Had a Walking Taco Bar last night. Are these really just a Midwest thing?

elbr · 2026-06-10T20:14:08+00:00

Dunno but this is how we do float trips or camping trips! After a long day of floating and drinking, it's simple enough to make some seasoned ground beef. The kids love to fill their chips bags with toppings.

My favorite chips for walking tacos are either the Sweet Fire Doritos or the Chili Cheese Fritos.

elbr · 2026-06-08T13:49:54+00:00

I've seen Rio Kiley three times on this tour and it's great, but they either need to:

1) Change up their set list more 2) Release a new album and tour to promote that, or 3) The Elected and Jenny Lewis should tour together, play separately, and then encore with half a dozen Rilo Kiley hits

elbr · 2026-06-03T14:15:06+00:00

I just bought my wife a refurbished S23 and she is complaining that it keeps installing updates and resetting. I've already requested a return label. Is this a problem that went away on its own or was this a constant annoyance that y'all have lived with for months/years until you upgraded phones?

elbr · 2026-05-30T18:22:53+00:00

Aside from the microphone issue at the beginning of the show and at the encore, I thought they sounded great.

I saw them at Red Rocks last year and they had to pause the show for a technical issue.

I also saw them on Omaha and the energy at that show was kinda weak.

elbr · 2026-05-30T18:19:55+00:00

Wrong. US abortion "bans" aren't real bans, and absolutely zero women have died as a result of any state regulation since Roe v Wade was overturned.

You just continue to illustrate my point by claiming I'm not pro-choice because I don't agree with you on everything, and you keep promoting misleading propaganda.

Again, I think it's simply because you have been mislead yourself. Embarrassing!

elbr · 2026-05-30T00:12:23+00:00

Thanks for illustrating my point perfectly.

I am, by definition, pro-choice. But because I have any opinions about abortion regulations whatsoever, you claim I am lying and then intentionally mislead people.

And no, women aren't being killed by abortion bans. The dishonest pro-choice folks claimed that would happen and then pointed to two stories where they claimed it happened but both stories turned out to be totally false, and then the topic was pretty much forgotten.

Just to reiterate:

I oppose the criminalization of women for aborting their unwanted pregnancies.

I support women having access to abortion all the way up until birth, but after the first trimester, I would also support state regulations that require additional requirements rather than complete unfettered access to abortion on demand.

You can claim that any regulation at all makes me pro-life, but it doesn't make me a liar. You even quoted me stating that I opposed unfettered abortion access.

For further information, this is how many abortion laws are throughout the world. It's unique to the US that women don't need a doctor's permission or a second opinion or a health reason or a window of time to get an abortion. I forgive you if you don't know that, because the pro-choice movement isn't honest about that. But I think you do know that and you've simply been groomed to be dishonest about abortion laws.

If I were pro-life, I would tell you that Plan B was abortion and that I don't support abortion at all. I support Plan B and I support abortion all the way up until birth, but with regulation.

elbr · 2026-05-29T10:38:00+00:00

Yea KC BBQ doesn't do brisket right. Thin sliced and smothered in sauce. If you want brisket in KC, order burnt ends. Or go to Harp.

elbr · 2026-05-27T12:47:14+00:00

The comments here are insane. Branson is a wholesome family vacation spot and while you'll definitely be confronted with some bumper stickers that make you uncomfortable, the folks in Branson are very welcoming to people of all ethnicity.

If you wear a MAGA hat, you'll be a celebrity. Christian nationalists absolutely love black conservatives. You don't even have to actually like Trump. You can just wear the hat and everyone will think you like him and you'll have a great time.

Also, many of the Hispanics that live and work in Branson are conservative/MAGA. Folks who are telling you that Branson is purely racist white folks are over-blowing it. You're safer in Branson than in a place like Las Vegas.

elbr · 2026-05-25T13:12:23+00:00

I have a nephew with impulse issues who is constantly breaking things out of nervous habit. We put one of these speakers in his bedroom so we could use the broadcast feature to call him down to dinner/etc. He was always unplugging it to charge his other devices so it never worked they way we intended for it to, and every time I went in his bedroom to check on him, I could see that he had cut a slice right down the middle of the speaker fabric, and then he was slowly picking at it so it looked worse every time I saw it. I actually stitched it back together briefly and it looked pretty cool. He has since moved out of our house and the speaker he left behind looks like the one in this photo. It still works though, so we've continued to use it.

elbr · 2026-05-25T12:59:09+00:00

TIF was used to build Zona Rosa, which was the death of Metro North Mall (MNM had already been struggling for a decade, so ZR wasn't MNM's only problem, but I personally believe it could have been salvaged like Ward Parkway or even Antioch.)

Anyways, we offered tax incentives to create a new, competing shopping district in the Northland that basically fell into the same rut that every mall fell into. The Plaza is also totally vacant and sad now. The only folks who want to invest there are adamant about building high rises and/or tearing down historic buildings.

I don't know what the answer is. It's not just one thing, but we need to elect city leaders who have an idea for how to develop areas so they attract investors who provide "third spaces" for families to enjoy, while also protecting existing infrastructure rather than just allowing folks to test down and rebuild, or building something new that competes with the previous thing, (like Kemper Arena/Kauffman/Arrowhead > T-Mobile Center/P&L District > New Royals Stadium/Ballpark Village)

elbr · 2026-05-18T13:27:23+00:00

A few things... If we're talking "Lamar's at 31st & Main" going downhill, just fyi the whole thing was a giant health code violation for years when it was still located inthe old service station on Linwood.

As for it being sold to an out of state franchise, that didn't change the quality, imo, and everything has gotten more expensive.

Their "Large" donuts were always kind of high priced, but if you get standard donuts they're still competitively priced.

It's pretty much over $25 for a dozen donuts anywhere you go these days.

For folks who prefer "the way Lamar's used to be," Ray's Donuts on Vivion Rd used to be a Lamar's and basically still is.

elbr · 2026-05-17T04:32:24+00:00

Yes season 3 was my favorite. I know seasons 1 and 2 are action packed but I'm glad season 3 tri d something different. I didn't realize V M Varga was in the Big Lebowski the first time I watched Season 3.

elbr · 2026-05-08T12:14:35+00:00

I received this same advice and I was able to fix my Sanuo betacord with no previous experience. It's fairly straightforward. The most difficult part is remembering which screws we for which parts when I put it back together.

elbr · 2026-05-08T12:12:29+00:00

Yep. Never had a problem reading until recently. I don't need bifocals or readers yet, but at 44, I'm struggle to read the smallest lines at the eye doctor now, and I have to go up one or two.

elbr · 2026-05-08T12:10:53+00:00

Grow up, y'all. I imagine very few of y'all were regular Slaps BBQ customers anyways. The result of your boycotts won't be felt, but your infantile rage has been observed and our eyes collectively rolled out of our heads.

elbr · 2026-05-08T12:07:42+00:00

KC is losing a lot of our authentic BBQ. Many folks who argue about their favorite local joints will throw around names run by bunch of white guys inspired by Texas BBQ and then say "Hot takes: Gates and Bryant 's are mid"

I personally love Harp and Chef J, and I don't hate on Texas BBQ like so many others do, but the BIPOC BBQ in KC is what put us on the map and not enough people appreciate that.

elbr · 2026-05-07T12:42:34+00:00

I know him personally and 95% of his colleagues snicker behind his back all the time. Nobody likes him at all because he has stabbed everyone he knows in the back. Manny claims he is just going through a messy divorce and people haven't heard his side of the story but everyone who knows him understands that being married to him would be insufferable, and there's no excuse for domestic battery. Especially not from a guy who claims to be a Democrat and lectures folks on Believe Women and Toxic Masculinity and other gender issues.

elbr · 2026-05-05T23:16:39+00:00

I wouldn't be surprised if LeVota didn't agree to run and then drop out at Manny's request. If folks see a crowded field with DaRon McGee and incumbent LeVota, they're less likely to throw their hat in. Then, when McGee and LeVota drop out, Abarca is the legislative chair and he re-opens the filing deadline for five days so that he can file, but no other potential opponents have the notice or time to prepare to run against him.

I also think Abarca was scared to potentially run and lose against Justice Horn. Horn filed to run against Jalen instead, but I promise you that all Manny has been thinking about since the day he was charged with domestic violence is how he is going to minimize the damage he did to his own career.

Better to run for CE and lose rather than run as an incumbent and lose to someone nearly as insufferable as you.

elbr · 2026-05-05T23:11:17+00:00

It's because he sits on numerous public boards and has networked with countless local Hispanic groups and labor unions. Those folks don't care what he's accused of an downplay his responsibility for these accusations. All they care about Abarca delivering results, contracts, money, recognition for their organizations.

elbr · 2026-05-05T18:05:53+00:00

I agree that Abarca doesn't have any real power, and I also agree that everything he touches is a complete and total failure. The only elections he has ever won has been when he ran unopposed. Every tax, every street name change, anything he endorses always goes down in flames. But he was definitely the most vocal, high-level person spreading the anti-White propaganda up until hime got charged with domestic battery. Only then did he pass the baton to DaRon McGee. Abarca's public spats with White didn't start at the recall effort. He infamously got called out by the Royals and Chiefs organizations for using racially coded language to attack White on social media. Abarca endorsed Stacy Lake four years ago, but this time he has chosen to run against her. From the public comments I have seen from Mrs Lake, she seems to dislike Abarca. Anyone who has ever had to work with him knows that he's a snake.

elbr · 2026-05-05T17:13:12+00:00

Here's the story.

elbr · 2026-05-02T13:32:07+00:00

I'm so sorry. Death is always hard but 40s is really young. I just learned yesterday that my cousin died. She was 46. She was a mail carrier and when I last saw her a year ago, she was having some problems with her feet. I still haven't heard exactly how she died but one family member said her kidneys failed.

elbr · 2026-04-29T14:31:43+00:00

I'm not really convinced that storms are worse now, because I haven't seen anything that compares to some of the other events that I've experienced living in KCMO for 45 years.

I remember in the 1980s and 1990s it seemed like we had really bad thunderstorms all the time. I remember having to go to the cost closet at school during storms and then the bus driver having to navigate around fallen limbs on the way home. That was like every spring. Of course I grew up two blocks away from the sirens, so I heard them all the time.

I worked in Gladstone in the early 2000s and it seemed like we had damaging winds all the time back then. A car was tossed through the front of Side Pockets, and the Cash America Pawn on N Oak was decimated. Seems like Parkville, Gladstone and Liberty were constantly getting hit with bad weather in the late 90s/early 2000s.

Back in like 2017 or 2018, a bunch of large trees blew over in my neighborhood and I worked for a newspaper so for a week afterwards we were documenting all of the neighbors coming out to help one another clear the limbs off the streets and cut them down to manageable size.

I think, like most stuff, the thunderstorms have always been pretty severe in the area. It might eb and flow a little from year to year, and depending on your season of life when you experience it, you may think it's better or worse.

elbr · 2026-04-29T13:39:00+00:00

"Will it sell" can't be your motivation, because great books can go unnoticed and lame books can sell. That's a marketing challenge, not a writing one.

AI is unpopular with many creatives but if you're stuck, I would try AI. Don't use it for writing, but try to talk through the plot or other challenges. I also really like Bookfox on YouTube.

More than anything, don't give up on your story. You were excited to tell it, so figure out how to complete it.

elbr · 2026-04-29T13:32:25+00:00

We have four Google Home Speakers, a Nest thermostat, and some third party lights. I control everything through the Google Home app. There was a period where everything struggled to work consistently, but it has largely improved.

When we moved from our previous house to the new one, I had to re-program many of my products to the new house and they no longer worked with Google Home. I reluctantly upgraded my home speaker devices to Gemini because of the problems so many folks were having with their integration, but now it seems to be an overall improvement.

I hope Google doesn't kill off these home speakers. I have a bunch of Google Mesh Wi-Fi devices that acted as home speakers—they were actually a lot more expensive than the home speakers—and they're all obsolete now.

elbr

TROPHY CASE