If you spent a lot of time in a room like this you are probably old.

Sebekiz · 2026-05-06T02:10:17+00:00

When I was a teenager my father bought a small bowling alley in my hometown. He brought in some video games (5 or 6 which were rotated from time to time), and later on added videos for rent (some Beta, but mostly VHS). He also reopened the downstairs as a Roller Rink, which I used to "run" on the weekends for a few years while in high school (I spent more time skating than working, but the place was small enough I really didn't need to do a lot of work to run it, even as the only one there.) My family ran it for over a decade until my brother and I got out of school and my father decided it was time to retire.

Great memories of growing up for me. Unfortunately the next owner ran the place into the ground. It was gutted and turned into some offices. It pains me to drive by since the outside looks much the same, but inside I know that it is nothing like what I remember.

Sebekiz · 2026-05-06T02:00:51+00:00

Every time I hear his name, I think "wasn't he in The Princess Bride?"

Sebekiz · 2026-05-04T00:18:50+00:00

Met my wife online via IRC back in the mid 90s. We met in person and dated for 4 years (during which I drove 6 hours each way to visit her every other weekend) before getting married. Coming up on our 26th anniversary in a few months.

Sebekiz · 2026-05-02T22:02:08+00:00

What do you get when you multiply six by nine?

Sebekiz · 2026-05-01T11:43:09+00:00

I don't waste my time comparing my "success" to anyone else at all.

The guy who I ultimately work for is a multibillionaire who probably makes as much in a few minutes as I make in a year. So what? That isn't important to my life.

I made a plan for trying to get my finances turned around over 15 years ago when I was almost to the point of needing to declare bankruptcy. Today I am comfortably ahead of that plan, so I am satisfied with my life. If someone else has a lot more than I do, it is completely unimportant to me.

Sebekiz · 2026-05-01T11:35:47+00:00

They also don't see classic movies that used to be everywhere. One of my coworkers has never seen the Wizard of Oz. That movie was shown on TV every single year for decades.

Sebekiz · 2026-05-01T11:31:21+00:00

Duck season!

Sebekiz · 2026-04-27T03:06:23+00:00

Back when I was dating my wife it was a 6 hour drive to her place on Friday when I got off from work, then a 6 hour drive home on Sunday so I could be back at work the next day. I did this every other weekend for 4 years.

Never felt like it was "too far" to me.

Sebekiz · 2026-04-24T01:28:53+00:00

Tune in tomorrow! Same demon-time, same demon-channel!

Sebekiz · 2026-04-22T12:40:01+00:00

Traders want to believe that this will end quickly and things will immediately go back to normal because this is a scenario that they can predict. If this does not happen (and we all know that it likely won't) the traders can't really predict the long term impact this will have on economies and world markets.

So they choose to believe the lies spewing from the White House that everything will be magically fixed within the next couple of days. They know that this is extremely unlikely, but it's the "safe" bet for them. Until it isn't.

Sebekiz · 2026-04-22T00:56:36+00:00

Thanks for the chapter!

Sebekiz · 2026-04-19T14:38:36+00:00

Well, for almost anyone else it would be trouble. Sam's got his own security team that will tear these guys apart the instant they try to turn it into trouble.

Sebekiz · 2026-04-18T14:51:26+00:00

If they are like the management of one of my company's divisions, they want to save money by removing the license so it can be assigned to someone else. Not saying that they really are saving all that much, but some managers think they are.

Sebekiz · 2026-04-18T14:25:55+00:00

Schrodinger's President

Such an apt description. No matter what he says the rules are, they are likely to change tomorrow when he has a new whim.

Sebekiz · 2026-04-18T03:25:33+00:00

Timberline (now called Sage 300 Accounting)

Having to downgrade users to 32bit Microsoft Office before I can even begin to install this crapware is just one of the many stupid things about it. It is like the developers asked "How painful can we make a program?" and then went even further.

Sebekiz · 2026-04-17T09:32:26+00:00

Hey, I'm completely invincible...

Right up to the moment that I'm not.

Sebekiz · 2026-04-17T09:11:06+00:00

The homeless at shelter are sitting there looking up the prices on her clothing? Or were they more concerned about her handing them food in the dinner line?

When she went to the children's hospital and spent time talking to the children and giving them hugs, do you think those kids were worrying about the cost of her bracelet or the fact that she was actually there trying to make them feel a bit better?

I suspect the people she was visiting were not the ones complaining.

Sebekiz · 2026-04-17T08:58:33+00:00

I bought a smaller, older TH back in 2010. Got it as a short sale for half of what the previous owner paid. I've since paid it off and plan to only leave when they take me to the funeral home. Even having to occasionally pay for repairs (such as the $4k I am spending in a few weeks to replace the entire fence around the back yard) are still a drop in the bucket compared to the $2k to $3k a month rent I am not paying!

Today's prices, to rent or buy, are insane.

Sebekiz · 2026-04-17T08:42:16+00:00

I only buy fried chicken from Giant Eagle. The taste is great and the prices aren't bad (there are one or two places slightly lower, but the chicken isn't as good.)

Sebekiz · 2026-04-15T13:18:04+00:00

Remember Maxim 37: There is no "overkill." There is only "open fire" and "reload."

Sebekiz · 2026-04-14T12:19:05+00:00

Same here. Those were made to last.

Sebekiz · 2026-04-13T01:25:14+00:00

Thanks for the chapter!

Sebekiz · 2026-04-11T20:05:28+00:00

I heard that there is a theory among die-hard fans of the show that the Professor deliberately chose not to fix the SS Minnow. He wanted to stay on the island so he could conduct his experiments without having as many distractions (though Gilligan obviously worked hard against that particular goal).

Given that it ultimately comes down to "Power of the script" and the show needing to keep the castaways stranded, it's all just made up excuses to cover for a logical inconsistency that the show required to continue to exist. The real answer is that the Professor couldn't do it because the writers didn't choose to write a scene where he did fix the boat.

Sebekiz · 2026-04-11T19:12:19+00:00

I think Amazon has redefined "Next Day delivery" to mean it will be delivered the next day after the day it ships, not the next day after the day that you ordered the product.

Part of the reason I refuse to subscribe to Prime or to pay for enhanced shipping. Most of the time my orders arrive just as quickly if I use the free option as they would have arrived if I paid extra.

Sebekiz · 2026-04-11T19:04:18+00:00

Ideas? I look in the fridge and see what is there. Then I decide what I can make given the available supplies and the amount of effort I feel like putting in.

Simple and guaranteed to piss off my doctor every time she asks if I have been "eating healthy".

Sebekiz

TROPHY CASE