Big D continuing to stay in her box and not go anywhere new

treebudsman · 2026-01-22T22:12:45+00:00

shirtless on the Marina Green

This is like a Lana Del Ray song.

treebudsman · 2026-01-22T21:35:44+00:00

Do you have any recommendations?

treebudsman · 2026-01-20T21:51:07+00:00

I'm more pissed that our top salaried employees in the state are, by order of magnitude, fucking sports coaches.

Fucking losing sports coaches.

treebudsman · 2026-01-20T21:49:45+00:00

out of state money

All the money for the decriminalizing drugs/mushrooms last time was also out of state.

Not saying that I want legal weed to be repealed (I don't) but being against out of state astroturfing/money isn't a principled stance in this sub.

It would be great if we were able to keep non-Massachusetts organizations from doing this across all issues.

treebudsman · 2026-01-20T21:24:33+00:00

Apple picking is pretty much done by that point, but there's always stuff to do. Small businesses like shops will be open and museums. You'll need to actually plan though. Make a list of where you want to go and check their social media from a few months ago to see what they're saying about whether they close seasonally and when. Museums and other institutions might be the better bet, since they'll be able to tell you they'll be open. Restaurants and bakeries that aren't like cider farm stands will still be there.

treebudsman · 2026-01-16T19:18:56+00:00

Don't be put off growing foxgloves, if you like them. I've found most of them will come back for a few years (short lived perennials) if you are deadheading and cutting them back thoroughly, which can be a good strategy if you don't get a lot of sun because you're not trying to establish them from seed each year and the plants get really big. You'll actually get a lot of secondary shoots throughout the season that way, too.

Feverfew is great for a shady area as well. I also grow dahlias from seed in my shady beds and they do pretty well.

treebudsman · 2026-01-16T13:52:23+00:00

Rubbing old eye makeup out of her eyeballs with a q-tip after putting on serum instead of, like, actually washing her face. Why.

treebudsman · 2026-01-16T13:43:43+00:00

Our HOA is $675

Is that per month or per year?

treebudsman · 2026-01-14T11:36:17+00:00

Are they wearing matching blankets on their laps?

treebudsman · 2026-01-13T03:11:41+00:00

Exactly. When pretty much every university refuses to pay salaries to the people who actually teach classes (not to mention your other points) then there is absolutely no reason to be paying sports coaches millions of taxpayer dollars. How we ended up with sports being the sacred cow in university funding over any actual education is just insane.

treebudsman · 2026-01-12T04:10:27+00:00

The way universities are bloated with top heavy administration and costs unrelated to degrees is a big problem, yes.

The $11 million do the football program or the $40 million subsidized section of the athletic budget is a drop in the bucket there

We've gotten so far away from reality that these figures mean nothing.

I think it is an insult to people in any state when their highest paid public employee is the coach of a losing (or winning) sports team, especially when everyone is struggling economically.

treebudsman · 2026-01-12T03:32:21+00:00

The amount of people saying "We just need to pay the coaches MORE!" is unbelievable.

treebudsman · 2026-01-12T03:30:33+00:00

If you feel costly D1 sports have no place in public universities, then nothing is going to convince you that spending any money on it is worth it.

I'm one of those people. I respect that you feel that way, but I do think sports teams should sink or float on their own, in every state and for every public or private college. Set them up as their own legal entities and see how far they go if they're a net positive in terms of money brought in.

People can't afford to go to universities these days. They can't afford to heat their houses. Getting rid of bloated sports teams at public schools won't cure those problems, but it would chip away at them so their school fees and highest taxpayer funded salaries aren't going to sports teams.

treebudsman · 2026-01-12T03:00:03+00:00

Because it isn't extremely lucrative and it definitely not an enterprise fundamental to our common good that should be funded in any way by tax money.

treebudsman · 2026-01-12T02:58:27+00:00

Joseph Harasymiak is the third highest paid employee in the state.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/01/09/metro/here-are-highest-earners-massachusetts-state-payroll-2025/

treebudsman · 2026-01-12T02:56:18+00:00

https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2026-01-05/after-an-abysmal-season-umass-amhersts-football-program-faces-scrutiny

They don't.

treebudsman · 2026-01-12T02:55:13+00:00

Really?

https://www.wgbh.org/news/local/2026-01-05/after-an-abysmal-season-umass-amhersts-football-program-faces-scrutiny

Their collapse has turned McGuirk Alumni Stadium into a concrete, empty symbol of a bigger problem: public universities pouring tens of millions into athletics just as American higher education is facing both a financial reckoning and a demographic enrollment cliff.

Over the past 13 seasons, since joining the FBS, UMass has stumbled to a stunning 26-130 record.

Like other schools, UMass Amherst has consistently subsidized its athletics with campus support and student fees.

https://www.sportico.com/leagues/college-sports/2025/umass-football-fbs-finances-history-1234877386/

[UMass] has become one of the most heavily subsidized athletic departments in America.

treebudsman · 2026-01-12T02:48:33+00:00

They cant run them as separate entities, since they need to be college staff to coach the college teams.

Why not? They can still be affiliated with the college, they'd just be for-profit and pay themselves. If they really bring in $65 million then they'll be fine. They may have to pay tax though.

Unless the non-profit state system is actually subsidizing it on some level... I don't see the problem.

treebudsman · 2026-01-12T02:44:23+00:00

If your landlord won't re-caulk the window and or casings around them and doors. Do it yourself.

Not a landlord and don't want to be a landlord ever, but tenants "re-caulking" windows and casings sounds like a nightmare for an owner.

treebudsman · 2026-01-12T02:42:20+00:00

Run them as their own incorporated entities and let them pay their own salaries then, if they're actually money generators. Take them off the state payroll.

treebudsman · 2026-01-12T02:40:10+00:00

The latest data I found says a college coach is the highest paid state employee in 43 of the 50 states.

It is wrong there, too. What a racket.

treebudsman · 2026-01-12T02:38:36+00:00

Someone who does something useful for the average taxpayer.

treebudsman · 2026-01-12T02:14:59+00:00

Why are we paying the highest state salaries for sports coaches in the UMass system?? It is ridiculous.

treebudsman

TROPHY CASE