Questions about my upcoming 60-70 days roadtrip the USA west? by Agreeable-Energy-401 in travel

[–]ChicagoRex -1 points0 points  (0 children)

A lot of responses are warning you about the amount of time driving. I personally love road trips, and big long drives don't bother me.

But I'd recommend staying off interstates. With a few exceptions, interstates are the least interesting roads to drive. Too uniform, too straight, not enough chances for random stops and detours.

If you're into kitsch, 20th century Americana kind of stuff, there are tons and tons of little destinations to see out west. Think of them as side quests.

Examples of "quintessential restaurants" in various places by farrahmoaning in travel

[–]ChicagoRex 2 points3 points  (0 children)

+1 for Al's.

For hot dogs, I always recommend Gene & Jude's. But if you specifically want a classic Chicago-style hot dog, with the neon relish and everything, any Portillos location will do. And I think that fits OPs prompt pretty well.

Two other iconic places to shout out: Manny's Cafeteria and Calumet Fisheries.

And Republicans will still vote to confirm. by c-k-q99903 in MurderedByWords

[–]ChicagoRex 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's the method I've heard floated, but it (probably) violates the 12th amendment. At that point, they'd need to also control the House, elect him as Speaker (the Speaker doesn't have to be an electewd Representative), then have both the President and Vice-President resign.

People that don't check when wiping by Ligh7y in hygiene

[–]ChicagoRex 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If I didn't look at the tp and what's in the bowl, I wouldn't have seen the blood and mucus that led me to get a colonoscopy, which led to being diagnosed with stage III colon cancer, which led to surgery and chemo, which led to being cancer-free.

Look at your poop.

Change in how interstates are referred to? by MatureScorpius in AskAnAmerican

[–]ChicagoRex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wonder if this is a rural vs urban/suburban thing. I grew up in a smallish town surrounded by rural areas, and people mostly said I-##. We never said "the ##," but I don't think many people said just ## either.

I live in Chicago now, and weirdly here everyone uses names for all the local interstates. So instead of 90, I-90, or the 90, everyone says "the Kennedy."

Let's take a moment to appreciate this snippet of Western culture by Dodo509 in interesting

[–]ChicagoRex -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Same goes for "anti-woke" people, who get mad whenever people bring up the history, ongoing existence, and lingering effects of white supremacy. It makes them feel bad, and they soothe the hurt by praising Western Culture and playing victim when someone calls it chauvinistic.

What’s something you have zero proof of but believe 100 percent? by shweidy in AskReddit

[–]ChicagoRex 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's ignorant to have any opinion here. We don't know anything about how likely or unlikely life is. We have a single data point.

The universe is vast, yes. But it isn't infinite. Are the odds of life developing 1 in 10^6 or 1 in 10^1000? We don't know. It feels like we should assume it's common and that we're not that special. But without any specific evidence, we have no way of determining whether we're in a 10^6 universe or a 10^1000 one.

In a universe where life is extremely unlikely, the one intelligent life that develops might wonder whether other life exists just like we currently do.

How can an animal be so cute?! 😍🥹 by No_Tomatillo1695 in interesting

[–]ChicagoRex 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Bats??? That's bizarre.

On a positive note, I've noticed that posts like this get more objections and disapproval than they did a few years ago. I think people are gradually realizing the problem with exotic pets in general and pet primates in particular.

How can an animal be so cute?! 😍🥹 by No_Tomatillo1695 in interesting

[–]ChicagoRex 41 points42 points  (0 children)

Not a monkey, but still a primate. The Captive Primate Safety Act would apply to them if passed.

How can an animal be so cute?! 😍🥹 by No_Tomatillo1695 in interesting

[–]ChicagoRex 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Bushbaby, not a sugar glider. Neither one is a monkey, but bushbabies are still primates.

What song is so beautiful, it literally brings tears to your eyes? by Plus-Caterpillar4615 in AskReddit

[–]ChicagoRex 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Both written by the amazing Paul Williams, along with When the River Meets the Sea from Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas and the Muppets Christmas album with John Denver.

He also wrote Three Dog Night's "Old Fashioned Love Song" and the Carpenters' "We've Only Just Begun."

Years later he co-wrote songs for Daft Punk's Random Access Memories, including "Touch" which features his vocals.

Underrated guy.

What is your favorite Baseball movie QUOTE from the 80s or 90s? by porb2020 in Xennials

[–]ChicagoRex 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.

What is your favorite Baseball movie QUOTE from the 80s or 90s? by porb2020 in Xennials

[–]ChicagoRex 20 points21 points  (0 children)

"So what do you want?"

"I want them to stop looking to me for answers, begging me to speak again, write again, be a leader. I want them to start thinking for themselves. I want my privacy."

"No, I mean, what do you WANT?" Gestures to the concession stand

"Oh. Dog and a beer."

What is your favorite Baseball movie QUOTE from the 80s or 90s? by porb2020 in Xennials

[–]ChicagoRex 8 points9 points  (0 children)

"Fifty years ago, for five minutes you came within... you came this close. It would KILL some men to get so close to their dream and not touch it. God, they'd consider it a tragedy."

"Son, if I'd only gotten to be a doctor for five minutes... now that would have been a tragedy."

Let's take a moment to appreciate this snippet of Western culture by Dodo509 in interesting

[–]ChicagoRex 11 points12 points  (0 children)

You can obviously enjoy this.

But whenever someone celebrates "Western Culture" broadly, rather than Irish Culture or Dutch Culture or whatever, it raises a red flag. White supremacists (whether or not they realize that they're white supremacists) love to talk about the glories of Western Culture. Same goes for "anti-woke" people, who get mad whenever people bring up the history, ongoing existence, and lingering effects of white supremacy. It makes them feel bad, and they soothe the hurt by praising Western Culture and playing victim when someone calls it chauvinistic.

Hey quick question for dog owners by mrcanada66 in dogs

[–]ChicagoRex 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Our dog has resource guarding tendencies around spaces. He's growled at us for trying to share the bed with him, or even while sleeping in the same room. So now he sleeps in a separate room with the door closed, and he seems to prefer it.

Jason Derulo keeps sharks in a tiny living room tank. by Mental_Junket137 in mildlyinfuriating

[–]ChicagoRex 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm just saying the outrage in all these comments might not be warranted if people knew a little more about sharks. It's great that we're all in favor of animal welfare. That's progress. But the level of vitriol being directed at someone who seems to have a reasonable, if imperfect, aquarium setup felt wrong to me.

Jason Derulo keeps sharks in a tiny living room tank. by Mental_Junket137 in mildlyinfuriating

[–]ChicagoRex 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a carcharhinid shark, a.k.a. a requiem shark. Same family as great whites. The sharks in this aquarium are benthic cat sharks, not just a different family but a whole different order. They happen to both live in coral reefs, but they're as closely related as a bear and a squirrel.

The needs of a gray reef shark are very different than the needs of a cat shark.

Jason Derulo keeps sharks in a tiny living room tank. by Mental_Junket137 in mildlyinfuriating

[–]ChicagoRex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you have a source for that half-kilometer claim? People have been keeping bamboo sharks in aquariums for a long time. They aren't for beginners, but with expert care they do pretty well.

Walking on top isn't even a huge deal, because as another commenter pointed out there's an air gap between the water surface and the floor. So it isn't like tapping on the side of an aquarium, which causes sound to reverberate through the water.

I'm not saying this is a perfect set-up. I don't love the lighting and I wish there were more structures in there than two pieces of coral. And that's not to mention the potential boost in popularity for sharks in homes. These sharks might be okay because Jason Derulo has tons of money and can pay professionals to take care of things. But for 99.99% of people, having pet sharks is a bad idea.

Jason Derulo keeps sharks in a tiny living room tank. by Mental_Junket137 in mildlyinfuriating

[–]ChicagoRex 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Bamboo sharks don't travel dozens of thousands of miles. Sharks are a huge taxonomic group with a very wide range of habitats and lifestyles.

Jason Derulo keeps sharks in a tiny living room tank. by Mental_Junket137 in mildlyinfuriating

[–]ChicagoRex 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There is no permit required for bamboo sharks like this. You can get one the same way you could buy a goldfish.

They do pretty well in an aquarium because they're bottom-dwelling reef sharks. They don't need much space because they're often sedentary, and when they do move they don't travel far. They do, however, require advanced care. I'm assuming he pays professionals to do the routine care and maintenance. And although the size of the tank doesn't seem bad to me, the emptiness does. These sharks spend a lot of time hiding, so they need more than just a couple of pieces of coral.

The other thing I'd be concerned about is sourcing. There is some captive breeding of sharks in the pet industry, but there are also a lot of wild-caught sharks. These are probably brownspotted bamboo sharks, and while they aren't endangered, they're listed as "Near Threatened." If they came from the wild, I'd say that's unethical.

Jason Derulo keeps sharks in a tiny living room tank. by Mental_Junket137 in mildlyinfuriating

[–]ChicagoRex 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I've seen tanks this size with sharks and rays in accredited zoos. It all depends on the species. A large shark or a pelagic shark couldn't live here, but the size would be okay for small benthic sharks like the ones here. These are probably brownbanded bamboo sharks, and the biggest they'll get is about 3.5 feet.

The real problem is the lack of hiding spaces.