Jump to content

wild_turkey

Legacy Members
  • Posts

    2616
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    1

Everything posted by wild_turkey

  1. That was kind of the point of my question. Why do so many people assume the purpose of the balloon was surveillance? It seems to me they have adequate surveillance that goes far beyond whatever a balloon can provide, therefore, the balloon must have a different purpose altogether.
  2. Maybe a stupid question and my apologies if this has been covered, but if the balloon doesn’t give China any information that they didn’t already have from satellites, then why did they send it over our airspace? They had to have some goal for doing this. Perhaps they weren’t trying to get aerial photography at all, because I agree that probably already have this. Perhaps they just wanted to do a test run to see how far a balloon with a payload could travel over our country? It just seems a little naive to say “They already have satellites photos so this balloon is pointless and not worth worrying about.”
  3. Season 1 was okay. Season 2 sucked. None of the characters are likable which kills any motivation I have to watch and root for them. Both parents sucked and were miserable to each other and their kids. The plot was also dumb.
  4. Maybe he made biodiesel, I dunno. I wonder about little details like that but as long as the story is told well, I can let it slide.
  5. I wanted to watch this but I don’t have Paramount+ or Showtime, so the only other option is to buy it for $20. Not sure it’s worth it, having read multiple posters in this thread say they hated it or didn’t end up finishing it. It’s annoying to not be able to pay $6 to rent it.
  6. That was my interpretation after rewatching the episode. My guess is about 1-2 weeks passed between Bill and Frank dying and Joel and Ellie showing up.
  7. Work cancelled due to ice, I have a PS4 collecting dust, and The Last of Us game can be downloaded for $20. This should be fun.
  8. I thought the same thing at the time, but then I started to wonder if this wasn’t somewhat symbolic of how the average person plays video games - charge out into the action and start shooting, take a hit but not actually die. Even if that’s not the case, the rest of the episode was so perfect that I give it a pass. Same with the “10 miles west of Boston” caption and the fact that gasoline is somehow still useful after 20 years. Those types of details would bug me in a poorly written show like TWD or Yellowstone, but this show has earned some acceptance of the little things.
  9. Max Richter’s “On the Nature of Daylight” is an incredible song that can tear a person up inside. I remember it from Arrival but it’s also been in other movies. He is also responsible for a lot of the music in The Leftovers.
  10. Imagine if you went into Whataburger and they were all like “Oh hey, we don’t have any burgers today but we did make beef bourguignon and there’s a wine pairing, would that be okay?”
  11. Imagine if a year ago someone told you there would be a zombie show based on a video game, that in episode 3 would take a detour from the main story to casually blindside viewers with an incredibly powerful love story starring gay Ron Swanson. And that it would be a masterpiece.
  12. Wow. That was a phenomenal television episode.
  13. I agree with your last sentence, but someone can park a Honda Civic crooked and the adjacent spots are still usable. For a full-sized truck (or large SUV for that matter), if it’s slightly crooked or off-center, the adjacent spot is often screwed. Wouldn’t be that big of a deal if people would have enough self awareness to park farther away where there are more empty spots, but lots of people refuse to do that. Also, when it comes to an F-250 or larger, the average parking space isn’t large enough to accommodate them, no matter how good the driver parks.
  14. My first vehicle was a Chevy S-10, then I later had a 2009 Silverado Crew Cab that I bought newish and got rid of a few years later. I’ve driven 4Runners ever since then and pretty happy with that switch. I kinda hated that Silverado because the turning radius was shit, it was a pain in the ass to park, it had terrible acceleration, and it didn’t fit in the garage of either of the 2 houses I lived in at that time. Whatever small usefulness the bed gave me a handful of times a year was not worth it. Was happy to get rid of it. My biggest frustration with current truck owners is that many trucks are too damned big for average parking spots in the city, but instead of parking at the far end of the lot, people park their trucks in the closest available spot even when it doesn’t fit, which crams the adjacent spots or makes them practically unusable. If you choose to drive a massive vehicle, then accept the longer walk and don’t be an inconsiderate dick over parking. Granted, that could also be said about Suburbans, Escalades, Excursions, and other large SUVs. For whatever reason, they seem to do it to a lesser degree, or maybe I have a bias affecting my observations. The societal arguments against truck ownership would obviously be fuel economy and safety. Fuel economy is an equally valid criticism of many other cars including my 4Runner (which I drive ~25 miles/week). That will hopefully become less of a concern if people, including truck owners, transition to EVs over the next 10-20 years. I know some people have specific needs for their truck in which an EV is not realistic based on today’s technology and infrastructure, but many truck owners would do equally fine in an electric truck. Safety seems like an obvious problem for trucks and SUVs getting progressively bigger. They may be more safe for the occupants but less safe for whatever they run into. We should ideally be incentivizing more small cars for climate purposes, but it seems like small cars become relatively less safe the more they share the road with larger trucks. I disagree that trucks are a status symbol for most people because 95% of people are neither impressed nor offended by a person driving a truck. It’s a fairly benign and commonplace decision. It likely makes a statement for some men who want to project maximum masculinity to their peers, and I think a lot of us know at least a few people for who this is true, even if it isn’t true of the average truck owner.
  15. That poster watches Yellowstone, which is a shit fucking show, in the same genre in which Lonesome Dove was already done.
  16. I watched this over the weekend and was somewhat disappointed. Great acting, beautifully shot with great scenery, and some dark humor at times. The plot was pretty one dimensional and felt entirely pointless. One absurdly depressing character dragging others down into his despair. I was waiting for redemption that never came. If there’s a deeper message, I missed it.
  17. Enjoyed episode 2. The show seems really well done so far. I had never heard of ophiocordyceps until now. Pretty interesting stuff. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/parasitic-fungus-evolve-to-control-humans
  18. Never got around go playing the games but I liked the pilot episode.
  19. Think of it like Gran Torino, but more uplifting and minus the violence.
  20. Saw it last night and thought it was very well done. There are some differences from the book in the details, and the movie naturally loses Frederik Backman’s quirky humorous writing style, but it’s true to the story and the cast did a great job. Mariana Treviño stole the show IMO. I loved every minute she was on screen.
  21. Pataday Extra Strength is probably the best OTC allergy drop available. You can get a 2 pack on Amazon for $25, or I think Target has the 2 pack for $31. Zaditor is a good drop as well. It was considered the best OTC allergy drop prior to Pataday becoming OTC about 3 years ago. It's cheaper which is nice, but the effect doesn't last as long. You may have to use it 2-3 times daily. For some people that may be preferrable. YMMV. I do not recommend any Visine or Clear Eyes products. They contain redness reliever medications that may help with redness in the short term, but if you use them longer than 3-4 days, there is a risk of rebound redness when you try to stop the eye drop. They also become less effective with prolonged use, so then you need the drop more frequently and you get hooked on it.
  22. I have a newborn so this topic is now relevant to my interests. I would like to open a 529 account for her, which I've browsed different options and I'm leaning towards the Vanguard 529 Plan for Nevada. It's appealing because it has low fees and because I already have accounts with Vanguard, so there's a simplicity factor. A couple questions I have: 1. They have options for an Individual 529 Portfolio (where I can pick investmest like a Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund) or the Targeted Enrollment Portfolio (where I determine their year of enrollment and Vanguard adjusts the diversification for me over time). For my personal Roth IRA, my strategy is more in line with the first option. For a college fund that's needed in ~18 years, I'm more inclined to pick the TEP so I can set it and forget it and trust Vanguard to make good decisions. Is that reasonable here? 2. The effective annual contribution "limit" is $17,000 for 2023 to stay within the gift tax exclusion limit. Is there any reason I shouldn't front load it with that amount this year, then my future yearly contributions could be lower and still be on pace for the final goal? Assuming my other tax-advantaged retirement accounts are maxed out yearly and that $17,000 would otherwise end up in a brokerage account or savings. Thanks for any input.
  23. He is currently defined by this.
  24. Chris Beard had me excited about Texas basketball for the first time since 2007. Unfortunately for everyone involved, he made poor decisions that show that he is unfit to represent The University of Texas. Best case scenario is that he’s been in a serious relationship with a crazy person for 3+ years, and that relationship has become physical on at least one occasion, and even if he didn’t start the fight on that particular occasion, he remained in the house and engaged her to the degree that the police who responded felt there was enough to justify arresting him. Even if he’s 95% innocent, he failed to leave the house and remove any doubt about aggression on his part, and if he were to remain as coach, we would constantly wonder when the other shoe would drop, and our opponents would constantly criticize us for employing a man who is aggressive towards women. Perception is reality with these things. Worst case scenario is that he actually does have anger problems and he actually did assault her or choke her. I was shocked and saddened when this story first broke, but I am proud of The University of Texas for responding appropriately and prioritizing being a decent human being over athletic performance. We will be better off without him. No amount of basketball wins are worth having this as the face of our program. For anyone saying “Poor Chris Beard…”, he is not the first person in history to have a promising career derailed by poor personal relationships. It’s very difficult to achieve professional success while having a toxic home life. Even if she is the aggressor, he has some major shit to figure out if he ever wants to coach again. For anyone thinking The University did the wrong thing, get your priorities straight.
×
×
  • Create New...