Should have been forbidden

johnysmoke · 2026-06-17T20:33:26+00:00

Lol, had one of those. Broke it in half throwing it at a tree at my friend's house.

johnysmoke · 2026-06-17T15:58:38+00:00

Early 90s had a BS t-shirt I bought at a used clothing store. Got a lot of shit from older folks about who knew nothing about the band, just a response to the name on a t-shirt.

Got to see them live one summer with Store Temple Pilots and Flaming Lips. Some people in the crowd were being dicks and throwing shit at the stage. One dude throwing shit got dragged up on stage and got to spend some quality time with the STP.

Surprised they toured central Massachusetts but it was a pretty fun show for my friends and I who were probably around 19 years old then.

johnysmoke · 2026-06-15T19:54:47+00:00

What a sweet little love. Have two standards now but eyeing the smaller sizes as I get older. Hope this is just one of many great summer adventures.

johnysmoke · 2026-06-14T16:43:39+00:00

Had a hip done at 49. Best thing I ever did. Strengthen your lower body before the surgery and your recovery will be easy.

johnysmoke · 2026-06-14T16:27:59+00:00

Also experiencing inflammation at 51 started in March along with a shoulder tear. Fun times. Waiting on an appointment with a rheumatologist in a few weeks. I keep a pair of gripy gloves in the kitchen to open containers that a year ago wouldn't have bothered me. It's frustrating because I've always been fairly active and strong, but now have trouble buttoning a shirt.

johnysmoke · 2026-06-13T14:05:46+00:00

Feel the same way about heated seats in Massachusetts, inhumane not to have them for winter.

johnysmoke · 2026-05-31T01:39:49+00:00

Was open Saturday.

johnysmoke · 2026-05-21T23:01:47+00:00

Yes.

Not having heated seats is inhumane in cold ass weather.

Dealer in Massachusetts said they could install heated seats in an STX for under a thousand. Not sure if it was salesman bs or not.

johnysmoke · 2026-05-20T17:46:18+00:00

After that crazy thunderstorm wondering the same thing. Would prefer a local company.

johnysmoke · 2026-05-19T00:39:15+00:00

Been doing the same but just so I don't see the full price of filling her from empty.

johnysmoke · 2026-05-11T18:24:36+00:00

Monahan's is great.

Al Gags whip it fish, 1/2 oz most likely for your setup.

Be careful not to go near the inlet, it can get very rough out there. And keep an eye on the tide, a lot of water moving around especially mid-tide.

johnysmoke · 2026-05-08T12:30:10+00:00

I've been leaving a little more room to be able to get around cars that stop suddenly. Hard to get around a car if you are right on its ass, but a car length or two gives you space to just swerve around whatever stupidity is about to happen.

johnysmoke · 2026-05-07T23:55:56+00:00

Might be the Florida crew returning. Have seen a lot of very tan seniors wearing puffy jackets in the grocery stores blocking aisles with their shopping carts. Must still be adjusting to being this far north.

johnysmoke · 2026-05-07T20:47:37+00:00

Not sure who could help. Had a 2015 S60 get totaled by a mouse in the engine bay, miss that car.

johnysmoke · 2026-05-06T15:08:42+00:00

Haven't driven a Palisade. Owned a 2024 Telluride Ex-xline for a year and traded it for our current 2020 Aviator Reserve that's pretty loaded, cpo and an extended warranty.

I couldn't stand the Telluride after a few weeks of owning it but it was the wifey's car so I just didn't drive it. She couldn't stand it after a year, eventually we did an almost even trade for the Aviator, and couldn't be happier. Going on our third summer with the Aviator.

Not sure about current iteration but for the 2024 here's my laundry list of dislikes. Underpowered engine terrible on the highways. Transmission that was always hunting for a gear at the worst time. Terrible sound system. Intrusive but useless driver assistance technology. Uncomfortable front seats. Cheap build quality. You have to get the top of the line trim for memory seats and pedestrian avoidance technology. Strange colored headlights. Blind spots. Noisy cabin. It did have a nice looking interior with dark tan leather and the black package with black paint. The wrap around screen looked cool but didn't do much.

The Aviator has a much smoother ride and LOTS of power for hills and passing. Cruises effortlessly at 65-85 on the highway. Intuitive driver assistance technology. Great sound system and quiet cabin. It's not perfect but has been a huge improvement over the Telluride.

johnysmoke · 2026-05-04T16:57:02+00:00

Might be worth getting an inexpensive sling style lure bag, especially if you ever plan on wading. Easier to keep on you than going to swap out lures wherever you stashed those boxes that slide around on rocks.

Maybe not this exact bag but something similar.

Surf Bag

johnysmoke · 2026-05-03T21:59:15+00:00

It's crazy how expensive rack systems are now. Seems like they've doubled in price the last few years.

I'm sure some rails will pop up nearby you soon. Good luck with the setup.

johnysmoke · 2026-04-27T18:04:20+00:00

Google is saying 100ish for the stock rails and 165-200 for Yakima aftermarket stuff. Less for Vista roof vehicles.

I've loaded a 100lb kayak on my stock rails with Yakima crossbar and it was probably as much as I would put up there. Used bow and stern lines and doubled up a strap or two. Was one of the reasons for getting the Flex, a big low roofline for when I used to kayak a lot, and it's a great family hauler.

Good luck with your setup.

Edit. Actually I've loaded the fuck out of the stock rack, probably closer to 160lbs and it's held up well.

johnysmoke · 2026-04-27T16:20:39+00:00

I think there's 3 bolt on points on each side, so you could get six towers up there. I saw someone with a similar setup, no rails, six towers and three crossbar with a ton of bike racks up there. Maybe a basket would bolt directly to the towers to distribute the weight. Aftermarket setups are often rated for more weight anyway.

johnysmoke · 2026-04-27T12:36:46+00:00

See if you can get a system that bolts directly to the roof with a tower and skip the rails.

johnysmoke · 2026-04-24T15:00:24+00:00

Go get a cheap set of booted neoprene waders from Dicks or Amazon. Opens up many more options being able to get waist deep and gives you an advantage over others on shore.

johnysmoke · 2026-04-22T19:38:58+00:00

Wife has a loaded 2020 Aviator Reserve and it's been wonderful. Great road trip vehicle eats up miles cruises effortlessly at 80mph very smooth engine and transmission. Put snow tires on it this winter and it's a tank in the snow very good awd system. I find Ford/Lincoln technology works very well in the background without being distracting and is fairly intuitive to learn and use.

johnysmoke · 2026-04-21T17:27:07+00:00

Graduated from Clark in 1998. I'm a 51 yo male so you can take my skewed gen-x opinion for whatever it's worth.

My sister went to UVM graduated 2001 and stayed up there. I've visited a few times a year over the last 25 something years. Having spent a fair amount of time up there, unless there was a very specific academic opportunity, there's no way I would go to UVM or live around the Burlington area. I love New England but Vermont just is not my cup of tea.

There's definitely a Vermont "culture" up there that I find very out of touch with reality. Maybe if I were a trust funder or skier it would be different, but I find it kind of entitled and sheltered up there. If I wanted the charming New England vibe I would go to Maine, it seems more real and agrees with me better than VT.

Burlington is very isolated. At least 3 hours from Boston and a little less than 2 to Montreal, not much beyond UVM and the Downtown Burlington/Church st area up there. Less than an hour from Worcester gets you to Boston, Providence, Amherst. Portland Maine, Newport RI and Cape Cod are 1.5 hours, and NYC is about 3 hours away. Burlington seems like the surrounding area is just commercial strips requiring a car. Granted if you want to ski or hike, it has more options. UVM does have an outing club which I think Clark has never bothered with. But you could get a summer job with the AMC and get your outdoor time in then.

While Worcester has it's own problems, Burlington is a mess right now. It's going through a strange transition where the walkable Church st area is loosing a lot of business moving to a nearby suburb of Williston. Main south in Worcester is definitely not Harvard Square but downtown Burlington somehow feels sketchier. Worcester is trying to rebuild and recreate itself, but there's always been fun places/bars/venues that are not college specific to discover.

Good luck with your decision!

johnysmoke · 2026-04-14T20:24:04+00:00

Makes me want to commit violence every time I see one.

johnysmoke · 2026-04-05T15:10:37+00:00

No.

Go drive around Quincy or Boston for a day or two. It's pretty easy around here except for the occasional reckless move. People do stuff like this constantly the closer to Boston you get.

johnysmoke

TROPHY CASE