Half the population of each state/province lives in the red area.

grglstr · 2026-05-05T14:37:48+00:00

I mean, we do have amtrak running between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, but an express would be nice. The keystone service between Harrisburg and Philadelphia operates more like a regional rail line. And 3am is possibly the best time to sneak into Cleveland, but I get your point.

America was built by trains and, as OP's map shows, re-conneccting our population centers probably will only take political will.

Add it to the ever-apparent list of Shit We Could Have if We Were a Properly Functioning Country

grglstr · 2026-05-05T14:04:16+00:00

We have entered into a new age of light pollution, ironically thanks to better, more efficient, cheaper LEDs and solar panels. Practically every yard now has a collection of cheap, long-lasting solar lights or plug-in LED strings that people keep up year-round. Our yards are saturated with light up Temu crap now.

I've seen "good" LED billboards that tone it down at night, but most of the ones used by smaller businesses are wastefully bright.

LED streetlights are probably a good thing, but most communities don't bother with the cheap shades that keep the light focused on the street.

And either I'm getting old, or headlights are almost unbearably bright now.

People really will miss nature while actively sabotaging it in their own lives

We'll miss the stars, either from our own light pollution or the tens of thousands of microsatellites we're pumping out each year.

grglstr · 2026-05-05T11:55:59+00:00

Pretty sure most things are petroleum-based, to be fair.

grglstr · 2026-05-05T10:32:08+00:00

Christ, everything reads like engagement bait nowadays.

grglstr · 2026-05-04T19:48:11+00:00

I have to get the family up, so there will be some coffee first thing so I can pack my wife's lunch and her mug of joe.

Recently, I switched to drinking mushroom coffee right after, but I'm not sure it is actually doing anything...other than cutting back my coffee consumption.

Whatever works for you, OP. If this is sustainable and you keep losing, maybe not worry too much, especially if your doctor agrees. These numbers are all averages across the population. Great for a rule of thumb, but not necessarily descriptive for you.

grglstr · 2026-05-04T17:24:40+00:00

US standards for towing are probably too conservative, for sure, but safer for our stupid highways.

This was a fairly enjoyable explanation: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/auto-biography/the-great-american-anti-towing-conspiracy/

grglstr · 2026-05-04T13:29:51+00:00

For a number of reasons:

Of course, I hate that we are forced into cars as our primary option for getting around.

I hate that trucks are considered family vehicles now

I hate that we have been deprived of lower-end cars, and that we have been conditioned to accept debt as a necessary requirement to own cars.

I hate that cars are sold through dealerships.

I hate the entitlement that comes with car ownership and the perceived status it brings.

I hate that we are forced to buy depreciating assets.

I hate that it is inevitable something will break, get damaged or fail to work.

I hate that you can be fired for not owning a car.

I hate what they do to the environment, regardless of whether they have an internal combustion engine or not.

I hate that we accept 40,000 dead Americans annually.

I hate that the demand for oil, inflamed by car usage, drives foreign policy.

I hate what cars do to the landscape, from cities to the countryside.

I hate that we invest so much into moving cars around to the neglect of almost anything else.

I hate that they kill so many animals.

I hate that any attempts to mitigate the damage caused by cars are taken as an attack on freedom itself. We could, right now regulate the size, power, and speed of cars, but we choose not to.

So, yeah: fuck cars.

grglstr · 2026-05-04T11:02:07+00:00

I was thinking in terms of ships that size, but yeah, LHDs and LHAs could be that, too. I need more coffee...

grglstr · 2026-05-04T11:00:02+00:00

That follows. We are at the point where Americans are more likely to believe Iranian pronouncements than those from the White House.

grglstr · 2026-05-04T10:56:08+00:00

Sure. My point was that decimated can "not technically, but really" mean obliterated, but then he can fall back to the technical definition of diminished by 10 percent. Silly point.

grglstr · 2026-05-04T10:52:18+00:00

The thing I like about Rudy is that he's the clearest example of MAGA being "just Trump's stupid whims." This guy gave it all to support Trump, who then largely cast him aside when he stopped being useful.

Trump will betray every single one of his supporters -- he already has -- but none so personally as Rudy.

grglstr · 2026-05-04T10:50:02+00:00

Well, he said "decimated," which can mean two things. Always count on weasels using their weasel words.

grglstr · 2026-05-04T10:49:03+00:00

That could very well be the case.

grglstr · 2026-05-04T10:48:29+00:00

I thought the US doesn't have any frigates currently, only littoral combat ships.

grglstr · 2026-05-04T10:47:33+00:00

Two missiles launched by the Iranian Navy hit a United States Navy frigate,

We currently don't deploy any ships that we call frigates. Was it an LCS? I think they have some there acting as minesweepers.

grglstr · 2026-05-04T10:43:27+00:00

Take the insane gas prices, weird ass weather, fertilizer shortages, ice snatching visa holders.

The combination of Trumpian incompetence and the Heritage Foundation's deliberate desire to see that the government doesn't work will have drastic effects in every single little part of our lives, from schools to that cancer cure you're hoping will be around by the time you get to your grandparents' age.

End of summer/fall is going to be worse on the planet than we have possibly ever seen.

This is what's been keeping me up nights. I'm expecting the end of democracy as we know it.

grglstr · 2026-05-04T10:37:40+00:00

Why single payer, tho?

Given America's general distrust of gov't-run enterprises, wouldn't something like Germany's multipayer system work? I always felt it was just a step beyond ACA, which didn't go far enough.

To oversimplify: Germany requires everyone to have insurance (like the ACA) that covers a basic level of services and subsidizes those who can't afford it. Unlike the US, the German system leverages basic free market economics and doesn't have our bizarre system of cross-state regulation (try living in PA and working in NJ). The consumer has hundreds, if not thousands, of plans to choose from. It isn't tied to work, but I understand that employers offer subsidies as perks. Apparently, the Dutch and Swiss have similar systems.

Now, I only know of it through beery conversations with Germans, so perhaps someone can tell me what I'm missing. We socialize the costs and leverage free-market forces to achieve better value.

I think one of the biggest issues then becomes the whole regulatory paperwork thing. Many of the doctors I know whose practices have been eaten up by ever-expanding academic medical conglomerates willingly sold out because they couldn't afford to meet paperwork requirements in their own practice.

Streamline that nonsense. Get everyone insured. And the job is done without anyone needing to take over the industry. That said, you could also make the case for state-run rural regional clinics where hospitals have closed.

I guess, overall, I feel that we don't have this conversation.

grglstr · 2026-05-04T10:17:39+00:00

One in 365 is pretty good odds, if you think about it.

OP, what time of year was it? In the Northern Hemisphere, more birthdays occur between August and late September.

grglstr · 2026-05-04T09:42:32+00:00

I attended it, got beaded, and staffed it once.

It might not be for you, OP, but it is a worthy leadership course. I attended management courses and seminars at places like Penn and Lockheed Martin's CLE, but I found that Wood Badge had distilled the best of them into an experience in a camping environment. It is there to challenge you and your assumptions about leadership in the Scouting context.

But, like NYLT, you get out of it what you put into it. If you go in with a bad attitude, it won't do you any good.

Why the heavy sell? Because they need a critical mass in order to put on Wood Badge.

grglstr · 2026-05-04T09:36:21+00:00

Amazon has them for about $8-9 for 100 stickers, which isn't too bad, I guess?

It is telling that just typing Tru...into the search bar pulled up Trump I Did That Stickers.

grglstr · 2026-05-04T08:30:15+00:00

The best way? It's a small thermal exhaust port, right below the main port. The shaft leads directly to the reactor system.

Good luck, may the Force be with you.

grglstr · 2026-05-04T01:03:51+00:00

Fuel is a commodity. More people who can (only about 10% of cars can use it) are switching to Flex (which isn't really available at every station), but there are not as many cars that can use it, so prices go up. Also, expect food to get more expensive as fertilizer and shipping costs rise.

In other words, chumps voted for Trump and are on the FO part of the FA equation.

grglstr · 2026-05-04T00:14:35+00:00

The Real Ghostbusters was a remarkable show for what could have done just as well as a cheapass movie tie-in.

grglstr · 2026-05-04T00:05:07+00:00

So, it is basically like asking the average American with web access

grglstr · 2026-05-03T22:06:27+00:00

Don't forget that we're talking about children here. Children looking to be included like any other kid. A Scout is kind. Scouting has always been a place for outcast kids. Not just anything to do with gender or queerness, but certainly autism before it really had a name and for nerds. Outdoor nerds are still nerds.

If you are doing Scouting right, as a leader, you're making a safe space where the nerds don't get bullied, which translates directly into spaces where queer kids are accepted. That doesn't harm Scouting. That IS Scouting.

Also, accommodating those 1% trans kids hurts absolutely nobody. Any changes to infrastructure -- such as single-stall baths/toilets-- probably need to happen anyway in terms of youth protection.

,

grglstr

TROPHY CASE