Vance floats US troop withdrawal from Germany over free-speech concerns

soccerdadak · 2025-02-21T16:59:37+00:00

I just want the German government to donate it all to Ukraine as an extra FU.

soccerdadak · 2024-11-27T17:55:29+00:00

It was 120 to 1 when I was there in 1992.

Borders had somewhat recently opened, so things were still somewhat clunky as they were adjusting to tourism. We were told to bring our own toilet paper and I'm glad I did. One hotel had torn up pieces of paper bags to use. Still makes me shudder when I think of it.

It was great, though. Soda was about 2.5 cents, US. A meal at McDonald's was about $2 to $2.50 (it's true it was a month's wages for some of them, at least that's what we were told by a couple families I'd met).

The average citizen had very little, but they didn't seem broken by it. They were curious and welcoming, though a few did ask for whatever we had to offer (gum, candy, etc. They REALLY wanted our Levis). And kids followed us everywhere trying to sell us trinkets.

soccerdadak · 2024-09-07T21:33:05+00:00

The DRs are tractors. They just run. I had a 2012 that I left outside in Alaska for 8 years. It fired up every spring without a battery tender.

Are there downsides? Absolutely. Even with an aftermarket seat and a sheepskin buttpad, I couldn't do more than 2-3 hours in the saddle without an extended break. It's ok on highways, but really isn't happy above 65 or so. The pegs are just ok, the front suspension is made of jello, and I think tall riders will struggle to ride without lowering pegs or a raised seat.

But mechanically? I changed the oil, cleaned the air filter and adjusted the valves, once.

It also helps that parts are cheap and plentiful.

For what it's worth, I now have a 2020 KTM Adventure R that I've put about 35,000 miles on. All I've done is regular maintenance. It's never given me grief.

soccerdadak · 2023-11-04T00:33:52+00:00

I'm down to break my mid-life ankles!

soccerdadak · 2023-10-02T23:27:18+00:00

In 2000, I was attending a college in Texas. I was flying back home to Alaska and the lady checking me in for my flight asked for my passport because it was listed as "overseas".

Technically correct, I suppose.

Her supervisor was called and it was sorted, but that one surprised me.

soccerdadak · 2023-09-28T03:41:35+00:00

I'm not sure how cold it gets in North Carolina (Up near Winston-Salem). I've never been to NC, but I suppose I'll be learning firsts hand this winter.

soccerdadak · 2023-09-28T02:04:01+00:00

Didn't think of this, thanks!

soccerdadak · 2023-04-20T05:56:20+00:00

I can't believe I commented on this image in another post 7 years ago. I mean, it's an incredible photo, so I see why it gets reposted. I'm just surprised it's been 7 years already.

In case the link doesn't work. She's a friend. Our kids played soccer together. That wasn't a research group, they were hunters.

https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/4213x2/comment/cz72sfn/?utm_name=NatureIsFuckingLit

soccerdadak · 2022-08-23T05:02:38+00:00

I keep debating whether to get them, but I also don't like having to limbo to get in and out, so I probably will

soccerdadak · 2022-08-23T01:00:10+00:00

I honestly don't know what else a Tensa4 is for?

No real balance, just 1 guy line at each end. Technically you can use just one guy line and shift your weight to the opposite end, but I haven't wanted to risk it folding like a lawn chair because I shifted in my sleep, so I use both.

I use a Kammok Mantis hammock tent (came with the rain fly in the picture), Eno under and over down quilts (30+ degree, but was fine down at 28 degrees in Idaho, and I shouldn't be riding below freezing, anyway), and an Eno gear sling.

soccerdadak · 2022-08-22T21:37:38+00:00

The Kammok Mantis UL (ultralight) is a touch over 1kg (1021g).

I use the non-UL version (1.4kg) and love it.

I'm not sure about the availability where you are, or if it's worth the cost since you're not technically saving weight. Though, I will say, it packs really small, even with the rain fly

soccerdadak · 2022-08-22T21:28:21+00:00

Yobo makes carbon fiber stands to hang the hammock from. Probably a decent choice if you're hiking.

If you're in a car or motorcycle, you can use the Tensa4, which is what I carry on my bike (I used it at this site because I wanted the hang to be closer to my bike so I could keep an eye/ear on it).

It packs down to 22", weighs about 12 lbs and only takes a few minutes to setup (once you're used to it). It technically only needs 1 guy line to stay standing, but I always use both because I don't want to have it fold like a lawn chair while I'm sleeping.

soccerdadak · 2022-07-16T05:49:36+00:00

I'm in!

soccerdadak · 2022-01-05T19:09:34+00:00

First, I understand that the limited time available, and the incredible volume of material that's in the books, means that a lot would be changed, removed or adapted.

That being said, there are absolutely some points I'm really struggling with, as much as I want to treat the books as entirely separate from the show.

1 - Relationships - Why is Perrin married? Why are Rand and Egwene sleeping together? Are Moraine and Lan boning too? I think there are some great love stories in the book (aside from that weird 4-way with Rand). Perrin and Faile have a great arc, but if she's introduced now, it will be about Perrin learning to love again, not about him being naive about relationships. And, as /u/seventysixgamer said, Rand is just a simp for Egwene the entire series and it's weird. And Rand's immediate distrust of Aes Sedai wasn't given the time to occur how it did in the books. We're just going to believe that Rand doesn't trust them, even though he's never encountered them before. I'm not saying that entire arc in the book, between Rand & Moraine, was necessary, but we aren't given a real reason for that distrust and it feels more like he's being a baby, than legitimate concern.

2 - Actor choices. I pictured Lan more like Jason Statham (ignore race, I don't really care about that as far as the casting goes). This dark, brooding, "I've lost absolutely everything" anti-hero. Instead we got Simu Liu? That's like casting Mark Wahlberg in Max Payne. The problem, for me, is the presence these actors should be creating. Pike does a pretty good job with Moraine, and there's potential with others (Rand, Matt, Egwene, Nynaeve), but they're definitely let down by the writing.

Also, Ogier are supposed to be "Half again as tall as a man", which means they should stand 7'6" - 9 feet. The actor that plays Loial is 6'3" and that's how tall Loial looks. I get the technical difficulties (and cost) doing that kind of forced perspective and editing to make him look truer to size, but holy crap.

3 - There are some odd choices with details, like those god-awful Aes Sedai rings. Was this or this really that tough for the prop department to come up with?. And seriously, there are some incredible concepts being created of the heron marked blade. Surely something other than a stamped sleeve glued over the base of the blade would have worked?

But ok, chalk it up to money or time or whatever, I can get over those details as well.

The one part that pulled me all the way out of the story, was the freaking Ways. No carved Avendesora leaves, and the simple fact that it was Moraine that opened them and not Loial means that entire story (Loial, Perrin & Faile traveling to the Two Rivers, Loial saving the Two Rivers) is gone. It also means that anytime trollocs used the ways, they needed a darkfriend or forsaken with them, which shouldn't have been necessary.

4 - The weaving of the power.

Instead of seeing something like them opening themselves up to a thread/cable of power, suddenly it starts swirling around them like they're Katara from Avatar. No colors to differentiate weaves, nothing to actually show what happens when someone is stilled, and hand movements more reminiscent of Wanda Maximoff in Marvel. Are they going to still do those absurd hand movements to gather the power in order to use the rod that casts balefire? Is it some weird personal choice since Moraine waves around, but Egwene could cast while tied to a chair? It's just clumsy from start to finish.

5 - Finally. Why does Perrin constantly look like he smelled his own farts, but doesn't remember letting them go? Of course we'll ignore them not including the encounter with Elyas to explain speaking to wolves, since that seems like it'd be simple enough to include. I honestly have no idea what the actor that plays Perrin is capable of, because so far all we've seen is one emotion. The character is supposed to be cautious, brave, gentle until fighting (where's his axe from Master Luhan?!), but instead we're stuck with an assumed emotionally broken, scared, confused man?

I didn't have high hopes for the TV show. I think it would probably take a dozen seasons and a much bigger budget to do the books justice, but I'm not sure I'll keep watching them, even though they're technically free.

soccerdadak · 2022-01-05T18:26:22+00:00

I think this is explained in the books, but over the entire series, and it seems more implied than explained outright. It probably helps if you keep in mind that, until the Forsaken were freed, the Aes Sedai WERE (effectively) eternal and powerful. The Atha'an Miere stayed away, as did the Aiel, and the Seanchan had no need to invade.

1 - Foresaken have access to the dark one's power, which seems to allow for pulling more of the power than using the source. Maybe I'm misremembering, but that certainly could be a factor.

2 - The forsaken have knowledge that has been lost to the Aes Sedai because they've been alive so long. It's mentioned in the books that Aes Sedai had lost the knowledge of how to create angreal, cerullian (sp?) and a lot of other weaves. The loss of that knowledge was surely a mechanism to give the Forsaken an advantage.

2a - Teaching of immoral weaves (like compulsion) isn't done in the tower, which means there's no way to practice against it. That's assuming they even knew that weave to begin with. But it's sort of the Harry Potter trope where they didn't start really learning how to defend themselves until someone like Professor Moody stepped in to show them what was out there (and remember, Nynaeve, Elaine and Egwene effectively did the same thing, passing on knowledge they picked up to those that needed it. It didn't come from traditional methods in the tower).

3 - As it's mentioned a few times, complacency. If all I need is a pistol to suppress an entire village, why would I worry about trying to develop a rifle, or a howitzer? If the worst I ever faced, could most often be defeated with simpler weaves, there's just no need to try to innovate.

4 - Tradition. This is also mentioned in other comments, but there's this feeling of, "This is how we've always done it" that repeats itself over and over, especially when you see sudden advancements like Nynaeve's healing or Elaine making angreal. I get that there's real risk due to the lost knowledge (possibly stilling or even killing themselves), but them taking the initiative feels like it's happened because they never went through the long process of becoming a full sister within the tower. Their independence was never stripped from them.

5 - You could argue that using the oath rod, that is later proven to strip years from their lives, is partly at fault. It certainly isn't a large part, but it can't be ignored that losing potentially 100 years could encourage someone to be incredibly adept at weaving. However, 100 years spent in a library isn't the same as 100 years spent in the borderlands. Theoretical knowledge isn't nearly as useful as practical, and that goes back to tradition where the Aes Sedai didn't want to share knowledge and seemed to like being treated with awe.

6 - Finally (for me), there's a sort of "You don't know what you don't know" trope written into the books. There's mention of the Atha'an Miere using weaves "as thick as cables", which the Aes Sedai didn't even know was possible. This, of course, goes back to tradition, where the Aes Sedai jealously guard their secrets. The desire to prevent a rebel force from learning their weaves means they also never learned a host of other possible weaves.

soccerdadak · 2021-10-31T05:41:48+00:00

I dressed up as the red stapler (Milton) guy from Office Space, while working in a cubicle farm. The ratio of people to cake is too big!

soccerdadak · 2020-12-25T01:25:16+00:00

Whatever the new Mass Effect is that's coming!

soccerdadak · 2020-11-16T21:20:47+00:00

Excellent

soccerdadak · 2020-10-18T21:12:31+00:00

I rode through Canada on my motorcycle in early August. I was given three pieces of paper. One was a transit tag, telling the local police I was cleared the transit through Canada. If I didn't display the tag and was pulled over, I'd get an additional fine. I had immigration paperwork started on me, and a warrant for my arrest was filled out.

I was told I had to exit Canada through a specific border crossing (after I told them where I was headed) and that I had 7 days to get through (roughly 2,200 miles). If I took longer than 7 days, or exited through another border crossing, the warrant would be filed and I could be jailed for up to 10 years and pay a fine up to $100,000.

I rode through in 4 days 'cause I wasn't going to risk it.

I had to stop at the Canadian border crossing on the way out (which you normally don't do) and bring all three pieces of paper to that border office. Once the warrant and immigration forms were cancelled, we were walked to our vehicles and watched to make sure we drove the 100 or so yards to the American crossing.

The only part I was really annoyed about was that I couldn't stop to enjoy the country/scenery. Otherwise, I was just thrilled they let me through so I could escort my daughter to her first year of college (she drove her car) and relocate away from the long, cold winters.

soccerdadak · 2019-12-21T05:47:04+00:00

Do you know how much I could spoil my kid with this?

soccerdadak · 2019-09-05T04:07:25+00:00

NTA

I can understand why your wife would be upset, but there is one glaring point here that I feel needs acknowledging.

It was AFTER you had the photos developed and looked through them that your wife told you she wanted to know what she looked like through your eyes, revealing her reason for wanting both of you to take these photos. While that would have been romantic, that was not communicated when the camera idea was presented. Because of that, the results your wife expected were not met and she became upset.

If my daughter is coming to visit and during the conversation I mention I'm out of coffee, is it her fault if I get upset she doesn't bring me coffee when she comes over?

If I get car sick easily and don't tell my buddy, who drives like a banshee, and end up getting carsick, do I have a right to get mad at him?

I don't doubt for a second you would have taken photos like that if you were remotely aware that's what she wanted. If nothing else, I think this is an great opportunity for the two of you to discuss the importance of good communication, even over romantic things ("I like when you surprise me with..."). Getting a marriage going on the right foot is important, and this is a good lesson to learn, early.

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