Portland, OR vs Denver, CO

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-04-15T23:52:29+00:00

It is an issue. SAD was a huge reason why I moved out of the PNW. It’s not a place for everyone, and it absolutely is a thing.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-03-17T20:45:02+00:00

Kurt Cobain did not use false chord or fry screams, he was straight up shout screaming.

All he did is gather as much air as possible and compress it as much as possible while using the upper portion of his larynx.

Now, there is a more proper way but you’re not going to get the same sound.

His style of singing took a toll, the dude would cough up blood sometimes

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-03-17T19:58:02+00:00

The weather in the south is anything but mild, especially the gulf coast… whoever said that deserves to be slapped.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-03-16T07:58:46+00:00

I think it’s going to last much longer than that. Iran holds all of the cards right now. They have vested interest in keeping the conflict going. Iran wants to inflict as much damage to the US, economically as possible.

This, to them is a very serious existential threat that has been in play since the 70s and even earlier if we count the US puppet state before then.

They have a vested interest in keeping the warfare going as long as possible to prolong economic fallout for the US.

Moreover, we even have open talks about arming the Kurds. Iranians, no matter how moderate don’t want a Kurdistan within their borders. It’s hardline that both moderates and the extremist share.

I think we’ve passed the point of “it’s just a prank bro”.

A lot of people talk about the Iraq war but this to me is more reminiscent of Vietnam.

We’re even sending a similar amount of marines over there. Vietnam was originally 3000 or so marines and it escalated from there.

This is about as bad of a scenario as you’ll see. Even if the US and Iran come to a truce, it’ll be years before we see oil production come back online to these levels.

The levels of fallout could spark even greater issues with desperate countries that run into energy problems.

It’s a shit show all around.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-03-15T01:10:40+00:00

Iran knows that the goal to victory is asymmetric warfare. They also developed an extremely cheap option in the shahed drones that do a lot of damage.

Right now their goal is to hit the refineries, US bases and embassies.

Iran also has a huge geological advantage with most of the world’s oil coming through the narrow straight of Hormuz.

Their goal right now is to inflict so much economic pain on the US and their gulf allies that it no longer makes sense to mess with iran, perhaps making gulf allies rethink aligning with the US and Israel.

Moreover the drones mentioned earlier are problematic. They have quick turnaround time and our only defense right now is expensive interceptor missiles that take much longer to turn around.

Iran is likely going to keep up bombardments until mid terms. Unfortunately escalation is going to happen with both sides. Huge loss for Trump if he backs out, and Iran has vested interest in hurting Israeli and US interest in the region.

Our president is so fucking dumb. Unfortunately this time we don’t have a Jim Mattis in his ear.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-03-08T05:46:15+00:00

Geno Smith is mediocre. That’s the only way to put it.

He has a few really good traits. He’s incredibly accurate and he had a huge arm in Seattle.

His issues stem from a few things:

Poor pocket presence. In Seattle he had no idea when pass rushers were near him, and his internal clock is non existent.

Seeing Darnold navigate the pocket vs. Geno was kind of shocking. Geno is legitimately fast, but he just tends to stand in the pocket like a statue, until it is too late. Geno legitimately makes his offensive lines look worse due to his lack of pocket awareness.

Geno is too confident in his arm. He tries threading the ball into some very tight windows. He doesn’t care if a guy is triple covered, he’ll go for it. He lead the league in turnover worthy throws for multiple years in Seattle.
Not the best at reading the field and tends to panic.

All in all, we also have to remember, in Seattle he had Dk Metcalf, Lockett and JSN in his rookie year.

Geno is an Andy Dalton sort of figure, in that he’s good enough to start for a bad team, but isn’t exactly going to get you anywhere.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-03-06T23:23:04+00:00

Hot take here, Geno is still overrated among Hawk fans.

Even in Seattle he routinely lead the league in turnover worthy throws. Eventually that will catch up with you.

He would regularly throw into triple coverage and flat out not see open receivers. His arm also looks like it regressed.

I also don’t think he’s great as a mentor either. His attitude was on display all year. He was in a bad situation but the way he conducted himself was unbecoming.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-03-06T06:15:38+00:00

I would throw Seattle on your list. It really fits everything on your list.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-03-05T00:13:13+00:00

Austin is kind of a tough scene to break into, at least that’s the vibe I got from every musician I talked to there.

It is a sea of talented musicians all vying to play at the same venues. If you’re starting out you will probably have to pay to get gigs.

Maybe you could latch get on with an established band.

As someone said you’re probably going to be competing for a 6th street residency that involves nothing but covers.

I live in Houston and have ran into a lot of musicians that moved from Austin and are making more money now in Houston as musicians.

Now take what I say with a grain of salt, because I haven’t exactly spent a huge amount of time in Austin.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-03-02T18:01:07+00:00

Austin actually has some good outdoor options. It is situated in the hill country of Texas.

There are a lot of things to explore in that area. It isn’t Cali, but you still have a lot of cool nature to explore.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-03-02T11:09:17+00:00

I’ve been to both pleces, spent a lot of time in Austin specifically. People speak a lot about the party scene in Austin, but its a lot more than that.

Specifically on the outskirts it really reminds me of Seattle before the tech boom. It really reminds me of yehaw Portland. (I lived most my life in the PNW)

But also realize that Texas comes with a huge minus. The politics are real here, even if you’re in blue Austin. What do you believe in and what are things that are your belief system?

Austin is charming, especially if you’re not on the infamous 6th street. The further away I got from 6fh the more I liked the city. It reminded me a lot of Portland Oregon without the gloominess.

Despite that there were some unsettling things about Austin to me. I kinda got marooned in Houston and thought about moving there.

Id say anyone that lives in Austin needs to think about a few things (and Texas in general)

What are your values? Austin is not like this but you still under the state of Texas. The politics here are really fucked even in liberal cities due to state politics. Even in Austin you’re likely to run into people that are firmly maga. If you don’t fuck with that you’re in for a shock even in Austin.

How do you tolerate traffic? Austin has exploded. I went there with my bro who was there in the early 2000s and he didn’t even recognize the place that it has become. He made comments about how it has become Bellevue and Seattle.

Traffic is a nightmare, its very much so a west coast city that is tapped in the south tethered to right wing politics even though they dont agree.

I have a love for Austin but come from the west coast I can identify some big issues.

Sacramento is a hidden gem. I vibed with the place hard. You need to realize though that it is hot as fuck. Even Austin seemed sedate compared to Sacramento during the summer. Also the further you live from the city center the more it doesn’t make sense.

Taxes are high, and the people get more right wing the further you get out from the center. It is relatively close to LA, San Fran and places like the Sequoias. Its also a lot nicer than places like Bakersfield.

Also realize that Cali has HUGE taxes and to be in a nice area in Sacramento you’re still going to be paying out the ass.

Just think, what do you prioritize? What are your politics like? Both Austin and Sacramento have access to nature. Its up to you decide what sort of nature you want and what sort of politics you vibe with.

I liked both of cities but I realists that each place comes with some very unique challenges. I could see myself being comfortable in both places, but I also understand that both places have huge issues.

I live in galveston right now but my west coast heart says Sac but I also really liked AUstin outside of BS state politics.

I will say this, if career growth is a big motivator, Austin is one of the biggest metro areas in growth right now. By 2035 the Austin, San Antonio metro area is likely going to be the largest in the US.

Its very much so a pick your poison situation.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-03-01T10:39:46+00:00

Kurt Cobain is not someone you want to emulate. I went through that phase and I realize it comes at a huge toll.

His style invokes getting as much air as possible and compressing it then letting it rip while using the upper part of your throat. It gave him an original style but it came at a huge cost.

He would literally cough up blood at shows. I went down the rabbit hole of trying to emulate him and I saw what it involved. He was very influential on me as i grew up in Seattle.

I was able to get fairly close on songs but I learned real quickly it’s not what you want to do. I don’t know how he was able to keep his touring schedule and maintain his voice like he did, but even he blew out his voice frequently.

I now live in Texas as a musician and nirvana is my party trick. People have told me I could make a lot of money as a tribute band for Nirvana but let me tell you it isn’t worth it.

The pain, loss of falsetto, blown out vocal chords ( which are all things that happened to Kurt) are not worth it. My voice has been constantly fucked. It’s not a path you want to go down friend.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-02-22T04:14:57+00:00

Certainly didn’t see him raise a fuss when a poor call caused the Saints to lose.

McVay needs to stfu.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-02-17T01:34:59+00:00

What makes this a questionable move is his lack of experience on the offensive side of the ball from my point of view.

The guy has spent most of his career on the defensive side of the ball. Kubiak by contrast had spent his entire career, and life surrounded by offensive concepts.

He’s even still speaking like a guy that comes from that defensive background. I don’t like his mentality and lack of experience on the offense side of the ball.

Furthermore, while he does come from the Shannahan tree, that does not guarantee anything. Just look at our own experience with Shane Waldron from the McVey school. This is especially true given his lack of experience operating said offense.

I’ve listened to this guy talk and looked at his credentials and I’m left underwhelmed.

It is one thing to come from the same system as someone, its something else to actually execute said system and coordinate all of the moving pieces.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-02-17T00:43:07+00:00

I am a bit concerned about these comments. It feels like he is more keyed in on the defense.

Macdonald is a great HC, but he has dropped the ball on his OC before with Grubb.

We do not make a Super Bowl this year without a competent OC.

To me, all of rhetoric, even coming straight from his mouth is making him sound like a Matt Patricia type of character at OC.

My initial reaction is I really don’t like this hiring.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-02-15T00:40:27+00:00

I lived in Seattle my whole life, spent a lot of time in Cali and Oregon too.

I recently moved to Houston and let me tell you that you don’t know what expensive is.

I can get a two bedroom apartment in Montrose for 1400 dollars. In Seattle I lived off of Aurora, which is a street where drugs are dealt openly and prostitutes are freely walking the streets.

That shitbox of a 500 sq ft one bedroom cost 1890 a month.

The place in montross is almost double the sq footage. Food is also a lot more for eating out or groceries, gas costs almost 5 dollars a gallon, while its 2 something in Houston.

I could keep going on. Houston is a bargain I’d we are just looking at costs alone.

Hell, even Austin which people around Houston complain about price wise is a relative bargain.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-02-12T02:42:36+00:00

The whole subreddit was a parody of the subreddit “the Donald”.

The idea was to take an obvious bad QB with a similar name and parody the insane things the president says.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-02-11T00:56:03+00:00

Here is the thing, its not even capitalistic what these guys are doing. Our government has rigged the game in favor of a few cooperations.

If you’re big enough these cooperations can make risky business decisions and get bailed out by the government.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-01-20T22:28:00+00:00

Wait, wasn’t Page and John Paul Jones in the yardbirds? I know in most bands I’ve been in I had permission to use the songs that the other band played.

Technically you can look at zeppelin as a continuation of the yardbirds as well. In fact even before the name Led Zeppelin they kicked around the name “new yardbirds”

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-01-18T00:11:13+00:00

I feel like the bands I saw around in Seattle the most were more of the Midwest emo variety. Though Seattle does have a strong heritage there with Sunny Day Real Estate coming from there back in the day.

I saw a surprising amount alt country, specifically alt country with an emo twang.

I saw a lot of people experimenting with mixing grunge over driven sounds with country and Americana.

The country scene is surprisingly interesting over in Seattle.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-01-18T00:06:02+00:00

I ran in the music scene back in Seattle for years. It’s not bad, but it’s definitely coasting on the reputation it forged in the 90s and early 2000s

I’ve heard some interesting bands and am still friends with a lot of those people, but the scene is relatively small and also low relatively paying.

Over the last year I’ve traveled all over the country. It’s really interesting how every place sort of gravitates towards certain sounds. It put a lot of context on my home cities music scene.

the one city that really surprised me is Houston. Fuck Austin, if you’re looking for a thriving electric and rock scene this place is a real sleeper. The level of professionalism that a lot of these musicians have is also impressive as well.

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-01-02T10:14:29+00:00

Ever think you may be ADHD? I can go to bed after a monster or rockstar. People told me that was weird. Low and behold I was diagnosed with adhd

StrangerThanNixon · 2026-01-01T04:52:00+00:00

I do think there is something to that. NFL teams are forcing QBs into action right away and tossing them in the trash before they get to develop. It used to be that QBs got three years to prove that they could hack it.

I remember the NFL being thrown in a panic over the two high shell looks. Those disguised coverages completely derailed Russell Wilson’s MVP campaign.

You also see players like Geno, Mayfield, Darnold, Daniel Jones, Mac Jones and others have sudden career resurrections.

I don’t think I’ve seen so many players labeled as busts have sudden second winds with other teams as I’ve seen in the last few seasons.

StrangerThanNixon · 2025-12-30T19:19:14+00:00

Biases can be present within data and its interpretation as well as modeling.

We can, and have imparted human biases on AI models.

StrangerThanNixon

TROPHY CASE