Notices by Chris L-W👻🚫 (chrislw@podcastindex.social)

@ILoveAmericaNews I don't disagree. I was a Boy Scout growing up, was taught to have pride in self and in country. I used to feel like the flag and the national anthem meant something and did for something.

Now when I see/hear thrm, it is with a sense of remembering what was, not what is. A feeling of loss, not pride.

That isn't political in a right/left sense, because both contributed to where we are

@ILoveAmericaNews why are any of us surprised? The American people have let the government run itself for the past 50 years without really caring, blindly electing along issue or party lines, then going about their lives ignoring the consequences. The government puts bills, job bids, and everything else online in the open. People just don't want to read them or look.

"I voted, I did what I needed" that's, the American way

@kaia the best version of Poirot

@kaia I've looked at those in the past! Snacks from different cultures are a fun way to experience things.

@kaia I think the "coolest" things I got were for my son. He's had the same hooded blanket since he was a toddler so I got him a customized adult sized one that was Minecraft Themed. Also got him some Minecraft Themed D&D Dice.

I got @Johncdvorak 's wife's Too Many Eggs book for a friend which is partially an inside joke and partially because he likes esoteric things.

You?

@kaia I finished my shopping on Thursday. Glad I was able to get it done.

@kaia yeah, I've tried real cooking and it doesn't always come out very well. Crock pot meals are usual safe. But being the bachelor that I am, it is usually a sandwich for lunch and either frozen or ramen for dinner.

Cheap, easy, and hard to mess up

@Moon Note = Not my picture but I REMEMBER this box

@Moon I'll see your Sound Blaster and raise you...

@Moon look into George "The Fat Man" Sanger. Most of the games in the early 90s used his midi timbres.

@Moon it's interesting how 3rd party sound cards have slowly phased out with the exception of higher end audio capture and production.

USB and integrated sound cards have largely taken over. For example, what used to require a specialized sound card I can do with my RodeCaster.

But, I still find them fascinating.

@Moon I remember my dad getting a Game Blaster card for the Tandy 1000. It came with Silpheed, the first game I ever played with MIDI sound

@kaia Granted, I also have a hard time with impulse control, so sometimes I buy things I probably shouldn't.

But if you only have $1500 a month across all of your major expense categories, even if I bought no movies, no books, no sound effect CDs, or anything else for myself, after food and everything, I can maybe put away $500 a month, and then I have annual expenses that come up every so often.

So... Yeah...

@kaia I recently did a quick look at my finances.

I won't provide my gross, but after taxes, 401k, and insurance, I have take-home of just around $55k.

After alimony/child support I have around $33k left

After rent - Around $18k

So, 18k to pay for food, car insurance, cell phone, internet, electricity, and save up for things like emergency car repairs, a better living situation, or a new (used) car.

And I wonder why I can't get ahead.

@kaia need this. :D

@kaia oh, that will do it. I made that mistake once

@Moon yeah, I've learned to just roll with stuff my friends say for this same reason. If they know I'm uncomfortable, they will have a tendency to keep it up. 🤣

@tomfinnigan @kaia @chjara
I mess with my tree from time to time, bit have never gotten past my great-great grandparents except on the English side.

Genealogy is fun but tedious.

@kaia still cool, even if illegal

I started reading through the Declaration of Independence with my 14-year-old last night and was amazed by a couple of things.

1. How true the document rings about our government today as it did about the king in 1776.
2. How cordially sarcastic and biting our forefathers were in the document. They were cordial, but they also issued some SOLID barbs in there.