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We're on day 2 of setting up for the Home and Garden Show at Monona Terrace this weekend, which is not to be confused with the Garden and Home Show, which is in March and a much bigger deal.
This morning I will be cutting a new countertop after one broke over the summer in storage.
Edit: Puts on safety glasses and Bluetooth earmuffs. Safety first!
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When I first started at Alt's Operation 8 years ago it was to work with 5 guys I'd worked with before Toys R Us, going back 21 years.
Now, I'm the only one left.
Fortunately, I now work with, and in fact, trained in most of their kids.
Time is pretty weird, just saying.
There are few things that depress me more than trying to do business with pure capitalists.
While I have received untold benefits throughout my lifetime (free room, board, and a college degree up until I was 24, being able to borrow from my inheritance to help buy a house in the Bay Area, being White), the fact stands that between 1996 and 2026 I was able to accumulate over $1 million in liquid assets without directly screwing anyone over. (So not counting the house or the inheritances or anything.)
And now dealing with my mother's estate, every single person advising us is just like my brothers. "Oh, if you decide to sell the house you should kick the tenants out first, because you'll get better money if they're not there. And don't even pay attention to their requests to buy the house; you'll only get top dollar if you put it on the marketplace."
Just a great big, "It doesn't matter that your tenants have been there for 10 years and raised their two children there; their lives are irrelevant when there's money to be made!"
Nope. I'm gonna sit here and care about my tenants. And use my 1/3 vote to advocate for them for all the good it does me. But four of the vilest words I know are, "It's only good business."
I have one friend and one acquaintance whose lives were ruined when the person they were renting from just...decided to sell the place. One was indeed a situation similar to what you are going through, another was just because the owners mom didnt like the tenants. Thats it.
I F%$!ING KNEW IT!!!!!! WHERES THE TIME MACHINE!!!!
One of the hardest games I have ever played.
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I have one friend and one acquaintance whose lives were ruined when the person they were renting from just...decided to sell the place. One was indeed a situation similar to what you are going through, another was just because the owners mom didnt like the tenants. Thats it.There are few things that depress me more than trying to do business with pure capitalists.
While I have received untold benefits throughout my lifetime (free room, board, and a college degree up until I was 24, being able to borrow from my inheritance to help buy a house in the Bay Area, being White), the fact stands that between 1996 and 2026 I was able to accumulate over $1 million in liquid assets without directly screwing anyone over. (So not counting the house or the inheritances or anything.)
And now dealing with my mother's estate, every single person advising us is just like my brothers. "Oh, if you decide to sell the house you should kick the tenants out first, because you'll get better money if they're not there. And don't even pay attention to their requests to buy the house; you'll only get top dollar if you put it on the marketplace."
Just a great big, "It doesn't matter that your tenants have been there for 10 years and raised their two children there; their lives are irrelevant when there's money to be made!"
Nope. I'm gonna sit here and care about my tenants. And use my 1/3 vote to advocate for them for all the good it does me. But four of the vilest words I know are, "It's only good business."
I'm not worried about the tenants financially; they're already paying over $4000/month in rent, they've offered to buy the house, and they drive a Porsche and a BMW SUV. Obviously disposable income isn't an issue. But they've raised kids in the house and they have an emotional attachment to it and disrupting the lives of a family for your own financial convenience is morally reprehensible.
EDIT: I was on the phone with our California lawyer yesterday and I think I put it fairly well. Older Brother screwed up and we're having to go through probate in Washington (hence now we'll have both a California lawyer AND a Washington lawyer. Thanks,Bro!). Since that money will now be tied up for a couple of years, California lawyer was talking about options for pulling money out of the trust early. My response? All of the brothers are financially well-off and not in need of any urgent cash, so we'd go through the normal creditor waiting period before trying to do anything with the money. So the fact that none of us actually need the money for anything (well, I do for my retirement in 10 years, but that's not exactly "urgent") makes it all the more damning to hose the tenants just for extra. Kind of like going to an all-you-can-eat buffet and after eating everything you can, filling one more plate and then taking it to go just because you can.
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Impus Minor, January 8, 2026: Remember when we thought that 2026 couldn't be any worse than 2025?
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Last night's installment of, "Most Boring RPG Ever" really brought things home for me what's wrong with this campaign:
I build my characters based on what they experience; for example, in this campaign in the one combat we've had, I grappled a guy, so I added grappling as a skill.
We're 13 sessions in, and I've added two skills. I have done two things in 13 sessions.
So, most campaigns have a plot. There's something threatening the world/the town/the PCs. Someone needs help. There is some impetus for the PCs to take action.
The last two sessions have been, "OK, you should find something to do to improve your skills."
Imagine being an adventurer, going to a peaceful, quiet town, and finding that nobody needs anything from you. Everyone can do their work themselves. There are no vermin, no menaces, no threats of any kind. You're just an adventurer in an idyllic town that has no use for you. And then you're told, "OK, it's up to you to find something to do for your own self-improvement."
If I wanted to write my own adventure I'd get out my crayons and my coloring book.
On the bright side, I got a huge amount of crafting done in FFXIV, since I refused to participate in the campaign in any meaningful way.
Don't know why people want me there, but I'm there, but I've given up and I play FFXIV the entire time. Actually not a bad way to spend an evening.
Lift rocks?
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The DM in my OSE game meant to write 'halfling', but it came out as 'half lingerie'. Autocorrect, or Freudian slip, or both?
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Oh, I zink ve all know eggzakly ze intent.
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Heh heh heh heh huh heh... what was I laughing at again?
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The DM in my OSE game meant to write 'halfling', but it came out as 'half lingerie'. Autocorrect, or Freudian slip, or both?
I believe that classically, the Freudian slip was considered 3/4 lingerie; it was the Jungian thong that was half.
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Gen X and scams.
Scammer: I accidentally reported your Discord account for harassment! You need to contact this moderator at this email address or you'll lose access to your account!
Gen Xer: Meh. Didn't really need Discord anyway.
Diswhat?!!
I pick up dis guitar and I play discord.
Speaking of unadulterated capitalism,
And yet...
...our housecleaner noticed the donation bags, and it turns out she occasionally volunteers at food shelters. And there are people who wait in line, get their portion, go a couple of blocks away, change clothes, come back, and get another portion. She always wondered why they did it; were they really hungry? Then her friend took her to the Oakland flea market and she saw those same food supplies being sold at stalls.
People were literally stealing from the hungry just to make $5-$20 at the flea market.
If that doesn't tell you how horrible capitalism can be, I don't know what does.
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Speaking of unadulterated capitalism,
** spoiler omitted **
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It astonishes me to say this, but I wish more companies were required to go by California's Smog Check model. After a huge amount of fraud and abuse because of stupid, they managed to come up with a pretty good model:
(1) You take your car to get checked at a place that only does smog checks; they don't do repairs. And the price for a re-check is required to be some amount lower than for the initial check. Because of the frequent inspections and the penalties for fraud, fraudulently passing cars to avoid a re-check is financially damaging. The most profitable option for the smog check place is to test every car honestly and have them all pass. So the smog check guys are pretty good: "Have you warmed up the engine? Did you replace all your filters? Is the check engine light on?" They do their best to make your car pass, but they don't cheat the system because the penalty is worse than the lower-revenue re-checks.
(2) Then if you don't pass, you go to a car repair shop, and the amount they're allowed to charge plummets with every fail. Once again, their financial incentive is to fix your car correctly the first time.
What brings on this description of California smog testing? My doctor recommended I get a hearing test. I wish I could find an audiologist who didn't also sell hearing aids, but no such place exists. So I am required to go to a place that will profit the most if they can diagnose the most wrong with my hearing. It's a stupid model.
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I need everyone's address for...no reason. Scint/Orthos first.
I see you have chosen violence.
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Why people hate Gen Xers:
Friend: I finally decided on my cat's name.
Friend: Did you see my message?
NobodysHome: Yes.
Friend: Aren't you going to ask?
NobodysHome: Nope. You pull that with a Gen Xer you're going to wait a LOOOOOOONG time.
She gave up and told me the cat's name.
Meeko.
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See, in Wisconsin, you have approximately 30 seconds to reply before the follow up with the name, especially with Gen X. They will not shut up about their f!#!ing cats!
Edit (preemptively): I'm not complaining about it or you, it's just a fact Gen X loves cats and loves to talk about them.
Vany CH, and Freehold all do it too!
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Gen X is the best. Only because there’s less of us.
Also I like cats, but I don’t have one. Maybe I should talk about my imaginary cat. (That I’ve only just now acquired.) We’ll call it Flufkers.
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Follow-up on the hearing test: My hearing came back well within the "normal" range, which was surprisingly good for a man of my age. Nevertheless, the doctor pushed hard to get me to buy some custom $400 earplugs.
Because you can't have anyone perform any service for you any more without them trying to upsell.
I blame McDonald's. "Would you like fries with that? Would you like to supersize that?"
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Oh, and, um, my cats did somethingorother cute this morning. I'm sure of it.
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Follow-up on the hearing test: My hearing came back well within the "normal" range, which was surprisingly good for a man of my age. Nevertheless, the doctor pushed hard to get me to buy some custom $400 earplugs.
Because you can't have anyone perform any service for you any more without them trying to upsell.
I blame McDonald's. "Would you like fries with that? Would you like to supersize that?"
Papaw, you dont need earplugs, you are as hail and hearty as the day I was born!
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See, in Wisconsin, you have approximately 30 seconds to reply before the follow up with the name, especially with Gen X. They will not shut up about their f#$#ing cats!
Edit (preemptively): I'm not complaining about it or you, it's just a fact Gen X loves cats and loves to talk about them.
Vany CH, and Freehold all do it too!
I do enjoy conversations around cats.
What? Did you think I was referring to something else? Shame on you! My father, NobodysHome, raised me far, far better than that!
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Gen X is the best. Only because there’s less of us.
When people ask me why Gen Xers are so bitter when we had it so much better than more recent generations, I point out:
Childhood: "OK, you need to make yourself breakfast, make yourself a bag lunch ('cause no way in heck are we paying those outlandish prices for those crappy school lunches), get yourself to and from school, let yourself in to the empty house, entertain yourself and do all your homework until we get home, and in my case, plan and make dinner for the family every night."Teenage years: "Well, we decided to do away with pensions so you'll be responsible for your own retirement as well. Oh, and don't expect Social Security by the time you're old enough to retire; there are too many of us and too few of you, so it'll go bankrupt before you get it."
Early twenties: "Oh, you can vote now? Well, too bad! we vastly outnumber you and you're not responsible enough to rule, so we'll just keep right on going."
Early fifties: "Look at how much the older generations have f***ed up the world! You're all selfish monsters!"
TL;DR: We were never allowed representation because the Boomers outnumbered us, yet now we're being blamed for ruining the world because somehow we had a hand in something we were never allowed to have a hand in. All the while being completely self-reliant from an early age and then being told we weren't responsible enough for any real responsibility.
See, in Wisconsin, you have approximately 30 seconds to reply before the follow up with the name, especially with Gen X. They will not shut up about their f#$#ing cats!
Edit (preemptively): I'm not complaining about it or you, it's just a fact Gen X loves cats and loves to talk about them.
Vany CH, and Freehold all do it too!
I do enjoy conversations around cats.
What? Did you think I was referring to something else? Shame on you! My father, NobodysHome, raised me far, far better than that!
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Gen X is the best. Only because there’s less of us.When people ask me why Gen Xers are so bitter when we had it so much better than more recent generations, I point out:
Childhood: "OK, you need to make yourself breakfast, make yourself a bag lunch ('cause no way in heck are we paying those outlandish prices for those crappy school lunches), get yourself to and from school, let yourself in to the empty house, entertain yourself and do all your homework until we get home, and in my case, plan and make dinner for the family every night."Teenage years: "Well, we decided to do away with pensions so you'll be responsible for your own retirement as well. Oh, and don't expect Social Security by the time you're old enough to retire; there are too many of us and too few of you, so it'll go bankrupt before you get it."
Early twenties: "Oh, you can vote now? Well, too bad! we vastly outnumber you and you're not responsible enough to rule, so we'll just keep right on going."
Early fifties: "Look at how much the older generations have f***ed up the world! You're all selfish monsters!"
TL;DR: We were never allowed representation because the Boomers outnumbered us, yet now we're being blamed for ruining the world because somehow we had a hand in something we were never allowed to have a hand in. All the while being completely self-reliant from an early age and then being told we...
I had to ride my bike 7 miles one way to get to school, past two different farm dogs that actively tried to kill me and my friend Joey, just to go to school, because my d~#!+ead brother (who was going into town anyway) wouldn't give me a ride into town or home unless I paid him gas money.
I had to ride my bike 7 miles one way to get to school, past two different farm dogs that actively tried to kill me and my friend Joey, just to go to school, because my d!@$@ead brother (who was going into town anyway) wouldn't give me a ride into town or home unless I paid him gas money.
Yep. Pretty much exactly.
So you had a bike…
Ours was significantly better. "Mom? We want to go to xxx."
"You know where the change purse and bus maps are."
Even if it was pouring rain, the idea that they would ever drive us anywhere was a "nope".
So yep, still remember third grade two of us in raincoats carrying a cello wrapped in a third raincoat on foot to school, with the cello at least as big as either of us. Not as bad as angry dogs, but still memorable...
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FFXIV is such a cozy, polite game.
To bring Jet, Zel, Tia, and one of the kids' friends through the latest content (12 8-person raids and 2 24-person raids), we crafted them the best non-raid gear in the game and have been carrying them through it. We have raid gear.
I'm also cleaning up some of the lower content I missed when I was less confident in my abilities. So three of us in top-level raid year showed up in a lower-level 8-person and I watched the opening cutscene, so someone assumed I was a noob and they were like, "Don't forget to eat food for XP, and you can ask me any questions if you have trouble."
It was very sweet.
And at my gear level I don't think I ever dropped below 95% hit points, so yeah, um, I think I didn't need the advice.
But he offered, and I thanked him, and that makes FFXIV "cozy" rather than "toxic". It's not hard.
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TL;DR: We were never allowed representation because the Boomers outnumbered us, yet now we're being blamed for ruining the world because somehow we had a hand in something we were never allowed to have a hand in. All the while being completely self-reliant from an early age and then being told we weren't responsible enough for any real responsibility.
"Did they tell you it was set in stone?
That you’d end up alone -
Use your years to psych you out:
You’re too old to care, you’re too young to count?"
>:(
The demographics are horrifying, aren't they? I'm not sure what it must be like to be a sociologist watching on, these days.
Predictably, I gather - after some quick Googling - that while the Americas are roughly representative of the global average of parliamentary (broadly speaking) demographics, that's because Central and South (and the Caribbean) compensate for North America. And compared to here in the frozen north, looks like Congress is about 12 percentage points lower, for proportion of representatives under 45.
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Fantasy NPC: The Eternal tenants, A Ghost of A Peasant
Toiling on the fields when alive, toiling on the very same fields after death.
Speaking of older generations, watching sensible decisions based on life experience devolve into madness is really fascinating.
My mother grew up during the Great Depression. Life lesson: Banks can fail and leave you with nothing. The FDIC was established to prevent this but only insured your deposits at an individual bank to $250,000.
Sensible action: As you accumulate wealth, distribute it across banks so you never have more than $250,000 at any one bank.
So, being of an age where the husband was supposed to be the sole bread-winner for the family, my mother's retirement income was stupid. She had my father's pension, then her own pension, then Social Security, then because she didn't trust banks or other institutions that might go bankrupt, her own IRAs.
All of it still perfectly normal, fiscally conservative strategizing.
Then she set up a trust, and as per recommendations, she kept a personal checking account outside of the trust in case of legal issues.
Then comes the madness: She created a regular account, a trust account, AND a retirement account at every institution. There was no reason to have multiple accounts at multiple banks (you're only insured for your total deposit at that bank), and mixing trust and non-trust accounts at every bank was a nightmare. So, as time went on, she created ten separate accounts across four different banks, and we have two non-trust accounts, five retirement accounts, one trust banking account, and two trust investment accounts to deal with.
That is... a whole lot of paperwork. Most of which is completely unnecessary because while it's a comfortable sum, it's barely enough to merit even 3 banks, much less 4.
Since no one is posting, I'll post about cats. :-P
I watched a really interesting video on how cats can actually read humans better than other humans can, since their survival depends on it, but of course Impus Major used my channel to watch his infamous multi-hundred-meme video channel with his friends, so it's lost to history.
Morrigan proceeded to provide a fantastic example yesterday.
(1) New hoomans arrived. They paid no attention to her and left the front door open while they were talking to each other.
(2) They left the toilet seat up, which really should be punishable by caning.
(3) Morrigan concluded that these hoomans were untrained, so the moment they started gathering their things to go she made a beeline for the front door, certain that their cluelessness would allow her escape.
And she would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for that meddling NobodysHome.
Enjoy some classic Geoff Peterson and Craig Ferguson.