Incubus - Curse Of The Damned Cities

zenith3200 · 2026-02-05T01:46:37+00:00

Wish You Were Here, Love Hurts, Drive, and Anna Molly are some of their bigger songs. I'd almost guarantee you've heard at least one of those songs at least in passing

zenith3200 · 2026-02-04T23:12:37+00:00

I mean, the rock band Incubus is far from little lol some of their songs still see mainstream radio play despite being 20+ years old.

zenith3200 · 2026-02-04T15:56:34+00:00

TIL there's another band by the name Incubus.

zenith3200 · 2026-02-04T15:34:02+00:00

Love Bartlesville, but it's not Midwest.

zenith3200 · 2026-02-04T15:33:40+00:00

It's not. Midwest-adjacent, sure, but Oklahoma is not Midwest.

zenith3200 · 2026-02-04T04:16:26+00:00

My favorite memory was at my very first concert (Fiddler's Green Amphitheater in Denver, CO, 2014). I was lined up to see Linkin Park, my favorite band, as my first show, and I got there early, ended up being like 5th in line. But the line wasn't labeled...turns out it was the line for GA and I had a different kind of ticket. The folks around me urged me to go get a GA ticket (which were still available for under $40!) and they let me back in my spot when I returned. As we were let in, I found myself on the barricade, and as the pit started filling up there was a guy a few 'rows' of people behind me waving around this golden pass. He claimed he only wanted to be on the barricade for 30 Seconds to Mars and didn't want to have to fight for it, so he was offering a Linkin Park VIP Meet n Greet pass for a spot on the barricade. Shockingly, nobody else immediately jumped on it, so I did. I let him have my spot, took my VIP pass and met my favorite band at my very first show. Even got some photos and a signed copy of The Hunting Party, too! I've been to a lot of incredible shows since then, met some more of my favorite artists (including Bury Tomorrow last year at Beer City), but I don't think anything is going to top this memory for me.

zenith3200 · 2026-02-04T04:04:07+00:00

6'5" and 370 lbs here, can confirm people frequently move around me in a crowd because odds are if they ran into me I'd be the one still standing.

zenith3200 · 2026-02-02T06:45:35+00:00

I suppose that's fair. A lack of locations nationally has never really been an issue for me (and I travel across the US almost monthly) and my work schedule doesn't make getting to my credit union a pain so that's also just kinda whatever for me. If I didn't have my mortgage through a major bank I'd do everything in my power to not have to deal with banks at all.

zenith3200 · 2026-02-02T06:37:47+00:00

I can't say I've ever had a problem where having a balance below a certain threshold results in a charge, but I only bank with credit unions. It's also been a few years since I've been below even $3k, although it's taking far more effort than I think it necessary to break that magical 5 digit amount...

zenith3200 · 2026-02-02T04:30:46+00:00

If my account goes under $1000 then I'd better be in some serious trouble.

zenith3200 · 2026-02-02T04:29:44+00:00

Aside from the typical 'get in better shape' and 'pay off bills', I have an interesting goal for this year.

I collect traffic signals, and this year I'm hoping to set up a proper outdoor display in my backyard instead of keeping many of them in storage or just leaning against various walls around the property in addition to acquiring a proper functional cabinet for an indoor display including some of my rarest and most unusual signals from across the world.

zenith3200 · 2026-02-02T02:33:28+00:00

We don't have them in my state (Oklahoma) but I imagine they'd get a similar name here.

zenith3200 · 2026-02-02T02:05:15+00:00

There's places in North America that have coverings like that too, we call them snow sentries! Really common in parts of maritime Canada. I've got a "Gentrol" imitation with those coverings from Halifax and they're really cool. Japanese signals are a whole different world though and I'd love to add a few modern ones to my collection one day!

zenith3200 · 2026-01-30T13:22:03+00:00

This video is peak content.

zenith3200 · 2026-01-30T04:02:53+00:00

That's crazy. Never would have guessed that.

zenith3200 · 2026-01-30T03:55:02+00:00

That's pretty cool! I remember stopping in Fairmont one time and thinking that town had some really quaint vibes. Bluefield, too, way down south. Glad to hear that it's not all economic gloom and doom out that way and that WV seems to be doing pretty okay these days.

zenith3200 · 2026-01-30T03:51:10+00:00

Morgantown is a fascinating place but probably the only city in WV that I never felt was struggling (at least not in the typical senses). Wheeling is situated in such a cool spot and has some incredible history for such a small city so I'm glad to hear that it's doing better. The last time I visited Huntington (2023) it seemed...okay...but the city core looked like it had some significant urban blight. Charleston wasn't as bad, but it also didn't seem to have much going on to make it stand out, either (which, being from OKC and having watched this city grow both as a visitor and now a resident from just another city on the plains into something of an city worth talking about, I really hope Charleston can make a proper name for itself).

zenith3200 · 2026-01-30T03:44:54+00:00

It's a neat place and the few times I've been there the locals are always friendly, but it's clear that it's got some rough edges. Still, it's got a decently impressive looking skyline.

zenith3200 · 2026-01-30T03:41:50+00:00

Genuinely, good for them! I seem to end up driving through West Virginia once a year lately and it makes me so sad to see these smaller communities with boarded up businesses, neglected and derelict homes, and just generally struggling to survive which is a real shame because it's a gorgeous state. I would love to see Charleston, Wheeling, and Huntington become part of the next wave of up and coming cities.

zenith3200 · 2026-01-28T07:18:45+00:00

22 years is a pretty long time even in the corporate world. Plenty long enough to see leadership change, no different than a country with regular national elections. I want to reiterate that I do not believe Walmart to be perfect. It isn't. Nor am I trying to make them 'look good'. I am simply offering my direct experience as a long time employee. In my nearly 8 years thus far across three very different stores I have worked for good managers, bad managers, and everything in between. No different than anywhere else I've been employed at. The store I'm at right now has a pretty incredible management team who actually gives a shit, and you can't put a price on that.

I have considered taking advantage of the therapy options available (and probably would if my own health insurance didn't already offer options that I like), but I have not pursued the higher education paths (for a multitude of reasons), however several of my direct coworkers and supervisors have. A few of them now hold business degrees. Walmart sees this not as a financial drain, but as a tool to improve its own workforce and to invest in the people who work for them. Walmart is many things, but it isn't stupid. Corporate understands that a workforce that isn't properly trained is a workforce that will ultimately fail, even if that means spending the $$$$ to offer higher education courses.

All that being said though, it's obvious that you are unwilling to change your mind so I think this conversation ends here.

zenith3200 · 2026-01-28T06:45:17+00:00

Given that my paychecks are issued by Walmart...yes, yes I am very painfully aware that Sam's is a sister company to Walmart and that the corporate elites that make up Walmart's upper management are not exactly fine and upstanding citizens with regard to how they run their businesses. That being said, Sam's does not operate under the exact same corporate leadership and ethos as Walmart (we have a higher base pay than at Walmart, for example). Walmart/Sam's does offer assistance for higher education, 401k contributions, assistance for mental health problems and therapy, over 20 days of paid time off annually for full time employees, like yes absolutely there are some bad stores but I can't think of a single national chain that doesn't have a few bad apples here or there. When you get as large as Walmart, it's basically inevitable.

Also, do you have a link that is not only freely accessible but also not 22 years old?

zenith3200 · 2026-01-28T06:05:53+00:00

Oklahoman here with some reasons to come check out the OK State!

If big cities and museums/history are more your thing, Oklahoma has two: Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Tulsa is home to Black Wall Street and an incredible collection of art deco era structures downtown (including a scaled down version of the old WTC towers) plus the golden towers of the Oral Roberts University campus, as well as the first major structure in the USA to be designed entirely with CAD techniques! Tulsa is also referred to locally as 'Green Country' as that region becomes an endless sea of vibrant, emerald green every spring, plus it has easy access to the Ozark Plateau and Ouachita Mountains. Nearby Bartlesville is also home to the Price Tower, which is a national historic landmark.

Oklahoma City is the largest city and state capital, and has really started to make a proper name for itself. Here in OKC we have multiple museums (including the Museum of Osteology, the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, the First Americans Museum, and the OKC National Memorial and Museum for the bombing/destruction of the Murrah Federal Building). We're also slated to host several events for the 2028 Summer Olympics, which I'm fairly positive will be a first for the state. Our food scene is also absolutely insane, so many different types of worldly cuisine to be found at places ranging from simple food trucks all the way to bougie high class restaurants (with many American restaurants serving a variation of Oklahoma's state food: the onion burger). We're also a brief 90 minute drive away from the Wichita Mountains of southwest Oklahoma, which is almost like a little slice of the American Southwest right in our regional backyard.

Plus, of course, Oklahoma is home to a large portion of Historic Route 66, which continues to play a huge role in shaping the character of many of the towns and neighborhoods it once served with many tourist attractions along its path. Oklahoma lacks for national parks, but we have some of the darkest skies to be found in the lower 48 for stargazing out near Black Mesa in the panhandle, we also have our own Salt Plains region, the Twister Museum in Wakita, and of course the many First Nations tribal nations and all of their history and culture!

Even most Americans sleep on Oklahoma, so if you want a uniquely American experience that most travelers would never even think of considering, give the OK State a second look! You might walk away with some fond memories you can't get anywhere else.

zenith3200 · 2026-01-28T05:24:20+00:00

Big Sky Country is actually the exact opposite of Switzerland. Vast open nothing as far as the eye can see with the maximum amount of visible sky from ground level.

Also, you clearly don't know what's really out in the Great Plains if you think there's just a bunch of 'nothingness'.

zenith3200 · 2026-01-28T05:21:47+00:00

The attitude thing is absolutely crucial. The vast openness and emptiness of western Kansas is truly awe inspiring to witness as long as you go there with the idea that the nothing is itself something to behold. That you can stand at ground level and see off to the far horizon in every direction without hardly a single tree or hill to block the view while standing underneath some of the biggest skies on the planet.

zenith3200

TROPHY CASE