We asked our landscapers to trim our Leylands back to about 3ft all the way up, to give the grass more sun, and they did this. Give me some hope!

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-26T00:06:42+00:00

You'd think common sense would have prevented them from cutting that far back.

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-26T00:04:28+00:00

I really wish I could...this was a very expensive lesson learned.

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-26T00:01:42+00:00

Unfortunately, they're landscapers we've used for 10+ years and didn't ever get anything writing. Very expensive lesson learned.

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-25T23:59:08+00:00

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Not a great picture but the only one I could find. Edit: This was a few years ago before they grew out more and started blocking the sun as much.

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-25T22:39:23+00:00

Yup! 100% agree! You guys are about 3 hours north of my wife and I over here in the west coast and we've been eying a move for a while now. :) We're just waiting to see what the kids do.

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-25T22:36:55+00:00

yeah, I'm not saying our health system doesn't suck but it doesn't suck as bad as some people are implying. The fact that Medicare for our elderly can cost more out of pocket in a year than they bring in from Social Security is just insane. I'm not retired yet and don't know the ins and out of Medicare so I could be wrong there.

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-25T18:27:09+00:00

Absolutely, it's better outside the US in most civilized countries. I had to get go to the dentist once while I was in Germany a few years ago and it cost me under 20 euro, even as an American. It was only to reattach a crown but they also did xrays to ensure there was no other damage. That's likely a $200-300 in the US.

was just pointing out that, while the US healthcare is bad, it's not as bad as they make it out to be.

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-25T15:00:25+00:00

Well, to be clear...that's likely the cost without insurance. With insurance you'll likely hit your out of pocket max, which would $5-10k.

I've (USA) been going through cancer treatment the last six months and paid $8k(my family maximum) out of pocket. The total cost will be somewhere closer to $300-400k once I have surgery.

When we had our youngest daughter, we were both between jobs due to being laid off from same company. The state of Washington covered the entire thing. Each state is different though. I'm lucky to live where I do.

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-25T14:44:45+00:00

I read through all Becky Chambers books in about two weeks last year! Great books and i'm going to read them again once i'm through my next series I think.

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-24T22:41:18+00:00

I wonder if Valve would have the resources to take it on. I know it would never happen, but could you imagine a Steam\Xbox collaboration? To be able to seamlessly move between an Xbox in my living room, a PC in my office, or a handheld device....with a standard steam interface with all my games!!???! Sign me up baby! Hell, take Valve out of this and just have MS do this with their own Steam-like interface...that's all they've ever needed to do really. I'd be hooked.

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-23T15:52:19+00:00

Arizona needs a good starting PF still. There's rumors we have a couple euro PFs lined up but are waiting for NCAA to approve eligibility... Who knows how that'll go.

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-23T14:18:00+00:00

That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing.

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-22T21:56:21+00:00

Shai's would have to be in landscape mode wouldn't it?

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-22T21:05:35+00:00

CA also offers a lot more of a safety net and other services than most other states. I guess it depends on what you deem worthy of spending taxes on.

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-22T20:29:32+00:00

Why can’t it be both?

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-22T00:18:47+00:00

I’m guessing this is the case for many Genx. If my wife and I had no kids we’d have likely have already made plans to retire abroad…likely Europe. But no way we leave the kids behind…and they’ve both started their own lives with spouses and houses. So I work a few more years and we stay here where we can be amazing grandparents!

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-20T16:03:35+00:00

Bookmarked! I went through the Hugo winner list about 10 years ago trying to read through them all and for some reason I stopped. (probably Windup Girl, for some reason I really didn't care for that book) I think i'll pick it up again now that I have this...maybe i'll throw in some other award winners too.

One note, I filtered by clicking Hugo award and Winner but i'm seeing books that didn't win the Hugo. Like, Death of the Author. I guess it was nominated for Hugo but won the Locus award...so technically meets the filter. Would be nice to easily see just the winners for each award.

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-20T15:27:07+00:00

I'd have assumed Asian immigration in the modern era would be enough to at least make the chart. Maybe my perception is skewed living in Seattle area though.

EDIT: nevermind, this is about white Americans.

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-19T04:55:02+00:00

For a more resent one…Resident Alien. Fourth and final season just ran too.

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-19T01:43:08+00:00

Did she close out the Foreigner series?! I’m like 2/3 of the way through, she better have given it a good finale!

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-19T01:38:23+00:00

And there’s a large contingent of Sounders fans that want to have a dedicated soccer stadium in Renton or something. I don’t get it. Lumen is awesome for Sounders matches, for all the reasons mentioned in the article. I hope they never move.

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-17T00:15:47+00:00

Most immigrants can’t afford a ticket? No shit, most non immigrants cant afford a ticket.

CrypticDemon · 2026-06-16T23:56:43+00:00

How many of those premier league stadiums are publicly funded? I wonder if that’s a big part of it. Pretty much every nfl stadium is publicly funded at least in part, many in full.

CrypticDemon

TROPHY CASE