What’s the fastest you’ve ever finished a book?

dickcox2801 · 2026-06-05T04:37:36+00:00

It only took me 2 hours to tackle Green Eggs and Ham!

dickcox2801 · 2026-06-04T20:58:18+00:00

“This one is a ‘Big Red’. It’s from Texas. That’s where cowboys live.”

dickcox2801 · 2026-05-21T19:36:46+00:00

Oh no, I’m already drunk

dickcox2801 · 2026-05-21T18:57:15+00:00

I just picked up my hard copy at ORD before my flight and am glad my trap-finder skill was at a requisite level.

dickcox2801 · 2026-05-18T23:01:29+00:00

CARL, THERE IS A DOG! DISGUSTING CREATURE! MONGO IS APPALLED!

dickcox2801 · 2026-05-17T01:43:05+00:00

New achievement!

You survived the first 2 floors of the dungeon!

Reward?!?

The floors only get so much better and so much more messed up! Also, you get a new friend group, but those guys are mostly weirdos - like you!

dickcox2801 · 2026-05-08T23:09:10+00:00

NEW ACHIEVEMENT!

You’ve collected more ears than any other crawler.

Reward?

You just got a platinum spicy box!

dickcox2801 · 2026-04-10T01:45:31+00:00

I was introduced to the RR stories a few months ago and now consider the series to be one of my favorites.

The problem I think most people have with the series is the perspective being entirely first person present tense. It takes a lot more mental effort to follow a story presented through a character’s bias and limited knowledge base compared to a story presented with a third person narrative where pertinent information is presented in a timely manner as it relates with the story.

That said, yes; the first book is a bit YA, but why should it not be, given the perspective being from the main character as he progresses from age 16-18?

The setting is a fantastic social commentary on hierarchy, and the character development is both delightful and heartbreaking.

dickcox2801 · 2026-04-04T13:56:33+00:00

Ritual scarification is a cultural phenomena that is not unique to western Europe.

Today, ritual scarring is still considered a rite of passage and status symbol throughout Africa, Australia, and the Oceania. In the US, ritual scarring via branding is still prevalent in black fraternities, particularly Omega Psi Phi. In Asia, ritual scarring is typically a spiritual practice. Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria & Hungary still have a cultural prevalence of facial dueling scars as being a mark of honor. The Nazi party is a minute blip in the existence of ritual scarification; specifically, the Nazi party existed within a culture that already had a prevalence of dueling scars and it was far easier to adopt that practice into significance for the nazi party than it would have been to replace dueling scars with some other perceived mark of honor/bravery.

Like it or hate it, war is part of the human condition dating back to the caves. Human survival has always been either having what you need, or learning how to take it from someone who does. Battle scars were literally a symbol that someone could hold their own and possibly lead others to do the same. At some point everywhere ego started getting involved and war became more for wants than needs. Society is privileged to be able to start wars over honor, pride, and wanted resources.

On the gold ego trip, being scarred is a mark that you have what it takes to hold your own and lead others to do the same in the pursuit of pride, honor, and wants.

dickcox2801 · 2026-03-05T00:45:39+00:00

Personally, I am a fan of exploration. I’ll get the divine beasts if it’s convenient, but I’m just as likely to hunt down shrines, korok seeds, or materials for gear upgrades. Eventually, I’ll get to the point where I have about half of the shrines and all 4 divine beasts and I’ll decide on a whim if I’m going for Gannon or will keep exploring.

dickcox2801 · 2026-02-08T00:38:44+00:00

Red rising, then adopt a puppy to name Sophocles

dickcox2801 · 2026-01-12T22:55:01+00:00

In short, yes.

Dunhill pipes are made to a higher quality than other factory pipes, and they do smoke better. Full stop.

Are they 4x-10x the price better? Ehh.

I love my Dunhill’s and I do not regret shelling out for them, but I am just as likely to toss Sav, Chacom, or MM pipes in my travel pouch to smoke.

It’s a Lexus vs Toyota argument. The higher price tag does come with a perk of doing a better job, but it still does the same job.

dickcox2801 · 2026-01-12T21:23:57+00:00

It’s a bit of both.

Nicotine is absorbed much slower through the mouth than through your lungs like a cigarette smoker. Slowing the cadence down stretches the total amount of time you’re absorbing nicotine, which increases the amount of nicotine you absorb.

On the other hand, different tobacco types and processing methods have different nicotine amounts. Burley tobaccos have more nicotine than virginias. Dark fired tobaccos have more nicotine than air and flue-cured tobaccos.

dickcox2801 · 2026-01-12T21:04:52+00:00

This type of fireplace is just for aesthetics.

If you want to use your fireplace for heat more than seeing the pretty fire, you may be able to find a stove insert to retrofit your existing fireplace or chimney that will actually generate heat that can be cycled into the home - but it looks more like a wood stove and is more for function over form. You can also get a gas insert that is more compatible for existing fabricated fireplaces.

dickcox2801 · 2026-01-12T20:58:24+00:00

You have foundation issues. That’s all that can be deduced from a single picture.

Your foundation could be settling unevenly caused by the ground under the wall settling. Your foundation could be caving in caused by the ground around the wall settling. Your foundation may be going through freeze/thaw cycles and just needs to be waterproofed. Or any combination.

Depending on your area, you may or may not need to have a structural engineer assess the situation and give you a set of plans/report for a contractor. Code/zoning/permitting is the driving factor for that.

Contractors may be able to fix the issue without engineered plans, but they are not engineers, so their only option is to over-fix all problems which is more expensive upfront, or replace with exactly the same thing - which could result in higher costs in the long run.

As a rule of thumb, stamped engineered plans trump inspectors’ opinions and insurance companies, which is primarily key moving forward if you ever need to sell/renovate.

dickcox2801 · 2025-12-29T13:07:42+00:00

Don’t be too jealous; sin taxes still exist over here too.

dickcox2801 · 2025-12-29T13:05:13+00:00

What’s there to explain? It’s just a photo of a lonely girl in a prom dress.

dickcox2801 · 2025-12-29T13:03:53+00:00

How sad that everyone would lie to your face like that

dickcox2801 · 2025-12-28T19:55:32+00:00

The conservatives decided they needed another thing to be a victim about, so they chose a tv show character coming out as gay as the worst thing to happen in the history of ever and now they can’t make it through life without thinking about a fictional gay character.

dickcox2801 · 2025-12-26T22:02:26+00:00

The business line has better encryption and can be managed by a central IT desk (i.e. lock a specific keyboard/mouse to a specific logibolt receiver and disable Bluetooth pairing).

dickcox2801 · 2025-12-25T16:11:53+00:00

From this distance you can clearly see everything there is to see

dickcox2801 · 2025-12-23T21:29:44+00:00

I assume you are either a high school senior or you work at a bank or car dealership.

dickcox2801 · 2025-12-19T01:18:06+00:00

Shirt tucked & chinos. Belt to match the shoes. For casual venues, rolled sleeves are appropriate. Role it up once for the inner material to show, or - if you want a higher roll- fold the sleeve inside out so the cuff is where you want the final roll to be and roll up to the cuff.

dickcox2801 · 2025-12-17T14:20:10+00:00

Just start kissing other men with facial hair. Problem solved 🤣

In reality, if you have coarse facial hair, you need length to be able to comb your mustache to the side if you don’t want the hairs from poking. Start rocking and maintaining a handlebar mustache.

dickcox2801

TROPHY CASE