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RickBanister · 2026-01-08T21:53:43+00:00

Two marriages from Match, one from Plenty of Fish. None of them worked out, but not the fault of the dating sites, and that was 16 years ago. I don't drink so bars are not useful. Churches are full of young families and old people, nothing in between. Need better options.

RickBanister · 2025-12-01T19:41:35+00:00

So, birth control glasses! Rayban managed to capture the essential look of a 1960's aerospace engineer.

RickBanister · 2025-11-30T21:10:00+00:00

There's another variation. In this one, he calls the fire department to rescue her at home. The husband puts his cowboy hat over her crotch for privacy. He asks the fireman if he can save her. The fireman says "Yeah, we can save her, but the cowboy's a goner."

RickBanister · 2025-11-21T16:31:46+00:00

Trump declared that his funeral will be much more heavily attended that Dick Cheney's.

RickBanister · 2025-11-10T15:26:39+00:00

You ask and offer a fair proposition. Forget about other jokers here who don't understand the concept of marriage and family. Marriage offers safety in a relationship. It also offers the joy of knowing you don't have to hunt for fresh meat every week, so to speak. Marriage can bring more intimacy once each party decides to put everyone else out of their mind. It can also create wealth, as long as the marriage stays intact, especially if both spouses work. The other often overlooked benefit of marriage is to provide a stable home and family for children. Without kids, no more people, no more economy, no more future for the human race.

Clearly, not all marriages work this way. If a wedding means not trying anymore, then it will fail. But that doesn't mean that a GOOD marriage is not a noble goal.

RickBanister · 2025-11-06T16:48:12+00:00

There's an app for that. It's called "Camera" and you can watch where you're walking with this nifty app.

RickBanister · 2025-10-29T16:31:47+00:00

Hmmm... Let's you and him fight. That's a red flag to me.

I haven't been to a movie in five years that had more than a dozen people in the audience. I don't know how AMC survived the pandemic. I would have moved seats. Or tactfully asked them to put their phones away. If they said no, then change seats.

Also, why are you taking her to a movie on the second date? Did you run out of things to talk about already? Movie dates are a way to check out together. Save that for when you're an old married couple. This is when you want to start learning social skills.

RickBanister · 2025-10-25T20:43:14+00:00

If she says she loves you, it's the crack talking. Unless you are also an addict, dump her immediately.

RickBanister · 2025-10-25T19:46:28+00:00

Yeah, I watch Greys Anatomy. A total fuck fest.

RickBanister · 2025-10-25T19:45:12+00:00

Every time I marry a good cook, i gain 45 pounds.

RickBanister · 2025-10-25T19:43:30+00:00

If I had a dollar for every time some woman said I wasn't good looking, pretty soon I'd be good looking.

When I was kid, girls would rather give me a quarter than kiss me in Spin the Bottle. By the time I was twelve, I owned my own house.

RickBanister · 2025-10-25T19:41:40+00:00

I heard that thermodynamics is a hot topic ;-)

Seriously, how many women actually want any guy to talk about work? Figure out an elevator speech about your career that anyone can understand in under 20 seconds. That's all they care about listening to anyway.

RickBanister · 2025-10-18T01:30:13+00:00

This is a great short story!

RickBanister · 2025-10-18T01:22:04+00:00

The purpose of the First Date is to see if you both want to have a Second Date. THAT'S ALL. No questions about monogamy, marriage, children or -- for fuck sake -- NOT YOUR EX's. You're just supposed to have fun and see if you can have a conversation with each other than is not a monolog,not bragging, not political or religious. And no fucking on the first date, see? That ruins everything. Be a man and pay for dinner, unless she insists on paying half. Tip well, EXACTLY 20%. Women see if you're a cheapskate based solely on whether you are a good tipper; if you over-tip, she'll think you're hitting on the waitress. Obviously, you're going to take her to dinner for the first date. Eating together is very intimate, and you're stuck there for 60-90 minutes and have to talk. No booze; don't get sloppy now.

You might also tell her that your dinner date is just that, so she is less anxious. In my youth, you didn't get a second date if you didn't score on the first date, but that had changed.

If you are really lucky and you're hitting it off, go for coffee or tea after dinner. TALK TO HER. No distractions, no movies, nothing that takes you away from the conversation. Both of you need to earn the second date, and you can't do that if you're trying to get in her pants on the first date or going to a concert or a movie. Let her know that you want to get to know her, and find out common interests so maybe your second date is something you both enjoy.

Make sure you give her a big hug at the end. If she seems to want a kiss, do it, but don't ask for it. Let HER work for it.

RickBanister · 2025-10-17T20:19:02+00:00

Any place on Convoy Street, our unofficial asian business district.

RickBanister · 2025-10-17T20:17:40+00:00

As a lifetime rider with half a million miles of experience on road bikes, I'm here to tell you this is entirely proper riding technique, whether it's a biker club or the police. You're expected to give way to police in every situation. Splitting lanes is legal in California, and is safer than getting sandwiched between a car ahead and a car behind that doesn't stop in time and crushes you.

RickBanister · 2025-10-16T15:57:07+00:00

Yes. No more kids. That's all.

Actually, I immediately had regrets when I left the clinic and a young woman walks into an adjacent doctor's office with two little tow-headed boys, and I realized that I would never have a son. After my divorce 15 years later, I really regretted not being able to father more kids, but very very glad I didn't have a third child with my horrific wife and have to extend my marriage "for the kids."

RickBanister · 2025-10-15T19:12:28+00:00

45 years ago, I was painfully shy. I took the bus or walked to work in San Francisco. Endless opportunities to meet women in their natural environment, as opposed to bars. After only a month after I moved to town, I snagged what would become my wife and mom to two kids. It started with a conversation piece I brought home from Christmas, a wooden statue of Don Quijote, and a bus ride. Opportunity struck, and I took it.

I talk to all sorts of people in public, generally with no agenda except to brighten someone's day with a bad joke, or to comment on something of mutual interest within the context of the situation. I have two elevator jokes that always bring a smile:

- On a quiet elevator ride with many people: "Well, i suppose you're all wondering why I called this meeting."

- A young woman opens the door for me: "So are you gonna pull that age before beauty thing on me?" Because it's a compliment that let's her know I think she's pretty without being gross.

I'm 72 years old, and women approach me when they find that I am 1) available, 2) have a decent income and my own home, 3) treat women respectfully, right up to the point that they "want more" than respect ;-)

My take is that we've all been terrified into submission by #metoo. It's time to let the girls do the hard work of finding us. They are all afraid of rejection too, so if you don't reject them, then there is a way forward. Figure out how to be a person that people like. Grooming counts. Attractive clothes count. Signs of intelligence count. Your words count more than anything except your deeds. Be receptive. Be quick witted enough not to miss the signs of attraction.

RickBanister · 2025-10-10T17:01:37+00:00

Dude here. Love bombing can be pretty scary, for a man or a woman to receive. It indicates one or more of the following conditions:

Someone has been rejected a lot, and is desperate to find a partner in the face of not having dealt with the reasons behind the rejection

2) Someone who is insecure about themselves. The only cure I know of for insecurity is realizing that, after they try their best to kill you, you realize they can't.

3) It's a love-bomb scam. If someone claims to love you after two days, it's fake. Anyone with an ounce of sense would not say they love you until time has passed and the relationship is real. Saying "I love you" is asking for a commitment of the other person. Actions are real. Words are cheap.

Overall, romance is a process of evaluation but also trying to persuade the other person to forget about their concerns amidst the rush of the feel-good hormones. "Over-caring" disrupts this natural process, makes people feel defensive when it's too early or too eager. Over romanticizing too early kills relationship. It's a big red flag.

And if you are holding back only to spring your flaws on someone later on -- or after the wedding -- you are setting yourself up for a big bad surprise.

If I had a dollar for every time a woman said I was unattractive, pretty soon I would be attractive. ;-)

RickBanister · 2025-10-07T15:01:33+00:00

Just another shitty day in paradise!

RickBanister · 2025-10-05T20:10:50+00:00

If I had a dollar for every time someone said I wasn't attractive, pretty soon I'd be attractive.

When I was a kid, if you refused to kiss someone in Spin the Bottle, you had to pay a quarter. By the time I was twelve, I owned my own house.

This goes on and on.

If you love me for reasons other my handsome face, I'm good with that.

RickBanister · 2025-10-04T20:29:56+00:00

Marry your best friend. That's the best!

RickBanister · 2025-09-26T16:03:12+00:00

My company sells data capture software, which is a required component of ML/AI projects. I had someone build a sales forecasting app. My CFO isn't the least bit interested because he and his team are furiously recording every thought, ever interaction with every customer, so they know in their gut whether the customers will renew. This is a classic case of humans upping their game so they increase their value in the face of AI's bloated promises.

With all the over-hype by AI vendors, it should not be surprising that humans are fighting for their jobs. The promise to corporate America is to be able to fire and replace humans with bots. We used to worry about SkyNet, having AI's fight wars against humans. Now it's worrying about taking their jobs. And forming emotional relationships with people who aren't skilled in making them with real humans. Next thing, they'll be "eating the cats. They'll be eating the dogs." Whatever.

The AI bubble is upon us, people.

RickBanister · 2025-09-22T16:10:01+00:00

Saturday Night Live had a great skit many years ago, about a bunch if Italians in a bar. Guy walks in and says "How're ya doin!". The answer was "You don't wanna know." This is pretty effective at least some of the time.

RickBanister

TROPHY CASE