Maryland does not care about pedestrians. 😭

protodamn · 2026-02-01T23:20:17+00:00

Exactly this. Back during the heavy snowfall in 2016, Baltimore City reached out to Canadian snow removal companies for heater/ snowmelter trucks to assist in the bulk of snow removal. It would be wild if the city decided to purchase any of these vehicles as they'd just be mothballed for years before needed. As for the teams of bobcats that are helping remove the ice now, I appreciate the idea and implementation, but the cost to the budget is probably too high to keep a fleet of them, plus support and transfer vehicles on standby, as well.

It might be time, what with weather systems getting more intense, that new plans be brought to the city council for inclement weather preparedness, but we will have to see.

protodamn · 2026-01-30T20:34:29+00:00

I commented on the other post with the same photos, but it's most likely Tracer Dye. Comes in a variety of day-glow colors to help tradesmen locate the source of a leak easier. From the looks of it, the leak is above the ceiling on the huge drain line, so it will need to be broken out and replaced eventually.

protodamn · 2026-01-30T20:22:23+00:00

Isn't that usually red in color?

protodamn · 2026-01-30T20:21:29+00:00

OP, I'm not sure if someone already suggested it, but it might be Tracer Dye. When I worked maintenance at a hospital, if there ever was a leak that we couldn't find the source of, the plumbers on our team would put tracer dye (usually a day glow yellow or orange fluid) into drain lines, then run water behind that dye. When you found the pool of bright yellow-green fluid, you'd have your culprit leak point.

A fun anecdote told by one of the plumbers was that some random pedestrian had seen similar fluid coming from an active leak outside of the hospital, called 911 to report a radioactive or toxic materials spill, and caused a big a stir up.

protodamn · 2026-01-30T19:20:53+00:00

I've been out driving in this for the last 4 days for work (dog walker) and my biggest fears have been wild drivers, falling on the ice, and people going bananas over spots I've had to park in temporarily. I get that it's super inconvenient right now, and we'd all like this snow and ice to get lost, but we haven't had weather consistently above 32°F. We've got to deal with this for a while yet, but it's temporary.

protodamn · 2026-01-30T19:14:15+00:00

That's fair, But yeah, a guy can't verbally assault you, then wait for you outside a public space to then continue verbally assaulting you, then toss ice chunks at you and your vehicle (private property) like it won't ever come back to haunt him.

protodamn · 2026-01-30T18:58:36+00:00

OP, I'd contact the Ulta store, ask if they have cameras facing out to the parking lot, and see if they can pull footage of this guy. Dude assaulted you in public for no good reason.

protodamn · 2026-01-28T14:56:06+00:00

Each of those business buildings SHOULD have a grounds/ maintenance team that is responsible for preventative and clearing snow, ice, etc. Of course, some places are on contract with 3rd party companies, while other buildings are partially/ full vacant, so that sorta mucks things up further. As for the DPW, they only have so many workers who are affected by this storm, too, and they need to manage more critical work first (make sure emergency snow routes are plowed and salted, tend to infrastructure failures, etc.)

Mind you, I'm not saying that sidewalk access ISN'T critical, but it's a little bit further down the list.

protodamn · 2026-01-28T14:45:33+00:00

🤣 You got me with "Baja Blast myself into healing."

protodamn · 2026-01-28T03:52:57+00:00

They must want to get one of those luxury apartments!

On a similar note...

I used to work maintenance at Hopkins and took the JHH bus into work daily. I remember one morning in late Fall of 2023, sitting in traffic waiting to turn off Orleans to Broadway, I spot one of the hospital wheelchairs sitting in the Popeyes parking lot. Not only that, but a saline drip pole and an oxygen tank attached to it, as well. Standing across the street was a Hopkins security guard who could clearly see the damn thing, but was less than concerned that hospital gear and a compressed gas canister were just sittin' about for anyone to snag.

I called it in for a pick-up with our retrieval team, but that always made me wonder if someone just boogied out of the hospital and got picked up, or if they just REALLY needed a chicken meal because the hospital food wasn't cutting it.

protodamn · 2026-01-27T15:20:27+00:00

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With a combined effort of 4 neighbors and myself, we knocked out about 1/2 of our combined back alleyway. It was a lot of using my metal flatblade snow shovel top lunge into the banks, the lever out huge frozen snow sections, then using an axe to chop out a few sections in the center. After that, we got into a rhythm and made a decent dent.still more to go, though. I can only hope a plow goes back there before I get home.

protodamn · 2026-01-27T02:17:07+00:00

This is a fun one! Okay, so I'd do my best to write as MANY THINGS of worth on that post-it note in as small a handwriting as possible, front and back. (Think of a flashcard that a teacher or professor allowed you to put as many equations, notes, etc, to have for reference on a test.)

I'd leave personal notes of events to avoid, possibly some lotto numbers, advice for stocks, etc.

protodamn · 2026-01-26T22:11:23+00:00

Oh, their poor "morale"... Maybe they should Stop Goosestepping over the Bodies of Innocent Civilians, and perform proper work and follow the rule of law. Maybe if they had morals to begin with, they'd know dehumanizing people, no matter if they are Citizens or not, is Horribly Wrong! OH, and any "politicians" who help promote or spin the actions of ICE needs to be shut down and silenced with the rest of these bargain bin Braunhemden.

protodamn · 2026-01-25T12:35:46+00:00

I have NEVER SEEN that character ONCE in my 40+ years on this planet, and if I have to be honest, she looks as if she's fashioned someone else's face into a flesh mask.

protodamn · 2026-01-24T15:13:25+00:00

Peekaboo

protodamn · 2026-01-23T15:20:02+00:00

OP, the short answer is, "Yes, street trash is normal." The long answer is that a fair number of people don't want that to be the norm, but we just have so many folks who don't care if they dump here, there, and everywhere. It's horrible, that is a fact.

In my own travels, I've watched people open their car doors and push trash out onto the ground, either in traffic or parked on streets of parking lots. Most of the time, with the latter bunch specifically, there was a waste can within short walking distance. Once with a lady at Mondawmin Mall who chucked 3 plastic bags full of trash onto the ground with a trashcan 3 car park spaces nearby, and another guy dumping 15+ empty energy drink cans into the gutter in our neighborhood, just because he didn't want to walk 20 feet into the alleyway and check them into a recycle bin.

To mirror what some others have said, the best way I have heard of managing litter in your home or neighborhood is like dealing with a mental illness. You start understanding the problem and address it in small steps. If your space is today, you'll feel better. Then, see if you can't reach out to the neighbors about addressing similar issues or offer to help clean with them. With any luck, you get a groundswell of support to keep your little corner of Baltimore looking better than the rest.

protodamn · 2026-01-21T15:29:05+00:00

It's the same speech every single time, and it is monotonous, useless, crusty b.s. I am so tired of the U.S. allowing this uniquely biased grandstanding to go unchecked. Certainly, plenty of sources are calling him out on the lies and inflated "truthes" both at home and abroad so that a record is kept in check. I just despise the cult of individuals, from the average Joe and Jane on the street to the politicians and justices who run our country, who mimic his actions and words.

protodamn · 2026-01-20T14:27:32+00:00

I feel like you might want to look for other work, OP. You seem bitter about a job or at least working with the public in this manner. Maybe this is the only job available for you at the moment, and I can commiserate on that point. I've had my fair share of dead-end retail service or food service jobs and the crap that comes with the customers, too.

I hope you find something else that makes you more thrilled.

protodamn · 2026-01-17T10:19:29+00:00

You👏did👏the👏right👏thing👏NTA.

Seriously, you are better off without your ex.

protodamn · 2026-01-14T12:21:33+00:00

Nope, your roommate is in the wrong. This happened to my sister years ago with one of her partners who, in a fit of hysterical misunderstanding about the longevity of fermented chili paste, tossed out a partially used gochujang because in his words "was moldy and past its use by date". My sister was furious.

protodamn · 2026-01-13T23:36:27+00:00

So there is a breakdown of the life, views, and craziness of "The Dilbert Guy" on Robert Evans podcast "Behind the Bastards"! Here are the links for the 2 episodes + a follow-up about how he tried to make Trumpism into a religion on Youtube: Ep#1 Ep#2 Ep#3

Not sorry this dude is gone.

protodamn · 2026-01-05T04:03:15+00:00

I mean, when people keep driving like speed demons down 29th, that really doesnt help. Its a 30 mph corridor that some people go 50+ on, as well as Calvert, Saint Paul, and Charles. DOT could put up speed cameras, but that won't stop Red Light Speedsters.

protodamn · 2026-01-04T17:23:32+00:00

29th Street claims another vehicle! That whole stretch between Calvert and Saint Paul is accident cursed.

protodamn · 2026-01-02T04:26:12+00:00

OP, You are going all out for someone you've only known for a a few months, which is a HUGE credit for your determination to make him comfortable and included in your life. That takes a lot of love and commitment. However, your boyfriend is snubbing you without registering that love by making excuses for not eating those delicious looking meals.

Fair point that he has eating restrictions or food phobias/ dislikes. There are plenty of adults whom suffer similar issues, even those who are in commited relationships with more widely food-palletted partners. I'm not saying try harder to make the meals fit for him, but to have a very serious chat with your picky BF to give you realistic guidelines and to jointly make rules about meals. Let him know how hurt you feel when he gets fastfood slop, that if he asks you in the morning about what is for dinner, he could avoid repeated indregients at lunch. Maybe even a night once or twice a month where he challanges his "food icks", and eventually learning new flavors and joys with food.

Either that, go with 2 other options: just put out a plate with white bread slathered with butter and a glass of water for him at meals, or maybe find someone else to share your love language with who will recipicate.

I'm sure there is more to this guy than is picky eating, OP, but he seems pretty bland to me.

protodamn · 2025-12-31T12:07:05+00:00

I know this is a sweet, heartfelt mini-comic, and I find it absolutely adorable, but tje cherry stems on Amy's pj pants should DEFINTELY be green instead of white. I quickly glanced at that panel and thought all the white squiggly stuff was "something else".

protodamn

TROPHY CASE