I wouldn’t want to be the one to have to intubate those animals.

I almost used a different name but thought fuck it, if he were to ever read this, he knows my thoughts since we had this exact conversation

This is all my personal experience but as I’ve gotten older, it requires more time and effort to maintain friendships. People get busy with their own lives (work, kids, moving away, change in hobbies). Sorry this post is going to be a bit long because it requires some backstory.

Some of the things you mentioned sound like someone from my friend group, I’ll call him Steve since that’s his name. There were a bunch of us who were together every weekend in our 20s, usually going to bars, concerts, or sporting events and drinking a lot. Steve slowed down on the drinking earlier than the rest of us, then he got more involved in his church which is where he met his now wife. We didn’t see much of Steve after that and I eventually moved away. That friend group still does the occasional outing and I know Steve isn’t involved in those. I remain in contact with Steve and he texted me a few weeks ago about something he wanted to do, I don’t live in town so I suggested another friend and Steve replied that they don’t hang out anymore. This was my reply to him and I think it’s appropriate here: “There’s something my dad told [my brother] when we were growing up but I always remembered it for some reason, it’s about friends/spending time with them. It was something along the lines of “somebody’s gotta make an effort or nothing is gonna happen”.”

We all still love Steve and I always invite him out with the larger friend group when I go home which he usually takes me up on. But, I spoke to the friend I suggested to Steve and she that friend said that he hasn’t heard from Steve in months.

This is a really long way of me saying that friendships require work to maintain sometimes. If you want to join in or be thought of as someone to be included regularly, then you need to reach out and start the conversation or it might not happen. If they’re true friends, they should have no problem including you again and it should be like old times. If you have force your way back in or they’re still not inviting you regularly then maybe you have just grown apart. The other side is, if you are invited, you need to join somewhat regularly. If you say no all the time, they’ll just stop inviting you again.

Literally the same with Furiosa except I saw it three weeks ago.

That’s a lot of nuts!

While what’s happening in Gaza is horrific, it’s sadly far down on the list of grievances against the so called “far left” in the US. It was just one that came immediately to mind. They’ve also had no problem with “Citizens United” which allowed unlimited money in politics, they’ve continued to support the police state in the US, a lack of any meaningful movement on healthcare.

Joe Manchin is no longer a Senator but he used to be considered a “centrist”. He was a fucking coal barron who used his influence to get his daughter a made up MBA, she in turn was CEO of Mylan when they jacked up prices on the life saving Eli-pen.

I’m sure it’s what the Big Dog shirt founders were thinking, that was their exact thing except with dogs.

What far left? You mean the “far left” that continues to support the surveillance state in the US or the “far left” that continues to support the total destruction of Gaza? I can keep going, those are only the first two that came to mind.

This is the time for third parties. I get why people were saying not to talk about them during the election but now is the time because it’s obvious that the Dems continue to not have a spine.

Two of my favorites:

Monty Python and the Holy Grail, been awhile since I watched it all the way through and wanted to do it for the 50th anniversary.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit, not only is it a great noir movie but the comedy is on point too. So many good jokes and references to golden era cartoons and, who can forget the best Disney villain, Judge Doom.

You’re not paranoid, it’s a propaganda tactic. DEI, just like CRT, has become a dog whistle for the party loyalists. Then the fringes of the party use that language to label anything they don’t like, it’s doesn’t matter if it’s true or something that has been established for decades. (People my parents age used to be proud to say they got the polio vaccine when they were kids, some of those same people are anti-vax now)

Once a thing has been labeled as DEI, then the major news starts to report on it, “some people say thing X is DEI”. Then if something fails, it’s all DEI’s fault for and becomes another example for the party loyalists.

That behavior also forces people who might not care one way or another into a camp. Ghostbusters 2016 comes to mind there. I enjoyed the work of all of those women on SNL and in other movies. I had no interest in the movie because I just don’t care for remakes of classic movies in the first place but I feel there are always exceptions. My girlfriend wanted to go so we went. It was an average/good movie that got some belly laughs out of me and I enjoyed it overall but that’s where my opinion ended. If I said I enjoyed it with no context, I would be dealing with a bunch of snarky comments and I can either stay silent (passive allowance of their behavior) or I have to defend myself to them. Now I’m wasting my time defending and average/good movie that I don’t really even care about in the end.

I understand the sentiment and yes, just like everything else, capitalism has turned death into a money making racket at the expense of the average person.

I live near a cemetery currently and was raised near a different one, they make great neighbors. Quiet and the one near me now is also a wildlife refuge so I can’t call that wasted space. Yes, it’s privately owned but it’s open to the public. Also, I work in historic preservation and love working in and exploring cemeteries.

In the end, I just love the blend of history, architecture, and nature in one place.

I’ll give up my fantasy worlds when you give up yours. Yours has been far more detrimental to the world.

There are a lot of different socks out there, most of them are more like hose than socks. I use Bombas socks because they actually feel like regular socks except they go up to my knees. I use the 15-20mmhg compression in their large size and they work well for me.

Bombas also has a good return policy, I was trying to narrow in on the size and compression level and after the first pair was too big, i asked them if I could swap and they just sent me the smaller size for free. I’m a bigger guy if that helps you find the right size.

They aren’t cheap but they also aren’t crazy expensive. I just asked for socks for Christmas and a birthday or two and ended up with more than enough to get me through a week.

As someone older. I’ve come to find that it’s part of the cycle. Some days I’m great and feel as good as I did in my teens and other days I get winded walking up a flight of stairs.

The biggest thing now is maintenance. Regular stretching, cardio, and strength training, coupled with better lifestyle choices, less booze, junk food, and smoking. It’s sadly the only thing I’ve found that actually works. I don’t do that stuff enough but when I am disciplined enough to do all that, I usually feel pretty good day to day.

As for the varicose veins, I have some that are super noticeable. Compression socks have been my saving grace there. I wear them pretty much everyday, not so much on the weekends, and every time I travel. You can also get them removed through minor surgical means.

I thought your title said gallery bathroom at first.

I like a FPS but I have the most fun with the PVE sub genre of FPS. Left 4 Dead 2 and Deep Rock Galactic being my two favorites. Playing against other humans can be annoying if the skill balance isn’t right and if they’re cheating then it makes it no fun, imo.

53 out of 100 senators are Republican and 220 out of 435, that leaves 45 Democratic Senators and 213 Democratic House members. I’d hardly call roughly 50% “most”.

I didn’t demand or ask you to do anything. I asked what you have done. What I’m saying that something is better than the complacency that’s been happening since the election. I’m also saying your dismissiveness of these protests is more fodder for Trump and his ilk. So get out of here with that who cares bullshit.

Which is more than most people in congress and a few judges have been doing.