Tag: Suckage

Things that totally suck

Shelter

Architecture, Real Estate

And then we have this plaudit, following the Chinkvirus lockdown(s):

Shelter in place has us focused on the characteristics of a home that makes us happy. What makes us happy in a home has not changed, but since we are spending more time in a home than ever, we are focused on what makes us happy in a home. Neighborhoods become more important during shelter in place. Here is a home that exudes the elements of a home we enjoy when we shelter in place. Architect Max Levy designed this home that is immersed in nature, enjoys the shared greenways of the neighborhood, and is surrounded by vibrancy.

And this “immersion in nature” looks like this:

You know where this is going, right?  Let’s look at the interior:

It would not surprise me if the cushion coverings were hiding concrete blocks.

This excrescence is part of a series of five houses which inspire us to shelter in place, and only one of the five does not inspire me to load up the Molotov cocktails and go for a little drive down some “shared greenways”.  Here it is:

…and to the surprise of absolutely nobody, this house was designed IN 1939.

All the above are located in Dallas (not renowned for anything classical, architecture least of all), but I do know the real estate market around here quite well, and I can truthfully say that the only houses I’d consider buying in the city would be the few still standing which were built before WWII.

All the rest are either foul beyond words (“mid-century modern” aaargh ) or else ultra-modern carbuncles like the ones above.  The newly-built ones, by the way, all look like they’re owned by Russian oil oligarchs, retired Cowboys footballers, Arab oil sheiks or Colombian druglords.  (And that’s not just my opinion, by the way:  Mr. Free Market, who has been on several tours of the area conducted by Yours Truly, has even worse things to say.)

Here’s one in Plano which exemplifies the type:

At least it looks like something a little classical.  But the supercars parked oh-so casually in the driveway give the game away.

It makes me not want to buy lottery tickets, if that’s all that obscene amounts of money could buy me.

Predator

Crime

Here we go again:

A Sarpy County jury on Wednesday found a 38-year-old woman guilty of 11 felony counts in connection with child sexual assault and abuse that occurred at alcohol-fueled sleepovers with pre- and young teens.

It gets better:

Authorities said Greer provided alcohol and marijuana-infused gummy bears to her 11-year-old daughter and her friends at weekend sleepovers in 2017 and 2018.

Wouldn’t be a crime if it was Oregon or California, but it’s Nebraska:

Greer faces a maximum sentence of life in prison next month when she is set to be sentenced.

That said, I’m offering odds on her getting a suspended sentence Because She’s A Woman So Shut Up.

Oh Noes

Food & Drink, Nannies, Science!

More from the world of dietary science:

Regular meat-eaters are more likely to suffer from chronic health conditions than those who shun or ration animal products, a study from the University of Oxford has found.
The research found a meat-lover who eats 70 grams of meat — processed or unprocessed — more than a peer is at 15 per cent higher risk of heart disease, 30 per cent more likely to get diabetes and almost a third (31 per cent) more likely to develop pneumonia in the future.

I did the work so you don’t have to:  70 grams is about 2.5 oz…

Whatever.  According to this lot, I should have died about 15 years ago, given that my daily breakfast contains inter alia  a large piece of boerewors.

And yet, here we are.

Letters, I Get Letters

Bad News

From our apartment complex management:

Needless to say, my building is neither 4, 10 nor 13.  And forget water.

On a related note:  we had movers come and shift all our possessions into the (one-car) garage on Saturday.  It took a depressingly short time, and there’s still plenty of space.  Now building management can dry the place out and replace carpets etc. , which they assured me [eyecross]  would take place soon.

But as I paid the movers with some of the money y’all sent to me, I said a quiet thank-you.  (And yes, I will eventually get it back from the insurance, but I needed it right then, and you guys made it possible.)

Best news of all:  my books were in perfect shape, untouched by the water and the resulting humidity.

And in other news:  normal blogging service should resume tomorrow with the usual mixture of guns,  rants, booze, invective and boobs.  Try to contain your excitement.

Return To Normality, Sorta

Bad News

The extended-stay hotel has restored its wifi connection, at least temporarily, so I’m more or less back in business.

However, there are over 1,700(!) emails sitting in my Inbox waiting for my attention, and today New Wife and I have to go back to the apartment to pack and move stuff into the garage so that the complex can start the laborious process of drying the place out, replacing carpets and fixing drywall.

It’s gonna take a little while before blogging resumes its customary volume, in other words.

Most alarming to me has been the realization that all my precious books may have been ruined by the humidity.  I’ll find out the truth when I get back there later this morning.

Aaaaargh.

And one more time, with feeling:  words cannot express our gratitude for your wonderful generosity.  I hope nobody minds that when all the dust has settled, bills paid and my life is restored, that some tiny part of your contributions (if any remain) might go towards buying a few books.