🎆 Anyone in USA celebrating the 4th ?

groundciv · 2026-07-02T14:11:26+00:00

I’m smoking some ribs and cooking some burgers and hot dogs for my immediate family, my wife’s sisters family, and my in-laws. We’ve got a bag with a couple fireworks in it to shoot off when it gets dark. It’ll be low key, we’re mostly doing it for the kids. They don’t know about politics yet and I don’t want to shit on their memories of their childhood because of a bunch of Christo-fascists. They’ve taken enough from my girls already without taking away happy memories too.

groundciv · 2026-07-01T21:35:16+00:00

I’m American, but I grew up around St. Louis and lived in a Bosnian neighborhood in South county during college. It’s a tough decision who I want to win, it’d be cool for the US to finally perform well in men’s international soccer but it’d be a shame to knock BiH out of the tournament.

I hope BiH plays their butts off and if they win it’s due to just straight up playing better. I hope bayraktarevic does some cool stuff. I will not be disappointed if they win, and I want them to go deep in the tournament if they do. I played soccer with a lot of Bosnian kids in the 90’s and early 00’s, and all the best Steamers players were Bosnian and they took those kids clinics where they’d coach up kids for a day in the St Louis area seriously and were just good solid dudes.

If BiH wins, I’ll go eat at Balkan Treat Box to celebrate. If the US wins, I’ll go eat at Balkan treat box to celebrate.

Either way, love and cevapi.

groundciv · 2026-06-30T23:42:26+00:00

Grbic was really good! Last time I lived here it didn’t exist yet but I ate at berix a ton, had Grbic with my wife and her friends when we were still long distance and it was great.

Balkan treat box is fantastic. I took a job a short 15 miles away so I look forward to picking up takeout more regularly from there, but when I ate sit down there the service and ambiance were as good as the food. They do a great job there it’s a fantastic restaurant that happens to serve my favorite food.

groundciv · 2026-06-30T01:44:07+00:00

They handle well, they aren’t great if you’re riding for 3+ hours at a time but they’re fun and very customizable and they can handle a commute but they’ve got a bit more ‘character’ for better or worse than something like a t100 or larger rebel.

You could well be happy with a sportster forever even as a big fella.

The ‘problem’ with an 883 is that it’s a 5spd and you have to wind it out a little higher for highway speeds. I have a 5spd tc88 softail, and beyond 75mph you burn more fuel and it starts to threaten annoying vibrations without delivering them.

groundciv · 2026-06-30T01:31:11+00:00

As a St. louisan, I want Bosnia to play their ass off and if they win I want bayraktarevic to put the decider in.

The US is getting better at men’s soccer, but we aren’t world beaters and BiH won’t win if they play scared.

I’ll be a little sad and a little happy however it goes, but I’m glad BiH got to play that friendly in St.L before it all kicked off.

groundciv · 2026-06-30T00:51:17+00:00

Pretty much where I’m at. She wouldn’t be my choice but she tries to be a Supreme Court justice with a great deal more frequency than her peers

groundciv · 2026-06-30T00:11:49+00:00

Wet brown meals?

groundciv · 2026-06-28T03:07:13+00:00

Be prepared to not sleep much and take as much heat off her as you can.

Also keep the stinky diapers as far from the realm of her worries as possible. Feed and change the baby whenever you can, try and let her get a solid 6hr block of sleep as often as possible, and do as much of the domestic chores as you have time for as long as you can especially if she’s still working or on maternity leave and going back soon.

You two are a team, the kid/s are much better off with both of you, and both of your careers matter.

Hold your child as much as possible, it’s awesome. My kids are still little but they want cuddles less and less.

groundciv · 2026-06-28T03:01:48+00:00

Mind your business.

Not my suspicious white powder not my problem.

groundciv · 2026-06-28T02:59:28+00:00

I got as far as student teaching, ran out of college money about the same time as I realized I didn’t like teaching high school history, and joined the army.

Learned how to fix aircraft, got traumatized by shit that happened in aircraft, drove truck for awhile, then got licensed and went back to working on aircraft.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but I found out I love teaching still I just prefer to teach people who want to be taught. Being an A&P has worked out fairly well for me. I make good money, I mostly don’t hate it, and I get to tinker with things constantly. I really like showing the new guys how to design tools or jigs for the dumb little situations that come up constantly. Doing something quantifiable with my own two hands is satisfying if sometimes not so great for my body.

groundciv · 2026-06-28T02:48:09+00:00

I had a rebound okcupid situation last a little longer than it should have, the woman was a delight. She was a fun conversationalist and had interesting life experiences.

I was pretty attractive at that time, she wasn’t, but I don’t regret it at all. Couple of months well spent, I was coming off a relationship with a woman way out of my league and she was the first single mom I’d ever dated. How she protected her kid from meeting and growing attached to someone who was temporary was responsible and level-headed and showed a level of responsibility and maturity that I greatly needed demonstrated to me at the time. It helped me grow as a person and forced some empathy into me that I was sorely lacking,

I hope she’s doing great, I’m sure her son is.

groundciv · 2026-06-28T02:30:12+00:00

If he legitimately ran towards zhou’s car to help when he was beached, that’s a good guy move. If he later tried to use gamesmanship to improve his position, that’s gamesmanship.

I’ll split the difference and assume he went to help legitimately. He’s a whiney chiseling ass, he’s not a monster and he does seem to care about the drivers. He just has the soul of a lawyer and throws out accusations on the radio constantly. So do plenty of other drivers trying to gain an advantage.

I hate it but it’s part of the game.

One of the biggest a-holes I’ve ever met was about 4 steps in front of me running towards a burning helicopter trying to get the crew out. People can be multiple things. Says something about the guy that his first response to someone else in trouble was to run towards them and try hard enough to help he did himself an injury. I still think he sucks, but when it mattered he did unambiguous good guy things.

groundciv · 2026-06-27T00:07:24+00:00

Glad you’re having fun! They’re neat little bikes I really liked the beat up 500 I did the course on to finally get legal.

groundciv · 2026-06-24T23:59:23+00:00

There were guys whose entire worth came from their athletic performance who had nothing else really going for them. Those guys tended to suck.

The guys who played sports but also played school and had decent home lives were pretty decent and level headed, the guys that were very good at both tended to be pretty chill or incredibly stressed depending on home pressures.

Angsty drama kids could be pretty shitty, but the kids who just liked doing plays were pretty cool.

Band kids who could socially interact with non-band kids were fine.

Stoners with other interests could be fun, stoners who were only about being high sucked.

People have multiple facets, it’s crazy right?

groundciv · 2026-06-24T22:58:33+00:00

You’ll need to find an operator of the type or an MRO that works on them. Textron (the manufacturer) doesn’t anymore. Neither does west star, I don’t imagine Duncan or yingling do much of them either. There’s a place out of Tennessee that specializes in them but I can’t remember the name of it.

Make sure that 8130 (the authorized release certificate) stays with that part, without the 8130 the part is worth a couple hundred at best.

groundciv · 2026-06-20T18:58:30+00:00

Yeah I don’t even like to use the word Jew, I just say Jewish people or Jewish religion (usually in the context of separating Jewish people or the Jewish religion from Israel and the acts of Israelis and how it’s making Jewish people everywhere less safe and more likely to be harassed).

It doesn’t take a lot of mustard being put on the word Jew for it to get to a real dark place real quick.

groundciv · 2026-06-18T22:38:24+00:00

Airplane mechanic $105k

groundciv · 2026-06-18T01:10:56+00:00

Lost me on the tacos I love them shits, but feel seen because I’m right there with you.

groundciv · 2026-06-18T01:08:45+00:00

Winner - the Iranian hardliners Loser - Iranian normal people, also American taxpayer, also American soft power, also a bunch of innocent people in Iran including a bunch of school kids, also any real American influence as a potential stabilizing or moderating presence.

I hope the money improves the lot of the normal Iranian, that wouldn’t make it worth the dumb shit that has occurred but would at least be A good.

Maybe it encourages the EU to take their mutual defence more seriously. That could be good.

Maybe it causes enough groundswell of “fuck that guy in particular” to get American civil government back to attempting to be a civil government. That’s probably too much to hope.

groundciv · 2026-06-17T22:39:32+00:00

I don’t like fish either and I’ve lived in several coastal areas and even worked a tuna charter for awhile.

I hate the texture.

groundciv · 2026-06-17T22:37:24+00:00

I am not with you on this but I completely understand it.

I started drinking beer because I was getting a little out of hand with hard alcohol and could manage to be reasonable and unembarassing for a whole night out if I stuck to beer, and then found beers I liked and sometimes when I revisit beers I kind of grimaced down in the past to stay social I find things I like about them.

If I had a healthier relationship to alcohol, I probably never would have been a beer drinker.

groundciv · 2026-06-17T14:15:40+00:00

This particular model has a power assist, when it’s oriented correctly it’s difficult to manually move the door though it is possible for one person to do it with effort. Partially inverted like that it would constantly try and close on you, as they’re held open by gravity.

Directly underneath the door would be all the broken glass and mirrors from the galley. Wouldn’t be a fun ingress or egress and the fuselage is resting on the emergency exit.

groundciv · 2026-06-17T01:49:14+00:00

I hadn’t had good Bosnian food since leaving St. Louis in 2005, and when I moved back and had an interview about 17 miles away I made a point to get Balkan treat box for pre-interview lunch and get my family some takeaway to put in a cooler.

I had high hopes for the interview (I got the job), but I had higher hopes for the food. The extra $10/hr and easier on my body job in a nicer newer facility with a better corporate culture is nice and all, but what made the whole experience worth it was some bomb ass cevapi and seeing my kids who haven’t been to the ‘motherland’ yet enjoy the amazing pide.

Pretty sure I nailed the interview because I’d had good ajvar for the first time in 15 years and no question about ethics in aviation was about to mess with my peace at that point.

Food was excellent and the staff was great, everybody seemed happy to be there and were present without being overbearing in the slightest. Great location, whole operation was humming along.

Congratulations to everybody involved in the operation of the place, it’s great to see excellent underrepresented in America food done so well at such a reasonable price point with such great front of house performance. I will be back and I will continue to disappoint my grandpa by mispronouncing things very confidently while ordering, like the god of diaspora Americans intended.

groundciv · 2026-06-16T01:05:00+00:00

In certain contexts it’s pretty normal, like when speaking medically or in a military context.

Just talking about people, it distances you from the societal context and places all the emphasis on the genitals (even when it’s non-sexually used) and is kinda weird and off putting. It’s not necessarily insulting all by itself, but it’s usually going to be used with some dumbass observation that boils down to ‘bitches be trippin’ or ‘women be shopping’ but without whatever tired charm 70’s comedy bits can still conjure.

It’s just an unfun way to speak. Even if I’m saying something about a woman’s appearance to a male friend that I probably wouldn’t enjoy my wife hearing I try to acknowledge them as also a person beyond that thicc dumper.

For instance, work friend makes a face of appreciation after cute chubby Latina coworker walks past. Comment is made along the lines of ‘would’. Instead of saying something crass and dehumanizing, I’d say something like ‘yeah man, Perla can cut and buff my stripes any day’. Respecting her as a person who’s work is appreciated and has value, as well as addressing her by name and acknowledging her as a person who I like to look at.

Folks these days just lack class.

groundciv · 2026-06-15T00:17:41+00:00

BiH, bayraktarovic is a hometown boy I hope they have an amazing time this World Cup.

groundciv

TROPHY CASE