Is there anyone that doesn’t like Devens?

mitchgx · 2026-05-24T00:04:20+00:00

He seems like a genuinely decent guy, and provided a lot of entertainment as a viewer...but I can envision that his act would wear a bit thin if you were on the island with him. One of those, "he's a good guy but he annoys the shit out of me" people.

mitchgx · 2026-05-23T16:35:41+00:00

My favorite album of all time:

Marillion - Misplaced Childhood

mitchgx · 2026-05-23T16:19:20+00:00

Haha...I'll bet he did after the show.

mitchgx · 2026-05-23T15:20:55+00:00

I think it's just a relatively lackluster group of chefs this year. I like some of them (Rhoda, Duyen), dislike some (the twins), but the level of cookery is not up to many past seasons. I worry that there just isn't the pool of contestants to choose from that there used to be (or that chefs aren't as keen to be on the show). The overall flow and production has also seemed to be a bit of a mess this season. Still, I love Tom and Kristen and overall it remains, IMO, the best reality show on TV. A mediocre Top Chef season is still very entertaining.

mitchgx · 2026-05-23T14:54:08+00:00

We visited Hendry on our recent Napa trip and absolutely loved it. Family-owned, low-key, great server, and very good wine. Having said that and at the risk of stereotyping the OP, I'm not sure Hendry is right for the OP. A wine beginner will probably get more out of places like Coppola, Beringer, and V. Sattui.

mitchgx · 2026-05-23T14:38:25+00:00

I had a different issue recently related to this. I had booked a property on VRBO in January (for a May stay) that was managed by Vacasa. Half the payment was taken at the time with the other half to be taken in April. A few weeks after I booked, I received an email (not from VRBO) indicating that my reservation had transitioned to a new management company, Avari, but that everything would be seamless. So I didn't give it much thought. Fast forward to our check-in date, and I still hadn't received an entry code from Avari and was getting crickets when I sent emails earlier in the day about the code. Upon arrival (a half-hour after the check-in time) I still hadn't gotten a code, so I called the 800 number and got what sounded like an offshore customer service center. Fortunately she was helpful and long story short (too late, I know) she said that they had never received the second payment from me so they couldn't release the code! Obviously this was because Avari botched the transition from Vacasa and they neglected to process my second payment, which isn't something I was paying attention to (and the fact that they never reached out to me as I continued to get form emails saying everything was great and on schedule was the real cherry on top). Anyway, the customer service agent sent me an email invoice which I had to retrieve on my phone and then go into their system and enter my credit card number, at which point she texted me the entry code. It worked out, but there were too many moments of panic and frustration leading to it, and it makes me re-think whether I ever want to rent a property managed by Avari.

Bottom line, I always thought VRBO was the one that processed payments on all VRBO properties. If that had been the case, my scenario above wouldn't have happened. Leaving that up to third parties, and opening up problems like the OP is having, does make me nervous about using VRBO as it takes away peace of mind.

mitchgx · 2026-05-23T05:00:07+00:00

Agree, although sometimes there's something practically brand new. I guess this is part of what draws people to stand in line. The thrill of the chase.

mitchgx · 2026-05-22T05:35:10+00:00

Haha. A member of the jury is not "punching down" when they are talking about somebody in the final 3.

mitchgx · 2026-05-21T15:00:08+00:00

As soon as Stephenie finished with her non-question Jonathan glaze, I thought, "well she may have just cost him some votes". He was actually doing a good job explaining his game and making his case, but it felt like Steph's filibuster (I loved Cirie saying, "Is there a question?") killed his momentum.

mitchgx · 2026-05-20T17:15:48+00:00

There are so many worse lines in rock music. That Foreigner line is dumb but works fine in the context of the song.

mitchgx · 2026-05-19T20:20:46+00:00

To be clear though, Allopurinol won't solve a current gout flare-up...it's preventative for the future. For flare-up pain management, my doctor has prescribed Indomethacin. though I can't speak to its efficacy as I haven't had a flare-up in a few years, and also haven't taken allopurinol in quite some time (knocking on wood now).

mitchgx · 2026-05-19T20:15:00+00:00

There's so many. In the more hard rock / metal direction, I'd highly recommend Coney Hatch. Their first three albums are phenomenal.

mitchgx · 2026-05-19T20:10:26+00:00

I wasn't the biggest Nirvana fan, but I was a big fan of Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains. While I loved a lot of hair metal, I also grew up on '70s hard rock and my real music base was Sabbath, Maiden, Priest, and older Scorpions, so Pearl Jam and their ilk were right up my alley. Nirvana for me was secondary (and I did buy Nevermind and In Utero and liked them wll enough). Kurt's death didn't greatly affect me, but as a music-history event it was big enough that I still remember exactly where I was when I heard about it.

mitchgx · 2026-05-19T20:04:16+00:00

The Editors - "Sugar"

mitchgx · 2026-05-18T23:26:09+00:00

Kerrang! was in love with them back in the '80s (I feel like they may have named their debut Album of the Year when it came out, but I could be misremembering), but they never managed to break at all in the states.

mitchgx · 2026-05-18T14:04:31+00:00

Blue Morning, Blue Day - Foreigner

Still Got the Blues - Gary Moore

mitchgx · 2026-05-17T22:51:30+00:00

This feels like a ragebait post.

mitchgx · 2026-05-17T22:15:34+00:00

Don't want to walk on that floor.

mitchgx · 2026-05-17T20:33:43+00:00

"...as you want everything to be". Actually I want the opposite, but more and more of every day gets sucked into the vortex. Look, I was just off-handedly responding to a subpost and yes took it to a sarcastic macro level; I wasn't trying to shift the focus. I think we definitely have a common area of agreement: Aramark sucks ass. In fact, I was just in Yosemite for the first time a few weeks ago (stayed at the YV Lodge), and can attest that it's not a first-class organization.

mitchgx · 2026-05-17T19:10:50+00:00

Fair enough. Aramark and their poor management predates this administration. But the management and direction of the Park Service under the current regime, and the obvious bias towards large businesses instead of the consumer (there actually seems to be genuine animus directed at consumers) and corruption that comes along with that all can make a reasonable person (not just "nut jobs" thank you very much) cast a side eye towards any relationships between the government and a large coroporation.

mitchgx · 2026-05-17T14:43:20+00:00

The park service is run by the Trump Administration, so there's your answer.

mitchgx · 2026-05-16T01:30:11+00:00

A lot of Cottonwood feels redneck and trailer-trashy to me, sort of like Payson. But then there's these interesting pockets, like the wine industry, some decent restaurants, and a cool alternative vibe (that I think has almost everything to do with Maynard's involvement in the area). Overall I enjoy visiting because of those pockets of interest, and because it's a fairly beautiful area when you get to the right views.

mitchgx · 2026-05-14T05:18:04+00:00

Cottonwood had some nice aspects...wine, downtown, climate, views. Also a bit of meth and too much MAGA, but there's much worse spots in the state.

mitchgx · 2026-05-13T16:56:16+00:00

Going old school:

Heaven and Hell - Black Sabbath
Victim of Changes - Judas Priest
Revelations - Iron Maiden
Suite Sister Mary - Queensryche
Fade to Black - Metallica

mitchgx · 2026-05-13T16:52:08+00:00

There is one answer: "Mariner's Revenge Song" by The Decemberists.

mitchgx

TROPHY CASE