According to Urban Dictionary, Resting Bitch Face is:
The face a person makes that makes them look as if they are angry, irritated, or depressed, but are usually just relaxing or deeply thinking about something.
This mainly female disorder causes a person’s face to convey a high level of bitchiness when, in actuality, they aren’t feeling very bitchy at all.
“Are you okay? You look pissed”
“Yeah, I’m fine, this is just my resting bitch face.”
Apparently, this is something that I have, because my wife accuses me often of “being pissed” when I am not. And of course, there is no way to counter her accusation without sounding actually bitchy.
But I don’t think I’ve always been this way. Here’s proof that I used to smile and laugh a lot!
But somehow “youthful exuberance” always seems to get pushed right out of us as we become adults.
Carl Sagan once said: “My experience is, you go talk to kindergarten kids or first-grade kids, you find a class full of science enthusiasts. And they ask deep questions. “What is a dream, why do we have toes, why is the moon round, what is the birthday of the world, why is grass green?” These are profound, important questions. They just bubble right out of them. You go talk to 12th grade students and there’s none of that. They’ve become leaden and incurious. Something terrible has happened between kindergarten and 12th grade and it’s not just puberty.”
As children, we view the world with innocent eyes. As we get older, we start to see the world as it really is. Our parents paint the world with a rose-colored brush, and it takes years for us to see the world for what it actually is.
When Uncle Frank passed away in 1997, I inherited his gun collection. Most of them are gone now, sold to help pay the bills…
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Why are you nagging about the neighbor having some stuff in the bed of his truck? It’s not your truck, or your stuff, or your driveway. It does not affect you. PERIOD! It’s not even unsightly. Hell, it’s the first time he’s used his shiny truck as a truck!
And why do you get pissed off at me, saying things like “Why do you do that?”, when all I did was express my opinion on a subject? Am I not allowed to have a differing opinion than you? I don’t accuse YOU of things out of the blue and it baffles me why you do that to me. Pretty sure you don’t treat other people that way (at least I hope you don’t).
Stop looking for stuff to complain about. Just because “reality TV shows” can ‘manufacture drama’ where none previously existed, is no reason for you to follow suit.
The state of California doesn’t have a monopoly on doing things bass-ackwards, but sometimes it does seem that they work hard at leading the country in this regard.
When I first moved to SoCal back in 1986, a new freeway was being erected, way above the houses. To make room for the columns that support the roadway, the state had bought up a bunch of houses along the path and relocated the buildings to other locations. The state then refurbished the houses and sold them. What’s really amazing is that all of these houses were small, non-descript, and for the most part, not worth the trouble of moving them. One story, 2 (or maybe 3) bedrooms, 1 (or maybe 2) bathrooms, and very plain looking. Hardly worth fixing up, let alone MOVING and then fixing up. Seems like it would have been a better idea to PLAN where the roads would go BEFORE building a bunch of houses, wouldn’t it?
Wait a frikken minute….. You want everyone to switch to electric cars but the power grid can’t handle the current (no pun intended) load ? How the hell is that going to fix itself in the next few years?
Then, this week, the entire western state area is hit with a heat wave the likes of which is seen only once in a hundred years.
And truthfully, a heat wave like this would tax even the best of power grids.
Death wobble (speed wobble, wiggle) is a condition when your vehicle shakes or oscillates uncontrollably. This can happen in a variety of vehicles and for several different reasons.
Bicycle/motorcycle/trike – Death Wobble happens when the front handlebars swing uncontrollably from side-to-side. This tends to happen because these vehicles don’t have much positive caster built into the front suspension.
Cars, Jeeps & pickups – Death Wobble can be caused by loose components but can also be caused or exacerbated by excessive toe-in adjustment of the front wheels. If the vehicle has lifted or altered suspension, the change in the angles can allow a small change to cause a larger than normal movement in the steering. Sometimes hitting a bump or pothole will start the vibration. Sometimes slowing the vehicle down will cause the vibration to stop.
Trailers – When towing a trailer, Death Wobble can occur if the trailer is loaded with insufficient tongue weight.
Today I saw not one, but two pickup trucks pulling trailers that were miss loaded and they were just on the verge of death wobble. They were going down the freeway, probably 45-50 mph; I didn’t have a chance to get the phone out to video capture these examples. These people are out there and they’re driving next to us, it’s scary.
I have no illusions of grandeur; I know I’ll never be rich or wealthy. My biggest hope for retirement is winning the lottery, but I rarely buy tickets (usually only when it’s an outrageous amount of money), so it usually remains “a tax on people who are bad at math”. And even if I do win millions, a great portion of that money will go to improving other people’s lives. Generally speaking, I’m a simple guy with simple needs.
Growing up, I had always assumed that I’d retire at an average age, with an average pension. Augment that with a little bit of Social Security, and it’s a recipe for growing old that so many people enjoy.
Businesses in America made a shift in the 1980s – they moved away from the typical “pension” retirement plan and slowly implemented IRAs and 401Ks. Meaning that if you (as an employee) did not plan and work towards your retirement, no one else was going to. This would have been very handy to know growing up and attending school. I always earned very good grades in higher math classes (Algebra 2, Trigonometry, and Calculus), yet simple math applications like balancing a check book and planning for your financial future seems to have slipped every teacher’s mind. I think back to “career day” at my high school and the 10 seconds the counselor spent with me, quickly shooing me out the door when I told her I had not applied to any colleges. All those As & Bs along with my 1340 SAT score went right out the window because the one person who is supposed to guide you, did not want to get involved. Only recently have some schools begun to implement “financial literacy” in their curriculum.
Throughout the years, the high cost of living in California has taken all of my income just to get by, leaving nothing for retirement. I remember back when Arnold Schwarzenegger was the governor, he said that it takes at least $60,000 income just to get by in this state. I’d like to know how much he pays the guy that mows his lawn. Dave Ramsey says: “Never spend more than 25% of your monthly take-home pay (after tax) on monthly mortgage payments.” My wife & I spend 36% of our monthly net income on our mortgage. (55% if you were to consider only my income)
I’ve never made “good money” and truthfully, I used to have more cash in my pocket before my first marriage; but inflation and poor economic conditions have eroded my net worth more than anything else. The “middle class” in America has been shrinking for a long, long time and I’ve been caught in the middle.
The job I started about a year ago does offer a small match for their 401k plan and I do participate in the plan. The other day, I got an update letter, which summarized how much was in my account and what the monthly payment could be at retirement age.
This book is from Cecil Cicirello and Tom Curry, the 2 podcasters that make the “Cognitive Dissonance” podcast, which is one of my favorites. Not every podcaster can jump to a printed medium, but these guys make it look so easy.
Con-men exist all over the world and they use many of the same methods to dupe their victim into believing whatever scam they are peddling. But have you ever wondered exactly how con-men take hold of otherwise (mostly) normal people’s minds? How do they exploit the mental flaws that exist (to some extent) in all of us?
Cecil & Tom tackle the con-man’s methods straight up and much like their podcast, they don’t hold back any punches. So, if you’re a fan of Alternative Medicine, Religion, Supernatural/Paranormal, Conspiracies, or any of the multitude of rabbit holes that these topics take you down, Tom & Cecil will show you exactly why Reality Matters.
It’s no secret that I’ve driven many long hauls in the past and last weekend was one of those. I’m NOT a truck driver, but considering how many trips cross-country that I’ve made, maybe I should have been. This trip was originally planned for one purpose – to pick up a camper that my wife & I had purchased from an old friend of mine, Kevin. This task would entail nearly 2000 miles round trip, a daunting task for anyone, but in this case made even more difficult because my pickup truck does not have working air conditioning. And of course, it’s July.
Then my employer needed a machine looked at, one that was actually located along my planned route. I’m more than willing to help, so I packed up my tools from my work truck and brought them along. Why not just take the service truck, you might ask? Well, it has a driveability problem that needs to be addressed (sticky turbo actuator), plus my old truck actually gets better MPG than the service truck.
Another friend, Hudson, asked if I could pick up a part from a truck junkyard that was only slightly off my planned path. Sure, what’s another few miles at this point?
Any long drive is a good time to think about all those things you didn’t have time to think about during the week and this ride gave ample time for that. Here are some of those thoughts (in no particular order)….
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Think about all the rules & regulations that apply to professional drivers, yet they don’t apply to the general public. I can drive forever, with no enforced breaks or meals; yet a trucker can’t. Granted, their 40+-ton load could cause a lot more damage than my pickup truck if it were to run into a family station wagon, but truth be known, dead is dead if something were to go wrong in the middle of nowhere.
Is it hot because it’s a desert or is it a desert because it’s hot? There’s a kid’s game called “The Floor is Lava”, but the real-life version is located at Crater’s of the Moon National Monument. I’ve visited it once, many years ago; and it’s worth another stop sometime in the future.
Traveling westbound the mile markers count down to the border and the exits are coordinated with the mile markers, so you always know how far you have to go.
Exit 145 at Imlay Nevada, on the south side of the freeway, there’s a weird looking house. Maybe next trip I’ll stop by and check it out. Here is their web site: http://www.thundermountainmonument.com/
One of the easiest ways to stay awake and alert on a long drive is to talk with a passenger, especially if you can tell jokes to keep each other entertained. Unfortunately, if you’re driving alone, you have to rely on other methods, like salt, sugar, caffeine and possibly multiple personalities
Music also helps to keep you awake and pass the time. A good radio station can be hard to find on a long haul, so you have to bring a ton of CDs with you. No matter how many CDs you bring, it’s never enough
The bureau of Land Management is pretty much a useless part of the government. Just look around at the desert; this land manages itself just fine. The planet will be here long after we’re gone it doesn’t need our help; certainly not here.
It’s amazing to see how many brand-new pickup trucks with brand new slide-in campers or brand new fifth wheels, plus another brand-new boat or a brand-new car trailer are being pulled around out here, even though gas prices are so high. Apparently, the recession didn’t hit everybody the way it hit me and so many others. My rig might not be the worst thing out here on the road, but I’m pretty sure it’s a tie somewhere near the bottom.
Driving across the desert really makes you appreciate modern air travel. Then again, some people like it out here but I don’t see any of them, so maybe that’s “fake news”.
I’ve passed by several prisons on the drive out here. I’m wondering….. do they have air conditioning for the prisoners inside? If so, then living outside, out in this desert – that’s the true prison sentence.
I was unfamiliar with Honda UTVs but after riding 4 miles up a mountain (and 4 miles back), I’m quite impressed with these.
Nothing like making a service call on the frikkin’ CONTINENTAL DIVIDE……. alone.
I had some time, so I went for a short walk…..
A little further down the hill…
Bottom of the hill…
I had my suspicions of this area and my buddy would later confirm what I was thinking, this is a good place for a bear to take a nap.
So I decided to quickly head back up the hill and look at the handiwork that this machine has been doing…
The flies & bugs are numerous up here….
I saw an ATV rolling along on the top of the mountain peak. My phone has a fantastic zoom feature…
When you’re at the top of the world, every view looks like a Windows background screen.
Back on the road, I remembered to run some video when I went back through the only tunnel on my route…
How long is that train?
If a trucking company has 6 trailers that need to be delivered, then they need 6 trucks and 6 drivers. Unless pulling “doubles” is allowed, then they only need to pay 3 drivers. And if pulling “triples” is allowed, then they only need to pay 2 drivers. This is yet another form of Technological Unemployment.
It’s amazing how smooth interstate 80 is in Nevada compared to how crappy it is in California.
The biggest joke of all is the agricultural inspection at the state line. California doesn’t even care anymore, they don’t check the fridge in your RV, they don’t even ask if you have any fresh fruit with you. Multiple lanes with people waving as you to go by. Government stupidity at its finest.
This also explains how so many illegal fireworks make their way into California each year. But THAT’S another discussion.
So, after nearly 2000 miles traveled in roughly 70 hours, the big adventure came to an end. The camper & I arrived home, thankfully with no problems or breakdowns. I think I’ll treat my truck to some “deferred maintenance” now, so the next trip is more enjoyable for everyone.
It is possible to be patriotic and NOT blow up stuff once a year. If you could mow your lawn, cook some hot dogs, and try not to burn down the entire neighborhood, that’d be great.
Freedom isn’t free, but it certainly can be dumb. Remember this the next time you are waving a flag, shouting at someone you don’t know, or buying tires that are made overseas then marked down in price for one weekend only.
The Boston Tea Party was a reaction to the British government raising the tax on tea a whopping 3%. Think about that, the next time you fill up your car, buy groceries, or mail in your 1040 form.
This simple saying, reminiscent of the 1980s and my “favorite quote” that was included in my high school year book bio, is more relevant today than ever before.
Oh for the days of long ago, when used muscle cars were cheap and fuel was inexpensive. Let’s not forget that minimum wage was $3/hour back then.
Like everything else in life, the price of fuel started going up, a dime a day, and IF it came down, it was a penny a week.
Trying to visualize how prices have increased can be difficult, but it can be done in a very effective manner. (I tried to download this graphic, but could not; so you’re just going to have to copy/paste this link):
Now, fuel prices are so out of control, they don’t even put them on the pump. Maybe they know if we saw the final cost, we’d stop buying it? Or maybe they’re embarrassed to show it?
We should all be embarrassed, because WE have allowed this to go on for far too long.
We The People have been blinded by our own short-term profits and have pushed long-term happiness and well being to the side.
Why do WE allow big businesses to run (and ruin) our lives?
And what might be driving those fuel prices up so high? Did the cost of manufacturing go up? Did the amount of fuel available go down? Or did the gas companies simply raise their prices to try and make up for the reduced sales through the pandemic? The largest producers made $100 BILLION dollars in THE FIRST QUARTER alone.
Here’s a novel idea, instead of charging $7/gallon for fuel and making $100 Billion in profits per quarter, how about you charge $3.50/gallon and only make $50 Billion per quarter? That’s still a FUCK-TON of profits, it helps the average American to survive one more paycheck, and it helps get the economy moving in a positive direction…. you know, one that still makes them long term profits by staying in business. Seems like a win-win-win situation, right?
Unless, of course, GREED is the real motivator and the only real reason why businesses are in business.
Ah, but what do I know? I’m just a keyboard warrior trying to make ends meet for just one more week…
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