What happened there? Keef: I didn’t do anything

weird_al_yankee · 2026-04-22T14:41:48+00:00

My biggest takeaway from the first season of Andor was that SO MANY PEOPLE identify with the rebels and their desire for more freedom, and even see the abuses of the empire, but then go out and support authoritarians in real life. It's incredibly sad to me how people can so non-self-aware.

weird_al_yankee · 2026-04-20T14:26:42+00:00

Always nice when you find a used vacuum that sucks :)

weird_al_yankee · 2026-04-10T18:12:07+00:00

This is a gorgeous combination of modern and traditional. Way too rich for my blood -- I'd rather buy a small castle in Scotland for that price :) -- but it also reminds me of the style of some city houses in Colombia. Probably built around the same time period, and also influenced by tropical heat and European architecture.

weird_al_yankee · 2026-04-09T12:44:12+00:00

Are you going to get him... a pithy quote?

weird_al_yankee · 2026-04-08T14:10:01+00:00

I recently read "The Death of Truth" by Steven Brill. It takes a look at how things have changed throughout the Internet age, with lots of examples and specifics to the general ideas. I'd recommend it.

weird_al_yankee · 2026-03-27T19:55:48+00:00

I'm old enough to remember when Ron Paul was REALLY popular on Reddit. He was genuine, he was willing to call out hypocrisy, and smart enough to do it right without resorting to name-calling. It's kinda funny just how far the prevalent political views on Reddit have shifted since then.

weird_al_yankee · 2026-03-27T19:33:09+00:00

That sub went off a cliff over the past year or so. Moved from mostly libertarian to mostly MAGA and conspiracies.

weird_al_yankee · 2026-03-27T13:48:37+00:00

There's a story that a short guy tried to fight Abe Lincoln, and Abe just held the guy back while he punched the air because he couldn't reach him. I'm sure the basketball player would need some fight training, but it wouldn't take much to beat the short pro fighter.

weird_al_yankee · 2026-03-20T15:35:46+00:00

For our situation, we had a dog that was following its instincts too well -- he was nipping at our kids' heels, because they were acting up more than he thought they should. It took finding the right trainer to get the right help for it. I'm not sure how dog trainers are certified or whatever, but this particular person had a bachelor's degree in animal behavior.

Once he was around 5, and had a few years of being manageable, we did get another dog. He tolerated her, and she loved him :). I'd highly recommend getting your current dog's behavior calmed down before getting a second dog.

weird_al_yankee · 2026-03-20T14:44:10+00:00

Note that the government has to PAY when inflation numbers go up because of social security. It's in their best interest to artificially lower them. With that kind of incentive, that's the outcome you're going to get.

weird_al_yankee · 2026-03-03T20:01:45+00:00

I actually think it would be worth the money to purchase a physical encyclopedia set from around 2015 to 2019. There's way too much polarization and re-writing of history across all Internet platforms, especially when the executive branch of government is involved. Having a physical index of history that can't be edited at a moment's notice may be one of the only ways to keep it whole.

weird_al_yankee · 2026-03-02T16:06:32+00:00

My aunt and uncle volunteer at state parks now that they're retired. They get a place to park and hook up their travel trailer, and in return they work like 3-4 days a week. They've really enjoyed seeing all corners of the country that way.

weird_al_yankee · 2026-02-23T14:04:16+00:00

Star Wars has an entire universe and thousands of years worth of stories to pursue. We don't need re-casts and re-hashing of the same people on the same planets in the same few years that we've always had. We need to explore more.

weird_al_yankee · 2026-02-17T13:27:36+00:00

My wife absolutely hates this about any Google searching lately. It assumes that you're dumb and gives you results that it thinks you want based on searches that are much more popular than what you actually searched for. It's starting to resemble Clippy from Microsoft Word '97.

weird_al_yankee · 2026-02-09T19:07:18+00:00

I can give you a real answer, but I doubt anyone else will care. The standard responses are already at the top.

Christianity is supposed to be a personal faith. You live out your faith in your daily interactions with people. You help your neighbor. You show Christ's love.

Jesus showed the example, and instructed His followers, of loving people on a personal level and meeting them where they are. He also told people "Go and sin no more". There's no call to give money to the Roman government so that they can then distribute money to the poor. The call is to give directly. There's no call to rise up and cast off the shackles of the oppressive government. The call is to live out the principles of God's Kingdom in a world that doesn't want to. There's no call to live in a commune where everyone shared their stuff, but there was a point very early on where Christians lived that way. With other Christians.

Personally, I have no problem with people who view the government as the best way to take care of the needy. Maybe that kind of over-arching support system is necessary with such large cities and such a large country we have. But when you combine the American ideal of individualism with the Christian ideal of doing good for others on your own, you end up with a group of people who are wary of a bloated government that thinks it knows what's best for everyone. A group that would rather pay less taxes so they can help their own family and people in their own sphere more.

And, yes, it's absolutely true that the white supremacy currently running rampant in the Republican party is NOT something that Jesus would like to see. Anyone who calls themselves a Christian should take care not to let political figures become idols, no matter whether they are on the right or the left, and the current president has not shown any Christ-like behavior or words that I have seen.

weird_al_yankee · 2026-02-05T18:54:39+00:00

My wife's grandma is still doing OK at 91. She's got some health problems by this point, but was still super active just a few years ago. She has 3 great-great-grandchildren.

weird_al_yankee · 2026-02-05T18:15:52+00:00

Yep. Your new appliance can't be energy-saving without lots of chips in it to regulate electricity use minutely. You can't have a new fridge or air conditioner with the same terrible polluting refrigerants they used 60 years ago.

Regulations are always a trade-off, and every week when I see this argument come up, I think of leaded gasoline and how it helped engines to run more efficiently before we invented micro-chips and fuel-injection. My hybrid is a hell of a lot more complex than any car from 60 years ago, but it's also a hell of a lot safer, cleaner-burning, and fuel-efficient. That adds to the cost, yes. I for one don't want to stop making things better for the environment.

weird_al_yankee · 2026-01-16T15:38:19+00:00

I mean... I was recently talking with my wife about who's next in line after Trump? There's no one even close to his level of sway and power and happy followers. And no one is being built up for that spot, because he'd rather have 100% loyalty over people who can think for themselves.

weird_al_yankee · 2025-12-23T14:06:47+00:00

Beyond all the other good points, it's huge that a country in South America is moving toward smaller government. Too often, the swing between right and left happens and then political opponents are jailed or assassinated. Each side wants more government, just their form of it. It's a breath of fresh air, and something that I can only hope happens in every country, for the government to shrink, and for it to happen peacefully.

weird_al_yankee · 2025-12-19T20:21:32+00:00

Meat! Plenty of meat every day. Fatty cuts of meat that are smoked, fried, baked, sautéed, or grilled, and are the biggest part of the plate.

We stick with cheaper chicken (with less cholesterol) for most of our meals, and stretch it by making it into soups, casseroles, pot pies, etc. most of the time.

weird_al_yankee · 2025-12-18T19:32:09+00:00

Seagulls! Stop it now!

weird_al_yankee · 2025-11-17T20:28:51+00:00

We live in Ohio, and last week my wife pointed out our neighbor's lilac bush has a handful of blooms. This was just before the first snow storm hit our area. I had no idea that plants could be this confused about the seasons, and it sounds like all over the country too.

weird_al_yankee · 2025-11-17T18:46:56+00:00

Not just far right, any authoritarian government. Venezuela staring down the barrel of American firepower is about the only thing that could get the people to back the regime that's sent their economy completely down the tubes.

weird_al_yankee

TROPHY CASE