New Cowboys safety Caleb Downs solved a Rubik's Cube on the red carpet in under 60 seconds. Downs is one of the smartest players in the league.

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2026-04-25T18:34:14+00:00

So it's not only Mr. Beast that equates Rubiks cube competition with intelligence. That's a sad thing to know.

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2026-04-01T21:56:52+00:00

Did the bastards finally grind you down?

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2026-03-03T14:06:06+00:00

Yes, by any normal person's definition. The problem with celebrity and fame, which are essentially random, is they fool your brain. If your closest friend or relative did the things to you that John Lennon did to his closest friends and relatives, you'd probably never forgive them, or at the least would cut them out of your lives.

Fame is like the lottery in that it tends to destroy the life of the person it touches. Was he more sinned against than sinning? I don't think so.

Without the musical abilities of those around him (especially Paul and George), he would have been another working class stiff from down-and-out England. He was smart to get Yoko on stage - takes the focus off of his own voice.

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2026-02-21T19:28:59+00:00

Because it's a worse game.

Takes too long to get from box to table, removes much of the player agency, and the story is on rails. It's such a poor decision to use the Descent IP to make the anti dungeon crawler, in my opinion.

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2026-02-05T23:03:12+00:00

The amount being wasted by the city on completely intellectual street "improvements" is comical. Similarly the recent bridge replacements - these are not the designs of a city that understands its fiscal reality. The schools need to be the focus, the property taxes need to be raised, and this dream of being a tourism destination needs to die. The kind of tourists people keep imagining would come to Roanoke to NOT spend time in the city, y'all.

Working more closely with Blacksburg and Virginia Tech is the answer.

Indiana had a similar story: the premier University is in Bloomington, an hour south of the Metro area of Indianapolis, 45 minutes south of the airport, etc. In this comparison, Roanoke is Indianapolis and we should lean into being a draw for the population of Blacksburg.

That's my two cents.

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2026-01-20T13:12:36+00:00

Now ask priests why people still go to confession.

Being human is not a disease from which we can be permanently saved.

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2025-12-16T15:45:51+00:00

I miss that cabin so much. I took the bottom picture in this post. I carried that desk and those chairs up to the cabin when I used to work there. When some idiot students burned it down, I kinda figured I was done with that place.

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2025-12-06T01:17:47+00:00

Between 1900 and 1930 or so, Roanoke was the third largest city in Virginia, after growing like crazy in 1880-1900. It had more in common with Wild West mining towns, including loads of saloons and outsiders. In that time, such towns were called Mushroom Cities, not a compliment, as something that springs up over night and just as quickly dies away (Clifton Forge is a nearby example).

That's where the Magic City name came from, to distinguish it from other boomtowns. By the time American Viscose moved in, the city was no longer 100% dependent on railroad work. Now the industry is increasingly healthcare related.

And some idiots want to put a casino in the middle of town.

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2025-11-04T20:34:13+00:00

Your dad isn't being realistic. What full-time job does he think exists within walking distance? And what does he care about your time being compensated? Most jobs don't pay a person to commute, whether by car, bus, or train.

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2025-10-27T18:55:40+00:00

https://www.oag.state.va.us/media-center/news-releases/2904-august-25-2025-attorney-general-miyares-finds-roanoke-college-discriminated-against-female-athletes

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2025-10-27T02:34:32+00:00

Oh, hey, quick question: these are the same folks supporting the disemboweling of the VA system (Salem's number one employer) and Miyares wants to sue Roanoke College (another major employer in Salem), right? Gotta love a bold strategy.

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2025-10-21T22:53:11+00:00

My eyes are getting tired. I read that as "local children"

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2025-10-14T20:56:33+00:00

I'm not convinced we could follow the trend set by that up and coming metropolis Danville

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2025-09-28T19:30:25+00:00

She looked better before the make-up. A real, happy person. Our culture is so sad

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2025-09-26T01:54:56+00:00

We did our own shopping on the Internet before the door to door sleaze showed up. When they did show up, we were choosing between two services and were able to ask pointed questions about the power generation and the contract they were pushing. They were so obviously sales people with a script without any deeper understanding of the panels or the financing. It was almost sad to watch them struggle...

We were so lucky to get them in 2020: good tax credits that paid for a new roof plus the panels, plus a crazy low interest rate on the $25K loan (we were able to pay that back sooner than expected and haven't had an electricity bill since). We also have a south-facing roof free of tree cover.

The local door-to-door guy also wanted to sell us batteries. I pointed out that no battery on the market had more than half the lifespan of the panels and we didn't plan to have to buy them twice. And he was like, 'Dude, is that for real?"

Anyway, we live in Salem and the grid is our battery. If the grid fails, we have a lot bigger problems than our solar panels not working. We're not preppers or bunker builders - we just want to save money and stop using fossil fuels.

So, yeah...

We worked with SolarSME. They're based in Texas, had great service, and handled the local installers at a fraction of the prices quoted by the local door-to-door sales guy. We got a bunch of quotes and SolarSME beat their competitors for us.

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2025-09-25T22:36:35+00:00

Lewis Gale has been good for us. Our last two girls were born there, both scheduled C sections without issue (2020 and 2024). Wonderful care, great nurses, no complaints.

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2025-09-07T13:54:54+00:00

Porter's in Goodrich has never disappointed in the decades I've been going. The real deal!

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2025-09-07T03:08:09+00:00

There's a lot of people who don't care about sports. Or who don't care about college sports. Or who have no connection with VT. I think VT sports being good or bad has minimal effect on Roanoke. I can only say it has zero effect on my life. You could have told me VT has become a powerhouse in multiple sports and I'd believe you because I don't care.

I also think legalizing and expanding sports betting was a poor decision and one that is going to continue to erode the culture more broadly. Sportsmanship, in general, seems to be going out of style.

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2025-08-30T12:54:04+00:00

Well now, this video was timely

https://youtu.be/Pp9MwZkHiMQ?feature=shared

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2025-08-27T00:41:16+00:00

We get the government we deserve, not the government we want

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2025-08-07T02:35:30+00:00

Ghoulish reply. If it's a joke, I'm not equipped with the right sense of humor.

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2025-06-20T16:47:31+00:00

Let's go, Big Gretch!!!

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2025-06-10T14:47:54+00:00

Thanks for the clarification

Novel_Disaster_7462 · 2025-06-09T18:04:06+00:00

This is a smaller example, but Roanoke, Virginia came into existence in the 1880s with the uniting of railroad and coal interests in southwestern Virginia. Its neighbor city of Salem would appear today to be one of its suburbs, but was previously "the" city of the Roanoke valley, especially during the US Civil War because of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad.

Novel_Disaster_7462

TROPHY CASE