Gromnir

the past couple years have seen considerable economic uncertainty. we ain't lost a wink o' sleep 'cause o' concerns we ain't got enough to weather future potential downturns... save for a the road scenario. 'course if we hadn't been so uptight 'bout money, we coulda' retired a bit sooner. regardless, sounds as if gd managed to escape the moskva in time. you and the captain had it all planned from the start, eh? HA! Good Fun!

antisemitic or just ignorant? choices. HA! Good Fun!

is worth reading the follow-up post in the twitter link as it provides context. HA! Good Fun!

*chuckle* being hit by hurricanes should leads to a reasonable assumption local assets and infrastructure will be diminished... duh. that said, blame local failures is not complete illegitimate, especial in cases o' graft. also, pre-hurricane preparation by puerto rico had gaps and were poor overall although no worse than ordinary state/local mainland preparation for disasters. however, particular with local communications and transportation capabilities devastated by the hurricane, the ability o' puerto ricans to bootstrap themselves outta their troubles were handicapped, which is precise why fema exists... again, duh. both fema and bipartisan Congressional analysis suggest the fed response were profound lacking. drop off massive quantities o' bottled water to airstrips otherwise inaccessible to the local population? failure to have available and provide generators particular following the lessons o' katrina? fed level failures regarding puerto rico hurricanes is not one o' those subjects which is questioned save by a few folks with an agenda. is worth observing a few o' the gwu recommendations woulda been useful for the entire US when covid hit and there were a sudden collective realization that death counts were far too subjective. @Guard Dog is not a civil engineer, correct? even so, am suspecting he could at least speak to the difficulties o' undertaking the effort to rebuild roads in an area where such infrastructure were recent destroyed by significant flooding. am not pretending to be an expert in this area, so will defer to those with knowledge, but one assumes the army corps o' engineers (federal) is precise the folks who could tackle such a task. expect puerto ricans, the folks hit by successive hurricanes, to rebuild roads and communication infrastructure relative quick sounds like a bridge too far demand, but again, am genuine unsure what is required to undertake and complete such tasks. heck, am not even certain what is the appropriate prioritization o' tasks. is possible a bunch o' locals with wheel barrows, pickups and hand tools may manage the jobs? HA! Good Fun!

another example o' the funny way Gromnir's brain works. were a bit o' questionable history regarding abraham lincoln in another thread, and am embarrassed to admit an electric six song got stuck in our head after we did an obligatory eye-roll. warning: the song is not explicit offensive, but am recognizing the vid and lyrics might be deemed inappropriate by the powers that be. HA! Good Fun!

may come as a surprise (or not) that numerous historic figures were killed on the toilet or in the privy... though a couple instances might be apocryphal. wenceslaus iii, edmund ironside, eglon, and uesugi kenshin come to mind, but may be others. and not exact same thing, but... god/the universe being the most lethal o' all assassins, and clear the one with the most sadistic sense o' humor. HA! Good Fun!

har har more relevant to the current topic... HA! Good Fun!

at best this description is wrong. a critical race theory perspective would purposeful avoid trying to account for the perspective of indigenous peoples and minorities such as chinese immigrants. one o' the fundamental aspects o' crt is to allow for a dispassionate examination o' laws, rules, banking and government institutions. in a crt seminar one is gonna consider laws and institutions broad sans all the tendency to attribute blame based on the degree o' moral turpitude resulting from racial animus. lending and immigration laws may have been written with the intent to exploit minorities, or perhaps not. don't much matter from the pov o' a crt examination. disparate impact is all but presumed and no attempt to assign appropriate blame occurs with a crt analysis. more important is to explore how and why the laws and institutions with their inequitable impact change, or do not. what pressures, whether social, religious or economic, bring about changes? crt is not a fluid definition anymore than is the general theory of relativity. however, keep in mind, we already had this exercise, reviewing what the current gop identifies as crt being taught in public schools. again, ro the umpteenth time, crt is not being taught in public schools in the US. numerous states has banned teaching which might make students feel bad 'bout their race, supposed 'cause o' crt, which is nuts and actual a bit disheartening as a signifficant goal o' crt were to come up with a scheme for future lawyers to consider the impact and inertia o' systemic racism w/o all the race-based baggage. in point o' fact, is only a couple state legislatures which decided to use the crt language in their bans, which kinda makes sense as is not genuine crt which is being banned. elements o' the gop, mostly conservative radio hosts and bloggers, recognizing the resurgence o' fear and intolerance in their party, realized how truth and reality is less important than the capacity for a particular complaint to go viral. gop is current focused on grievance and outrage. those elements o' the gop, much like the former President, were willing to say ridiculous and unfounded just to see how The Base would respond. crt, through the inexplicable alchemy o' social media, conservative radio and fox news managed to get a foothold in the gop psyche. crt is an obscure theory created by lib academics and it is complex and obscure enough such that only a small number o' folks is knowledgeable enough to pushback on mischaracterizations o' the graduate level material, and those folks pushing back is gonna be the so-called liberal intellectual elites the current gop reflexive decries as socialists, communists and purveyors o' fake news. also, as idiotic as it may sound, am suspecting Critical Race Theory became a gop bogeyman as much 'cause it were including a memorable abbreviation and it sounded just sinister enough in conservative ears regardless o' what it actual represented. people keep looking at crt bassakwards. crt, the thing the gop is fighting against, were never the issue. the name stuck as kinda a catchall description o' white outrage at being perceived blamed for every misfortune which befalls a minority while simultaneous accused o' white privilege no matter how dismal their own circumstances might be. the current gop is telling The Base that the real victims o' 2020s racism is whites, just as they sold the base on the idea foreigners flooding in from across the southern border is why they can longer have a decent working class jobs, etc. is all bs and trying to explain gop crt complaints rational and reasonable is a mistake which has, unfortunate, led to many liberals and democrats adopting the the stoopid talking point and thus magnifying the problem. democrats with no more idea o' what crt is nevertheless feel compelled to pushback 'gainst republican crt misinformation, which is exact what the tucker carlsons and alex jones want. gop is about grievance and outrage, and is a mistake to legitimize that kinda stoopid. HA! Good Fun!

since you brought it up, am curious 'bout property taxes other than the US. when we were in europe we were not a land/property owner, and we were focused on teaching/studying, so were never a subject o' interest. in the US property taxes vary considerable from state-to-state and the rules regarding what one actual pays is less than straightforward. for instance, 'ccording to zillow, one o' our neighbors has a smaller home on a much smaller lot than us and the estimated value o' the property is near $200k less, but they is paying $2000 more a year in property tax in part 'cause they bought their home more recent. our assessment is kinda/sorta grandfathered in thanks to prop 13 and as such am paying relative less per square foot/acre. all kinda rules and exceptions. public schools get money through property taxes, which is why wealthy US communities have more money to spend on students, but school tax is part o' the "local" aspect o' property taxes and may vary a bit. also, california, perhaps contrary to expectations, is relative low compared to most states insofar as property tax, thanks in large part to the aforementioned prop 13. converse, our income tax, state and fed, is gonna be relative high as california's franchise tax board takes a serious cut, although our income tax is nevertheless quixotic relative low compared to those who earn similar amounts w/i ca 'cause is near all ira. am nevertheless paying a fair amount in property tax, but again, if we were in another state we might be paying 2x (or more) as much property tax. HA! Good Fun!

unlikely makes you feel better, but we could buy a 2009 subaru forester xt with what we paid in state and fed taxes this year. our business losses from the great recession were being carried forward for a considerable time during which we paid zero tax, but that finally dried up this year. am selling properties this summer and am gonna run into same issue as @Guard Dog 'cause the capital gains is gonna be... significant. new ferrari portofino range. HA! Good Fun!

am believing the technical description o' flexible and self-serving "definitions" is malarkey. call us provincial, be we got a suspicion o' any definition which is fluid, changing to fit the individual speaker/writer's biases and point o' view. HA! Good Fun!

national treasure gets thrown around a bit too much, but she is one o' the few entertainers we would argue who deserves the appellation. HA! Good Fun!

“The diligence and sophistication of those the defendant and his co-conspirators targeted during this scheme to defraud are not appropriate considerations at trial,” prosecutors noted. “Indeed, in proving a scheme to defraud, the government is ‘not required to show that the intended victim was actually defrauded.’ […] Nor should the defendant be able to use his and his co-conspirators’ own ruse against their victims by suggesting that, had they only asked certain questions or taken certain steps, they would have known that they were being provided false or misleading information.” [citations omitted] the sucker born every minute defense? well, ok then. on a lighter note... also, edit: and is good to know not every person from tennessee supports book burning... or is a gop law maker. HA! Good Fun!

unless is an extreme new home, is unlikely a wood foundation. chances are what you have is a raised foundation, which would explain the steps. raised foundation is having concrete footing and piers and is sometimes referred to as a crawlspace foundation in places other than the west. raised foundations has wood 4x4 posts and joists involved, but the actual foundation is gonna be concrete... unless you is sooperfancy and got space-age pressure treated wood which replaces the concrete elements. slab foundations is notoriously problematic in many neighborhoods o' the sacramento area. the most common reason for going with raised foundations is also why you have steps. for a slab you need grade the property flat(ish). no steps if flat, yes? however, grading property beyond small degrees is ill-advised if you got a whole lotta clay in the soil 'cause post grade, the water runs along the original clay layers. improper drainage is the most common cause o' foundation failure. this is also the reason why if you are adding a pool to a property in the area, is best not to go cheap, 'cause like slab foundations, for a pool you need go to relative extreme lengths to avoid significant/catastrophic cracks and leaks. HA! Good Fun!

we got an ex, call her kim, who still jokingly credits us with her marriage. we met her in college and managed to stay friends with her. kim ended up dating a serious football junkie and so she came to us for help 'cause, "didn't you play football?" ... serious? when we were dating, approx 1/3 o' our waking hours were dedicated to football and kim only had some vague recollection we played the sport? whatever. anyways, we got a hard time saying no to a serious appeal for help, plus we were also friends with kim's sister and mother (and yeah, am knowing that sounds weird) so were triple difficult to do other than acquiesce. so we explained cover 0-6 and the various man v. zone permutations as well as how a qb reads a defense before the snap. taught her how to identify the "mike" backer, which isn't always the middle lb, and why that is such an important aspect o' the qb read. etc. after more than a dozen hours o' the Gromnir Clinic, (we even had a film tutorial) kim knew a fair 'mount o' football, particular defensive side o' the ball. unfortunately, her newly acquired football acumen intimidated her beau and they broke up, but the next guy she dated felt same as you, that sports knowledge in a gf is sexy, and they got married and thus far have lived happily ever after. HA! Good Fun!

is apocryphal... unlikely true it were said by twain. however, am gonna admit the sentiment feels true regardless o' who first said. if you have lived some place on the left coast where there is a significant convection effect that draws in cold and fog, then summers often involve dreary and cold mornings with the sun not being visible 'til sometime after noon. the thing is, the afternoon burn off o' fog and damp don't always happen. HA! Good Fun!

the field of dreams game from last year were the only complete baseball game we has seen in decades. we gave up on baseball during the strike season in 94 and have rare looked back. 'course we got lucky the field o' dreams game were so good... can likely go w/o baseball for another quarter century. we do recall how watching a giants games during the summer at candlestick park while we were in college were one o' our worst baseball memories... 'cause o' the cold. got unexpected fog and wind while wearing a t-shirt and shorts? were embarrassing for a guy who lived through blizzards in the dakotas and chicago, but were a summer game at candlestick which emasculated us. HA! Good Fun!

since J. Barrett joined The Court there has been at least seven times J. Roberts ended up on the short side o' a 5-4 shadow docket decision and none o' those shadow docket decisions offered us a chance to "read the opinion." the only surprise is J. Roberts finally spoke up 'bout the manner in which the shadow docket is being abused. is not as if anybody is gonna confuse J. Roberts with the late J. John Paul Stevens-- J. Roberts is hardly going rogue by finally speaking up 'bout what should be an all too obvious abuse o' authority. please keep in mind it is not gonna be a surprise if this Court turns back the clock on voting rights by decades and finally ends roe v. wade. like it or not, there is legal arguments supporting both such conclusions, and in the case o' roe, is amazing The Court hasn't already addressed the relevant legal aberration which has managed to lurch 'cross decades, but the current state o' law is that roe is controlling precedent and section 2 of the vra is still a thing as o' 8 april 2022. clean water act? oh sure, has been law since 1972, getting bipartisan support at the time it were made law, but this Court don't mind undermining it by means o' a shadow docket decision with no opinion to justify the action. the shadow docket decisions which undermine existing statutory law and precedent w/o a written opinion to support is a shock the conscience level o' judicial activism. HA! Good Fun!

we did. and is amusing how quick we went from "every second post," to "the post." *chuckle* it was a, they are all bad post by sarex. context, yes? am not reading every one of your posts (lord no) and have been avoiding the ukraine stuff, but you did indeed claim that russians were avoiding civilian casualties when that were never really a thing save in russian-relative terms. if you later realized how bluderific were such an observation, then good for you. am nevertheless waiting for a link to all those posts, "every second post," where you condemn putin and russia. but feel free to whataboutism yourself deeper with imaginary ukraine posts from Gromnir... or are you speaking o' general embarrassing posts by Gromnir? *shrug* seems kinda off-topic, but have at it. HA! Good Fun!

edit: HA! Good Fun! ps have mentioned previous, but donkeys is just 'bout the most underappreciated domesticated animal evar. they are at least as smart as dogs and as likely to bond with humans. most got sweet dispositions and is quite affectionate, though they tend to be territorial, which makes 'em excellent guard "dogs" and they is fantastic at dealing with coyotes. growing up on a ranch, our favorite critters were our burros, and little in our experience over the years has changed that opinion.

*chuckle* oh, wait, you were being serious? okie dokie. can't recall last time you specific mentioned putin, much less an overt criticism, but your usual posts don't garner our attention so is possible we missed; too likely to embrace conspiracy nonsense for us to bother reading. we do recall the russians making "steady progress" and avoiding civilian casualties in your expert estimation, while simultaneous doing the whataboutism/false equivalency schtick we describe. oh, sure, we got an obligatory they are all bad actors post in there somewhere, but hardly the hyperbolic "every second post." history suggests your actual your future posts will focus on the evil western devils and the underappreciated successes and civility o' the russians on the battlefield, though am recognizing you likely have enough sense to not repeat your avoiding civilian casualties blunder anytime soon. but hey, if you don't believe the criticism applies to you, feel free to ignore it. a few recent replies in this thread already makes us look a bit like étienne eugène azam even if you believe you are somehow not deserving to be lumped in with our generalization. that said, am admitted curious to see how long it takes before your next nato/us are the real villains post, but am admitted not caring enough 'bout you specific to track such. HA! Good Fun! ps am not gonna get roped into a debate 'bout ukraine btw. we avoided pre-invasion, noting how board pundits were setting themselves up to look stoopid. when russia invaded, were a complete lack o' self awareness by many o' the redditt cellar trolls who, in spite o' being dramatic proven wrong, nevertheless blundered forward with new predictions... following same pattern o' failure as pre-invasion. the situation in ukraine is an unnecessary calamity and we got no desire to gawk at the wreckage.

am a bit surprised by @Theonlygarby concerns regarding the shield maze sword. is the only sword which fits what is being described... although it don't in fact fit the complaints. the sword ain't equipable in a weapon slot, which should be immediate apparent. is also impossible to bypass or miss the encounter. is hard to imagine one is playing wotr w/o awareness o' mythic paths, so one should be aware that forgoing an angel's sword won't cripple gameplay, yes? am s'posing there is the possibility o' a player making a reasonable assumption that at some point the shield maze sword would become capable o' being equipped then again, we didn't assume we were eventual gonna get deskari's scythe 'cause we saw it in the first moments o' the game, leading us to build the ultimate scythe haver... which is not a terrible idea regardless. converse, seelah does present us with the conundrum @Theonlygarby understandably mistakes as problematic, but not 'cause o' the shield maze sword. HA! Good Fun!

newsflash to putin defenders: if you thought the US and NATO were bad in january 2022, the events o' the past couple months don't make 'em less bad. *shrug* at this point you gotta expect the false equivalency, whataboutism, deflection and outright lies. is part o' the playbook. nevertheless, people have difficulty letting go o' a narrative in which they is complete invested. NATO & US = bad. ok, fine. the russian invasion o' the ukraine doesn't make NATO and US less bad, but somehow the defenders o' putin reflexive work hard to frame russian actions as a balancing equation. again, what happened in bucha, grozny and aleppo (just a few notable examples) doesn't make the US and/or NATO the good guys; is no need to constant fight that battle, but the putin defenders and the folks who has spent decades invested in the idea that the world's problems is all linked to western imperialism are unable to change tactics. is perfect reasonable and rational to see US as the worst o' the worst while simultaneous recognizing russian behaviors with the same suspicion individuals has previous reserved for the west. HA! Good Fun! edit: but, not bust. sheesh.

HA! Good Fun!

Chief Justice Roberts joins with liberals to criticize 'shadow docket' as court reinstates Trump-era EPA rule "The majority's move, Kagan insisted, signals the court's view of the merits even though the applicants have failed to make the irreparable harm showing "we have traditionally required." "The emergency docket, she said, "becomes only another place for merits determination -- except without full briefing and argument." "The five conservative justices did not explain their reasoning for reinstating the Trump-era rule." ... for those individuals who held their nose and voted for trump 'cause they wanted a conservative Court, this is kinda the monkey paw result. in 2022 you got the s'posed limited fed power Justices collective making merit-based decisions on topics as diverse as epa rules, the franchise and free exercise o' religion, and is not as if the Court is taking a consistent federalist approach to state power neither. if a state wants to limit access to abortion or the right to vote, the Court now bends over backwards and in spite o' current precedent defers to individual states, but if is free exercise or an epa rule then the Court skews in favour o' fed authority? why? 'cause o' the relative importance o' issues to current conservative groupthink? a conservative majority has resulted in an acceleration o' judicial activism, which is so not what the libertarians and traditional conservatives were expecting when they applauded mitch mcconnel's machinations which resulted in a J. Gorsuch instead o' J. Garland. gonna repost a recent J. Scalia quote: The people know that their value judgments are quite as good as those taught in any law school--maybe better. If, indeed, the "liberties" protected by the Constitution are, as the Court says, undefined and unbounded, then the people should demonstrate, to protest that we do not implement their values instead of ours. Not only that, but confirmation hearings for new Justices should deteriorate into question and answer sessions in which Senators go through a list of their constituents' most favored and most disfavored alleged constitutional rights, and seek the nominee's commitment to support or oppose them. Value judgments, after all, should be voted on, not dictated; and if our Constitution has somehow accidently committed them to the Supreme Court, at least we can have a sort of plebiscite each time a new nominee to that body is put forward." --J. Scalia, planned parenthood v. casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992) the shadow docket shenanigans by the Court should be garnering more attention. HA! Good Fun!