Happy New Year You Surly Bastards!
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Dedicated Stranger Things Series Thread
Not a spoiler, because this article came out a week ago... https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/stranger-things-volume-2-the-duffer-brothers-interview-1236458696/ DUFFER: It’s not Game of Thrones. We’re not in Westeros. I love Game of Thrones, but it’s just a very different type of show than that. There’s not going to be a Red Wedding situation. I think some things happen in the finale that are very surprising, but we’re not trying to shock or upset anyone. I hope by the time people get to the end of the finale that it just feels like there’s something inevitable about what happens, and that it doesn’t feel painful but feels satisfying.
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Time for another ‘my dog is awesome’ thread
My wife and Chester (the lab) have a morning ritual the ends in them cuddling together on a chair in the living room. Today Bruno-- who generally avoids full body contact, preferring to be pet from a distance-- climbed in her lap before Chester could take his rightful position. He was so sad.
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Surly kids who can't get into UT
My nephew from Florida came up to the Twin Cities a few weeks ago with his dad to visit a couple schools and visit his sister at Carleton. On the way back from Northfield, he noticed how dark it was relative to the time. He didn't say as much, but I believe he noped-out at that exact moment.
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Surly kids who can't get into UT
Not my kid, per se, but our best friends' daughter is a freshman there this year. She also got the merit scholarship which essentially gives her in-state tuition. She loves it. Joined a sorority right away and loves her classes.
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Non-Texas weather. The all-encompassing thread
-28 is the coldest I've experienced, back in 2019. I distinctly remember because my furnace quit at the same time. That was... unpleasant. Luckily my gas fireplace and some space heaters allowed us to stay in the house for the 3 days it took to figure it out. Lots of snow today. They're guessing 8 inches.
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Dedicated Stranger Things Series Thread
Winona Ryder sounds like Marge Simpson.
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Wordle [spoilers inevitable but discouraged]
Wordle 1,651 2/6 🟩🟩⬜⬜🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
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Thermoworks Sale
Merry Thermoworks sale day! Errr, I mean Christmas. https://www.thermoworks.com/shop/products/more/current-specials/?utm_source=hp&utm_medium=slider1&utm_campaign=lastmingifts1
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Christopher Nolan's next film, The Odyssey
I go to Nolan films for the sound and score. The actual movie is just a bonus.
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I pledge to post more pictures of this STEAK
My family doesn't like rib roasts, so when they're on sale this time of year I buy them, break them down, and save the steaks for when I'm eating solo. Simple sous vide and sear. Turned out really nice.
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TIL there’s something called fraud tourism. Congrats, Minnesota.
This is a true and accurate accounting of the amount of fraud that’s been proven in court. False. Read it again, if you read it at all.
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TIL there’s something called fraud tourism. Congrats, Minnesota.
How the Minnesota Star Tribune analyzed alleged fraud totals in Minnesota The Trump administration says fraud totals are in the billions but the evidence doesn’t meet the claim. Here’s how we did the analysis. December 11, 2025 at 3:22PM https://www.startribune.com/how-we-analyzed-alleged-fraud-totals-in-minnesota/601543149
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TIL there’s something called fraud tourism. Congrats, Minnesota.
Fuuuuuuuuuck. The article I linked is not the article I quoted. https://www.startribune.com/heres-what-to-know-about-minnesotas-fraud-crisis/601542128 To your question, the only thing I've asserted is that the majority of posters here are making grand arguments based on tweets, articles, and political statements they've learned about in the past week, and that it makes many of them sound ignorant to me-- someone who's followed it for years. I didn't want to give my opinion. The whole point was for people to actually educate themselves on the information, not just the last week of propaganda and its opposition. But fine... There is, going back to 2006 really, a widespread, systemic fraud problem in Minnesota. For a variety of possible reasons, the the overall demographic of fraudsters have been over represented by people of Somali decent. While State, Federal, and state contracted third-party investigations are ongoing (and have been for years), there is no actual evidence that the fraud totals amount to anything remotely close to 9 B dollars.
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TIL there’s something called fraud tourism. Congrats, Minnesota.
2nd and last post here, but here's a link to a summary article from the StarTribune about what they've been covering for about a decade, leading up to now. https://www.startribune.com/walz-says-theres-no-evidence-of-9b-in-fraud-exposing-rift-between-state-and-feds/601549681 I've pasted the article, but hopefully the linked article isn't paywalled, because it itself in the body of it links 57 articles that the Strib has produced over the last 10 years. So, those of you who would like to know what's going on, there you go. For the rest of you, well, have fun, but know that you sound to me like a 4 year old making the argument that her sister is a poopie head.
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TIL there’s something called fraud tourism. Congrats, Minnesota.
Ever watch a national broadcast of your favorite local team, only to be annoyed and frustrated that their talking points are largely surface level, superficial, hyperbolic, or outright old-news? Yeah. Me right now.