surge in class attendance at the Y after the first of the year….which petered out within a few weeks. I expect to see the same phenomenon at the local rec center I now attend.
Speaking of gyms, is it a(nother) sign that I’m old that the new ads for Planet Fitness featuring Megan Thee Stallion put me off completely?
Oh yeah? She thicc.
Where would a guy find such ads if he went a-looking?
/asking for a friend
Probably will be in heavy rotation during today’s bowl games.
Oh, so that’s who that was. If I had been thinking about joining one of their gyms, I would have crossed it off the list after that ad.
Cool your jets, Tres. Strictly waist up.
I laughed at that. She has enough ass for three human beings and not from squats.
Thus, the whole waist-up thing.
Really, she’s perfect for Planet Fitness. The gym for people who don’t want to go to the gym.
Happy New Year and prosperity to all y’all.
Apropos of nothing, Albuquerque covers 188.95 square miles…
Is that who that is? Yeah… Cringe. Whoever signed off on that campaign is going to be looking for a new job soon.
We’re stocking up the home gym here. I got Mrs Trsh a power rack for Christmas, and we’re waiting on the full size barbell and heavy plates. I have been working out 3-4 days/week since beginning of Dec with the goal of 6/week starting in the new year. I’ll eventually get some cardio going, too. I’m starting to feel the first hints of “strong” again, which is a welcome return after a decade of absence.
All sounds good, TOK!
Best of luck and hopefully no “influencers” are local!
‘Naked’ woman ripped for wearing body paint to gym issues defiant…
From time to time I watch cooking game shows, and I’ve long been thinking about a way to fix the biggest flaw in the current design. They’re all judged by chefs or famous people.
The format I came up with was something like – you still get some method of assigning random requirements or difficult mandatory ingredients, but you have two sets of judges who don’t see each other and don’t see the chefs. One set is the classic professional opinion chefs/famous people who get to assign a star rating to each contestant. These are the ‘Critics’. The other set of judges are specificall not foodies or famous people – these are the ‘Customers’. The Chefs hear the Critics’ feedback, but the Customers are the ones who decide how much money each Chef gets. After each round the lowest earning Chef is eliminated as their restuarant fails to make overhead. Chefs walk away with however much they win from the Customers.
Basically, I want to simulate the real industry. Note that no one pays any attention to the Critics except the Chefs.
Eurocrats to the rescue
The coming new year will mark a new dawn for the taxation of large multinationals. Rules setting a minimum level of taxation for these businesses will start applying in jurisdictions across the world.
This major development will finally put a floor under the harmful competition that, over the past four decades, has created a relentless downward spiral in statutory corporate tax rates worldwide.
Since 1980, these have decreased from an average of 40 to 23 per cent; in Europe the fall has been even greater, from 45 to just under 20 per cent. In many cases, additional sweeteners, preferential rates and unacceptable loopholes allowing profits to be shifted to zero or low-tax jurisdictions have resulted in effective tax rates well below those headline figures.
As the extent of such practices has come to light, the general public and owners of smaller businesses have become increasingly indignant.
——-
At a time when public budgets are strained and the need to invest in the green, digital and social transitions is more pressing than ever, the global minimum tax rate will allow governments to raise much-needed additional revenues. The OECD estimates the annual gains for treasuries around the world at $220bn, or 9 per cent of global corporate tax revenues.
Austerity is destroying western civilization. We must have more spending.
9% annual increases can be sustain indefinitely!
I shudder to think what fresh horror is supposed to meant by “invest in social transitions”.
Speaking of gyms, is it a(nother) sign that I’m old that the new ads for Planet Fitness featuring Megan Thee Stallion put me off completely?
I saw that ad, too. What the fuck is a Megan Thee Stallion?
Apparently a rapper with exaggerated makeup and mannerisms.
I dunno but that person is everywhere lately.
Day 1 of the new assault weapon* ban in the People’s Republic of Illinois. You only get to keep your weapon and magazines if you registered them with the state police as of 12/31**
* semi-automatic rifle
** almost no-one did
Ex post facto be damned
Working at the Largest Grocery Store in Yonkers | On the Job | Priya Krishna | NYT Cooking
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQl9Qp4zA9o
I did not know you could get quality fresh fish in the US
That was interesting but Id like to see their perspective from a more grimy, inner-city store.
That place was damn near a Whole Foods.
RIP Crack Central Kroger
You’ll note the 150,000 miles of coastline…
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/shorelength.html
If anyone wants to have a chitchat I’m just hanging out on the Zoom this afternoon
I’ve long been thinking about a way to fix the biggest flaw in the current design. They’re all judged by chefs or famous people.
Randomly select members of the audience to judge. There is still a self-selection issue, but at least they aren’t
professional gourmandspompous wankers.Apparently a rapper with exaggerated makeup and mannerisms.
Is it a female impersonator?
Technically, not as far as I can tell, though you may pick up a bit of a Victor/Victoria vibe.
To borrow a line from Dr Drew (re: Pam Anderson) – a female female-impersonator.
While everyone is yammering about Steamboat Willie, Call of Cthulhu also fell unambiguously into the public domain today. (I’d argue that it has been for some time, but now the renewal or lack thereof doesn’t matter, it is Public Domain). Tigger has also joined Pooh in the Public domain.
All Quiet on the Western Front, and Peter Pan too.
🥳
Also The Threepenny Opera. ::starts to whistle “Mack the Knife”::
All the best mofos.
2024 is going to be wild.
New Year’s lucky lunch turned out great. This Indian chili powder I was gifted works really well (8 parts Sannam chiles, 1 part sesame oil, 1 part salt by weight).
And of course a bottle of ABQ’s finest champers to go with it.
Gruet, I trust?
We got a couple bottles for Chanukah. I’m a fan.
Of course! It’s kind of amazing how good it is. Legitimately better than Moet White Star, potentially better (depending on your particular taste) Veuve Cliquot NV.
A visit is high on my list if I’m ever out there. I find it such a cool story (french winemakers setting up shop in New Mexico)
Veuve Cliquot NV?
I’m not certain I want Nevada champagne.
Speaking of GM shitboxes- I was just perusing craigslist, and there is a ’99 (I think) big block Suburban in there. The absolute last thing in the world I need is a(nother) big block Suburban, but I’m tempted. This is allegedly not even a project.
Also- I can forgive GM for a lot, just based on the HEI distributor.
Followed by…
https://www.lt1howto.com/articles/optisparkfaq.htm
Because how can we cost reduce it?
General Motors’ (GM’s) Strangest Cost Savings Ideas Didn’t Involve Cars!
Happy New Year, you wonderful nuts, and may your 2024 be happy, healthy, and profitable.
Thank you sir! You as well!
Congrats on digging out enough to get a signal through.
Since we didn’t have WAWR yesterday, I’ll mention I just this morning finished a deepness in the sky by Vinge. My son has read a fire in the sky, and I called him babbling about how great deepness was, which was his own reaction to fire. But neither of us wanted to spoil the read for when we swap books. Then we can have an in-depth discussion of the two, and probably both read children of the sky.
Also knocked off what I think is the latest in the Carerra series (Days of Burning, Days of Wrath) by Tom Kratman – hadn’t read one of those in a while as he seemed to take a break on it. And I finished McPhee’s Coming into the Country. And of course the Nietzsche I’ve been reading – still plugging away at Human, All Too Human with the Geneology of Morals probably next.
Lastly, I now have three of the core books for my work on bureaucracy as a human institution: Bureaucracy (Mises), The Managerial Revolution (Burnham) and The Organization Man (White).
To top it all off, I have a question for anyone with data architecture / database design work. I may be helping my son with a database for DNA sequencing data, and is there anything in the last 10-15 years (while I’ve been getting stale) in relational database and/or OO extensions of RDBMS I need to get current on?
I’ve been reading the 007 books then watching the movies. The books are really fun and the movies (so far) only resemble the books in the name. About to start From Russia With Love. I forgot about the edits when I started so my copy of Casino Royale is the lame version but it’s pretty easy to find old copies online.
https://www.houseofstrauss.com/p/nikes-end-of-men
This a long article on how Nike is hurting their brand with their core demographic seeking the “big whale” of female purchasing power. It focuses on international soccer ads and why they went from memorable to suck and on their attempts to disassociate themselves from the NBA. Nike owes their corporate dominance to these two markets, but now male accomplishment is a problem and very few people give the same shit for the WNBA and women’s soccer. The article does include links to some of the great earlier ads.
seeking the “big whale” of female purchasing power
It’s about time this came to the forefront. This is what undergirds so much of the tone shift in corporate marketing, especially on the direct to consumer side.
I cannot think of a product or brand that, if marketed to me, I would want to buy from their marketing.
I’ve always been an “anything but Nike” consumer. Don’t know exactly why; I have just always found them off-putting.
New Balance is the only shoe company that makes a shoe that will fit my feet.
As far as I know, they don’t advertise to any specific market. I can’t remember ever seeing an TV ad for New Balance.
They’ve got a few
https://www.ispot.tv/brands/AnU/new-balance
I’ve seen the Coco Gauff and Shohei Ohtani ads a few times.
Since they actually make wide sneakers, they have my loyalty.
In the past 30 days, New Balance has had 623 airings and earned an airing rank of #1,147 with a spend ranking of #549 as compared to all other advertisers.
Big numbers there.
Fucking Amazon. I want regular old light bulbs (near as I can get); 100w equivalent old-style led bulbs. Why do they show me every size type and style other than what I am looking for? If I wanted to buy 8 foot fluorescent tubes, I’d ask for them.
I find the fear that Amazon will be some long lasting domineering entity to be unfounded. Within 10 years its customer service went from helpful and easy to attain to absolute shit. I was buying a lot of board games 8-10 years ago and found “Amazon warehouse” to be a good option to save a few bucks. The descriptions were a bit lacking but chatting on customer service could get the issue resolved. Shopping on Amazon was good
Over the past 5 years I’ve been really unimpressed. Chinese shit everywhere. Sending products in their boxes not shipping boxes. “Amazon warehouse “ (their ding and dent department) is no longer usable as clearly no one gives a flying fuck in that department. When you try to complain they hide the Customer service page and clearly would rather your return a product than contact them to solve the root of a problem.
Also Rings of Power was a crime against humanity