patrick.net

Ceffer says

Gayin Newscum wants to jab your kids with the coof vaxx but his 12yo daughter is not vaccinated even against common childhood diseases

"These kids just won Halloween 😂"

HunterTits says

"Mostly-full" supermarkets.

HunterTits says

I just had dinner at a diner I've been going to for years. Got the smallest portions ever. Because of the shortages and rising prices. No, I didn't even ask...just assumed

I have also noticed restaurant portion shrinkage at more than one place.

Booger says

I have also noticed restaurant portion shrinkage at more than one place.

Bright side - maybe that will lead to less weight gain.

HeadSet says

Booger says

I have also noticed restaurant portion shrinkage at more than one place.

Bright side - maybe that will lead to less weight gain.

I second this as a positive thing. One thing I hate is MOST places just serve too much food. I get tired of having to either stuff it down or bring it home. I never go out to a place I don't enjoy (of course), but portions are often more than enough for two people. Even when I was biking 100 miles a week, it was too much.

richwicks says

One thing I hate is MOST places just serve too much food.

Especially Italian restaurants with their oversized plates. Even the salad is massive.

richwicks says

I was biking 100 miles a week,

How long did your tires last? I got thousands of miles out of my 40-65 psi types. I have not put enough miles on my 110 psi racer tires to know how long they would last.

HeadSet says

richwicks says

I was biking 100 miles a week,

How long did your tires last? I got thousands of miles out of my 40-65 psi types. I have not put enough miles on my 110 psi racer tires to know how long they would last.

I used Armadillos. They would last about a year which was 1,500 - 2,000 miles. I biked every day on the weekday and often on the weekend. My tires are 100-115 PSI.

If you're not using your bike for long periods of time, I think it's better to release the air - not flat, but like 10 PSI. Especially with tires that have Kevlar beads instead of steel beads - they will stretch over time and will readily fall out of the rim, destroying the tube with a loud bang. You can't fix that.

Armadillos (and Gatorskins) have Kevlar to protect the tube, but I'd eventually hit a nail, a piece of glass, a staple - something, and it would work it's way through the Kevlar and I'd have a flat in the middle of nowhere. They have higher rolling resistance but FAR less frustration. When I'd get a flat, I'd unmount the wheel, remove the tube (being careful to record it's orientation relative to the tire) and find the leak. I'd line up the logo of the tire with the stem of the tube (this is common practice for bike mechanics - of which I'm not one). When I found where the leak was on the tube, I could find on the tire what managed to work its way through the Kevlar. A piece of glass, a staple, a nail, a roofing nail, even a fucking earring once, something. I found it by rubbing my thumb through it, finding the sharp point (sometimes with blood) and work it out or pull it through. ONCE that happens, you're on limited time. You might be able to get a few hundred miles out of it, but it's not worth it, you can no longer trust the tire.

Anyhow, once you get a flat on a Kevlar tire, your tire is on limited time. You found ONE place where it punctured the tire, but there's a ton of shit in it you can't feel or see, it just works its way through, and what it was when it entered, has been worn down to be smooth with the tire by the time you check, still works its way through like a foxtail on a dog or a cat.

I used to swap my rear wheel tire with my front and replace one at a time, now - fuck it, I just replace both and put the front tires aside for future (being a cheap fuck) use. $120 or so, lasts a year, and I hate sitting on the side of the road like a fucking twat repairing them. I never bike without a pump and a patch kit. I once stranded myself out 30 miles from my home, and had to walk back in biking shoes the entire way. You only do that once. I was so fucked. The age before cellphones..

I like crank brother's candies:

https://www.crankbrothers.com/collections/candy

And I wear mountain biking shoes on my road bike. You can walk in those, but you destroy the cleats if you do but you won't care if you're 10 miles from home and screwed. The Candies are cheap, and the shoes - they aren't agonizing. I used to use just the original crank brother's eggbeaters:

https://www.crankbrothers.com/collections/eggbeater

DO NOT BUY THEM. The spring wears over time, and you won't be able to clip in after some significant use. Still, they are cheap.

Still, both are better than the Shimano SPD's. They kill my knees. Lots of float on the Crankbrothers. SPD's are what I started with (and I think anybody my age started with), they have a good lock in, but no float so it forces your knees into unnatural positions. Crankbrothers are my favorite, but Look is also nice, but you can't walk in those shoes.

richwicks says

If you're not using your bike for long periods of time, I think it's better to release the air

I have a Cannondale trail bike with tubeless kevlar tires, they go flat on their own if you do not ride for a long time. I also have a Cannondale road bike from the aluminum frame days. Very fast, but the 20mm 110 psi gumwall tires that came with went flat on every ride, "snakebite" style where you get those little double punctures all around the hoop. Thankfully today's tubes are much sturdier. About a month ago, I got a flat about 4 miles from home on my British "Blue Mountain" bike. While I was walking it home, the other tire went flat. I bought those green slime filled tubes to replace the flats. I am not worried about rolling friction or weight on that bike, since it weighs 36 pounds anyway and I use it for cargo. That British bike has the front sprockets slightly egg shaped. That gives the effect of a slightly higher gear on the down stroke where you have more leg strength. I am surprised that other bikes have not adopted that idea.

HeadSet says

I have a Cannondale trail bike with tubeless kevlar tires, they go flat on their own if you do not ride for a long time. I also have a Cannondale road bike from the aluminum frame days.

I have a Cannondale too, all aluminum, mid 1990's, it looks awesome, but that frame is so fucking stiff, that biking 10 miles on it is like biking 30 on my Specialized. I swear I can feel it when I run over a grain of sand in the road. It was fine when I was 30 and still had some cartilage in my frame, now I'm 50, and I swear my entire nose is made of bone.

Fuck tubeless - yes, seems real neat and cool, yes they are lighter, I'm no Lance Armstrong. I know my capability. I can ride Ultregra without being a poser, but not Dura-Ace. 105 is probably a superior groupset than what I have on my bike now, which is 2005 (or so) Dura-Ace. I have Easton Wheels - they USED to be good.. The reality is that the really high end shit breaks down constantly, and you're trading reliability for weight, which you really don't need or want. Shimano makes some junk like Sora or Tiagra, but Campagnolo does NOT make crap, anything they sell is quality. I don't know about SRAM.

With regard to quality - do not buy wheels from anybody that specializes in making groupsets.

There are a couple of Kevlar tires (for roadbikes anyhow) - they last a good long time for me. I've worn them down to the fabric under the rubber before I had to replace them. There's a distinct difference in wear depending on how fucking fat I am too. When I was 180, I made them threadbare - now.. I ought to lose 40 lbs.

You have an elliptical crank - I had that on my first (real) road bike. I know the theory, but it's said it damages your knees. Don't know if it's true or not. I prefer round crank sprockets though. Elliptical cranks were a thing in the 1990's for road bikes. It did seem to hurt my knees before I got my first Cannondale, but then again, everything changed on that bike, including the pedals. Hard to know what is actually hurting you in a repetitive injury.

If you like biking, I strongly suggest you look up Sheldon Brown - he's dead (been dead for 15 years or so), but boasted being the world's best bike mechanic. His page is still maintained, and fuck it, he was goddamned good. Got a problem with your bike, you'll find out how you should fix it.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/

It's frankly amazing advice. Ever have problems with your chain for example? It's because your rear cassette is worn down. Replace your cassette and have your chain snag? It's because your chain is worn down. Shit I couldn't figure out when I was young, he's got an explanation for everything. When you replace your chain, you should consider replacing your cassette. If your chain "rides high" on the sprockets of your cassette, you certainly should replace the cassette. He'll show you how to properly fit your chain. Wonderful resource. I'm a qualified bike mechanic - except for building a wheel.

Leave building a wheel to the experts. Fuck up there, and you can get the person riding it killed - I know this because I rebuilt one of my front wheels being cheap and "being smart" - I was certain I could do it - rode on it for 1000's of miles, and one day, it tacoed - collapsed. Destroyed my frame, gave me a concussion, and broke 3 of my ribs. I was just on the flats accelerating when it happened, laid me out, left me unconscious for who knows how long. If I was going down a hill at speed, I would have been dead, no question, and I had taken that down multiple hills. I'm very fortunate to be alive. Don't fuck with your wheels, and if you're constantly popping spokes, get a heftier wheel until you can drop some weight.

Ceffer says

I don't think Venezuela is that easily explained.

Lift sanctions on that nation and stop attacking them, and see what they can do?

The BIG FEAR of our government is that, maybe, a nation can make a socialist system work - and if that happens, eyes turn inward... The US is sabotaging Venezuela as much as it possibly can. It does the same to Cuba. I'm not saying that I believe in a communist socialist system, I'm saying this nation does its damnedest to make certain neither work. As a result, we don't know if they CAN work or not.

But the fact that they can be attacked, that might be an indication they cannot work, but the fact that the US is now a failing nation - this might indicate these attacks are short lived and end up destroying the attacking nation. Time will tell.

richwicks says

Lift sanctions on that nation and stop attacking them, and see what they can do?

Nothing. They are completely FUBARd. Commie shit never worked anywhere. Because it can't.

richwicks says

The BIG FEAR of our government is that, maybe, a nation can make a socialist system work - and if that happens, eyes turn inward... The US is sabotaging Venezuela as much as it possibly can. It does the same to Cuba. I'm not saying that I believe in a communist socialist system, I'm saying this nation does its damnedest to make certain neither work. As a result, we don't know if they CAN work or not.

ChauvinsKnee says

Nothing. They are completely FUBARd. Commie shit never worked anywhere. Because it can't.

Yeah, the whole the "US keeps Cuba down" worked in the Cold War, maybe. It hasn't applied in about 25 years, and Venezuela it never applied. All those countries trade with Europe, Russia, China, Iran, the Middle East, etc.

I mean if John Deere won't sell Tractors to Cuba or Venezuela, Jinma will. Or Mahindra for that matter. Both are multi billion dollar enterprises, and there are many other manufacturers, some of them quite large. All those Ford F-150 parts are made in China, plenty of knock offs. China and Russia still need Sugar, and India and China needs oil. Cuban cigars really are something special that can't be readily imitated. Venezuela is a big beef producer, as well as the obvious oil.

Cuba and Venezuela have access to 75% of world trade and plenty of substitute goods and services. Cuba in particular gets a lot of tourism, both regular and medical, from Europe.

MisdemeanorRebellionNoCoupForYou says

Cuba and Venezuela have access to 75% of world trade and plenty of substitute goods and services. Cuba in particular gets a lot of tourism, both regular and medical, from Europe.

Let me be very clear.

I'm not drawing a conclusion. Perhaps Cuba is fucked no matter if we have sanctions on them or not. If they are fucked regardless, what is the point of sanctions?

The US engages in trade with China after all - THEY are communist.

I have a inherent distrust of my government, a healthy one, so healthy it may be unhealthy. All I see is hypocrisy. The reason the US has sanctions on Cuba, in my opinion, is a bunch of criminal families that are in our government got fucked over by the revolution there. I don't believe it's over an ideological divide and frankly, the people that got fucked over who want sanctions - they are just mafia assholes anyhow. We, ourselves, are dealing with that shit now.

That's a true statement.

The government promotes virus fear via the media to keep power.

richwicks says

The US engages in trade with China after all - THEY are communist.

And China is an asshoe 10x worse than Cuba. Cubans don't harvest Uighur organs.
BUT: I don't see how a communist system can work. So let them self-destruct, no need for sanctions. Or if there are sanctions, there should be some logic as in if China behaves worse than Cuba, then sanction China.

We should have sanctions on China too. The Uighurs, Hong Kong, violating Montreal Agreement on CFCs, etc.

MisdemeanorRebellionNoCoupForYou says

We should have sanctions on China too. The Uighurs, Hong Kong, violating Montreal Agreement on CFCs, etc.

Sanctions on China make 10000000 times more sense. Cuba is not an economic competitor to US.

https://babylonbee.com/news/janet-yellen-pops-out-of-childs-birthday-cake-to-take-his-birthday-money

CONWAY, AR—Ten-year-old Billy Smurth’s birthday party went from fun to frightening when U.S. Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen burst out of his birthday cake to take his birthday money.

“No! Don’t take off your—” Billy’s dad yelled before realizing with overwhelming relief that Yellen was only there as part of her efforts to tax Billy's unrealized birthday money.

"EQUITY!!!!" screeched the frosting-covered Yellen as she rummaged through birthday cards and pocketed the cash while Billy and his friends screamed in terror. Billy’s mom confronted Yellen and demanded she leave, but was forced to back away after Yellen tried gnawing off her finger to get to her diamond wedding ring.

Janet Yellen finally crashed out a window and disappeared after Billy’s dad convinced her there was a libertarian with a walk-in safe living next door.

Moments later, the front door burst open and two IRS agents entered to issue Billy an itemized tax bill for his birthday presents.

https://babylonbee.com/news/ag-garland-issues-memo-calling-for-investigation-of-terrorist-senators-who-harassed-and-intimidated-him-at-hearing

HunterTits says

Enabling Act of 1933

THE ENABLING ACT
The Enabling Act allowed the Reich government to issue laws without the consent of Germany’s parliament, laying the foundation for the complete Nazification of German society. The law was passed on March 23, 1933, and published the following day. Its full name was the “Law to Remedy the Distress of the People and the Reich.”

KEY FACTS
1 Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party used intimidation and persecution to ensure the passage of the law. They prevented all 81 Communists and 26 of the 120 Social Democrats from taking their seats, detaining them in Nazi-controlled camps.

2 German judges did not challenge the law. They viewed Hitler's government as legitimate and continued to regard themselves as state servants who owed him their allegiance and support.

3 The Enabling Act became the cornerstone of Hitler's dictatorship.

HunterTits says

People still do