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boilerhorn

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by boilerhorn

  1. Did not see the website linked in @immamac or @All Hail The Magic Conch posts, so I went and found it. https://www.ji2.org/ Cool mission.
  2. To elaborate on this further... (not a lawyer, but google is my friend) The cost of a capital case is around $1mm (on average) greater than a non-captial case - greater in some places. And that is if both go to completion. In this specific case, the cost is far different, as the dude pleaded guilty. Then, there is the cost of appeals, incarceration, etc. The costs of incarcerating a death penalty prisoner are significantly higher - there are estimates that it is 5x the cost. Same with the appeals process. Note that the prosecution represents the state - and not just the families of the victims. Life without parole is better for the state in risk, financial, etc. dimensions. You do not want to risk that the prosecution, law enforcement, the university, or anyone else fucked up some part of the process, lengthening the trial or enabling more appeal opportunities. He pleaded guilty and will be permanently out of the press very soon. This is the best outcome for the state. As @Brisketexan notes, I comprehend the desire for vengeance - esp. for this guy. The debt metaphor is perfect.
  3. Stream of consciousness on some I've watched - I think I had some comments upthread, but will add more. Your Friends and Neighbors Strong cast - Amanda Peet always gets my attention Decent writing Story is interesting, etc. Not sure I liked the way the season ended, but anything different might have precluded a second season Stick Interesting premise Cast, except Santi, is good/acceptable. It's like the writers and the casting director conspired to make him as unlikeable as possible. He's a uber talented, unrepentant, petulant child who finds any and every reason to find how others have wronged him. Perhaps he'd be a more sympathetic character if the actor was better. I like Wilson/Maron characters and look forward to their evolution. Mom's character is "so so" but she is definitely an enabler of her son's petulance. Murderbot I like the premise - Gurathin getting eaten by one of the sand centipedes would make the show better It could be better; it could be worse Fountain of Youth Two hours of my life I will never get back; multiple times, I violated the sunk cost fallacy and said, "it will get better." It did not. As someone else noted above, I cannot recall one thing from it. I even forgot that Natalie Portman was in it until I revisited the cast. If you think of watching it, don't. Find something else to do.
  4. Or maybe it’s like middle school and they vote for their friends.
  5. Yeah - that was a great article. My favorite line: “You never wanna be that dad who says his son is really something special,” he [Cooper] said. “When you share that with someone, you sound like a lunatic."
  6. This. Athlon is lazy. 99% of their articles are clickbait and seem to be an AI's synthesis of 14 different message boards.
  7. Had mine successfully serviced under warranty at Pinch a Penny. It took less than a week and Fluidra covered the costs. Failed motor block. The tech there highlighted his preference for Maytronics products (Dolphin) over Fluidra (Polaris, Evo 614, Zodiac, Jandy, etc.). Perhaps it is because that's what they sell. Perhaps it's because they are more reliable. Who knows? Service and attention to the customer were good. He did say that I'd be better off buying a new one if the motor block fails again. I see the motor block is $450+ from online pool stores...
  8. I have, but both times were mid-to-lare 80s. They made a business decision around 1984 to focus on cheesy ballads and pop. There were still some signs of their rock roots in Hi Infidelity and Nine Lives. I suspect they thought this was a better way to print money. It may have been, but it was short-lived. They had some pretty strong songs in Riding the Storm Out, Roll With the Changes, Don't let him Go, Time for me to Fly, etc. Funny, most of their biggest hits, pre-1981 were stories about breakups. I've not seen them live recently, but Cronin sounds old (he is) and it's basically just a random assortment musicians with him now. That's actually pretty cool. Very few bar bands have the chops and the songwriting ability to do much more than play in bars. I read their wikipedia page and had forgotten much of their origin story. As you note, they were from a suburb of Philly. I had forgotten that the initial band had split, forming Cinderella and Britny Fox. Gene Simmons originally tried to get them a record deal, and they decline. Jon Bon Jovi later saw them and introduced them to his A&R man. They eventually signed a contract. I saw them twice in the 80s, too. I found them entertaining and some of their songs were catchy. Funny how a "Bon Jovi sucks" thread has (d)evolved into including REO, Cinderella, Ratt, Britny Fox, and others. As noted, I found Cinderella to be better performers than Ratt. Perhaps it was because the singer played guitar, moved around the stage, and raised his arms on occasion (looked up some of their live work to verify :)). As an example, Tom Keifer has more interaction with the audience in this one song than Pearcy has in an entire show
  9. Random stream of consciousness now that I see the thread (not that anyone cares): 7NA has evolved into an anthem, evident by the fact that damn near all high school bands include it in their repertoire Music is personal - one man's trash is another man's treasure. I can simultaneously appreciate/enjoy/love/whatever: Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, Depeche Mode, James, Psychedelic Furs, The Smiths, Gun's and Roses, Velvet Revolver, Spoon, Rush, The Clash, VU, The Stone Roses, INXS, Collective Soul, Talking Heads, Journey, Lord Huron, Airborne Toxic Event, Band of Horses, NIN, The Cult, etc. and it's just fine. It is entirely possible that my opinion annoys the shit out of you. That's fine with me. A couple of random songs for you. 1 - One of the better Killers songs, IMO One of my favorites from James. They have many I really like.
  10. Funny, I seem to remember that Bon Jovi outperformed Ratt, but I could not recall why. You helped my memory. Pearcy just stood there and sung the words. Limited movement. Limited emotion.
  11. Depeche Mode covering one of my favorite U2 songs - So Cruel. I am not 100% sure how I feel about the cover. Seems pretty good, but I may be letting my love of the original cloud my judgment, just because it is DM and they did not screw it up. DM is far more measured and constrained in studio…
  12. I’ve seen Bon Jovi twice in concert - both at the Erwin Center. 1985 - 7800 Degrees Fahrenheit tour. Opening act for Ratt. 1987 - Slippery When Wet Tour. Cinderella opened for BJ. Both shows were very good. Yes, he wrote some cheesy lyrics, but I enjoy Wanted Dead or alive.
  13. Every football experience I have had w/ OSU has been net negative. The fans are annoying as hell. I have visited Columbus a few times, some for kid college visits. Every person I met in Columbus and at tOSU for college visits was pleasant and down to earth. Sometimes fans just cannot help but be assholes; for many, the only affiliation to the university is the T-shirt they bought at Walmart or Dick's. That said, I enjoyed the following places when I last visited: Seventh Son Brewing Land-Grant Brewing Hoof Hearted Brewing Clearly, I focused on beer there.
  14. He is, but he has to fill hours of radio time each day. This ranking probably got him 90-120 minutes of enraged and banal conversation.
  15. Understood and I know it is very common. With modern communications, etc., you'd think it could be far less. It seems there's a risk of someone going rogue and thinking, "I have 6 hours to mess some shit up."
  16. You offend sponges and toddlers in a single sentence. Why wait 6 hours for an official cease fire?
  17. Refs do not realize OKC is up 21 and can take their thumbs off the scale.
  18. Perhaps some James Johnson minutes could help... The grabbing and hand checking OKC gets away with makes this borderline unwatchable.
  19. I bought a 614iq - very similar to the 604 - from Marina Pool and Spa. Very easy to work with them and deal with them. I am presently working on a warranty claim, as the robot started to only move in circles. Turns out this is not uncommon. Talked to Fluidra on Friday and got a proper claim number etc. They said I could take it to any Leslies or Pinch-a-Penny for warranty work. Went to the Leslies I have some confidence in and they have ~8 other cleaners in the pipeline ahead - est. 3 weeks to look at it. I'll try Pinch-a-Penny on 620 (near Anderson Mill HEB) today.
  20. Ended up using Cedar Park Overhead within a couple of days of the original message. They installed a LiftMaster 84505R. Belt drive, DC motor, Wifi, integrated camera, etc. There are similar Chamberlain ones for around $200 at HD (I think what NoRagrets got), but the Liftmaster has some additional features (not sure it is worth the delta in price). Work quality was top notch, as was the response time. Called, evaluated, installed, etc. all the same day. Worth a premium over other alternatives. Not sure I needed the feature premiums, but I have a functional garage door opener now
  21. I want LSU to lose, but this is a really good game.
  22. Just finished another Larson book, In the Garden of Beasts. Follows the story of US Ambassador to Germany WIlliam Dodd (and family) from 1933-1937. Dodd was one of the few Americans in Germany (and in the US) who was concerned about Hitler. He saw Hitler's ambition - and evil - as few others did at the time. Larson did an excellent job of describing "The Purge" or "The Night of the Long Knives" and its immediate after-effects. Recommend.
  23. The book was very good. The audiobook was fantastic. The accents, enunciation, etc. helped differentiate the characters.
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