Weekend Open Thread
The things that people would do to get points and social media engagement. A recent “fad” on X involves a woman lamenting the fact that she just turned 50 and is celebrating alone. Other ages are used, but the statements are nearly identical. A whole bunch of people jump on the thread and “simp” for the person who “lamented” being alone. A check of this one account’s posting history shows that this was not the first time they “celebrated a birthday” alone this year. Enjoy your weekend!
Category: Open thread
FIRST!
Well, Well, Well…would you just lookie heah. A TAH Friday Weekend Open Thread just happened to pop up just as The Gun Bunny, The King of Battle…THE King of FIRST came in from his escort duty/provision run. Being lucky is always better than being good. And one needs to be “good” when one “gets lucky”.
Take that, Chimpy…and you, too, ya Stoned Hacker. They’ll be grilled beef beast burgers, bags of Frito Lay Product (since The Gun Bunny is ALL of that AND a bag of chips) along with snacky type stuff, and the usual plethora of refreshing beverages for all hands.
You got chili to pour over them Fritos? It’s a habit I picked up from my south Texas cousins.
As a matter of fact, Lil’ Bro, I do have some chili ready…along with a Baby Fondue Pot of melted cheese. Home Boy, My Butcher Man, hooked a Brother up with some choice beef beast, a blend of grounded chuck and brisket. Made up some nice, thick patties, big crockett pot of chili, and put together some meatloaf pans for Sunday Dinner.
You help yourself. Oh,,,and btw…K Roger had a deal on Twelvers of The Yuengling Boys Golden Pilsner Bottles. Gots plenty of them, too. Balanced out my inventory of Black and Tan, Flight, and Lagers.
We used to make what we called “walking tacos”…..taco filling or chili ladled into a small bag of Fritos and topped with cheese, sour cream, and sliced jalapeños. No muss, no fuss.
Yup, that’s what I’m talking about!
In Texas we talk of “Frito pie” – slit a bag of Fritos down the side, add copious helpings of all-meat (no beans!) chili, mix with a spoon and enjoy.
There are no beans in real chili! Pintos on the side, cooked with hamhock or salt pork, fresh garlic and plenty of cumin.
Don’t forget the cornbread…
Jalapeño cornbread at D’s Cantina. Jalapeños are fresh from the backyard, depending on the season.
That sounds pretty delicious
Hell yeah! Or Pasta. Or Hot Dogs. Or anything else.
Chili be good!
Hack Stone chose not to run, so you can call off your hired goons. They may have broken Hack’s ribs, but as long as Hang still has a functioning thumb, your reign is in jeopardy.
You musta “chose not to run”, Mr. Stone because you’re worn out from trying to run down the elusive Elaine Ricci. “…as long as Hang still has a functioning thumb,…” You still having to ‘Hang” your thumb out to catch a ride since parts for your vintage English Auto are as elusive as the truth coming out of Phil Monkress? Probably need to “Hang” a bottle of sunscreen on your thumb, just to avoid it getting sunburned. “Hang” in there, Mr. Stone, your thumb may heal up from all the abuse you’ve given it when you just Hang around pounding that refresh icon thingy.
Didn’t think I’d be in contention today, either (see comment on today’s FGS). One of the Principles for Escort Duty had to Hang a change on The Movement Order to next week. Got back much earlier than anticipated and just happened to open another window to TAH while awaiting my FGS Primary source to open up and there it was…Orphaned.
Hack Stone made it through Friday night with no visits to the Emergency Room. That makes 5 days in a row, with an asterisk, since his visit Sunday morning turned into an overnight stay. Shout out to the good staff at the Fort Belvoir Hospital, especially those working the Emergency Room on Easter and the crew up in the 7th Floor who managed to get Hack Stone back on his feet with a Light Duty Chit, so you can catch Hack holding that sign on the River Road off-ramp, but no displays of twirling it around and throwing it in the air.
If you still got a working Thumb (as do I – GT), you can always hitch hike!
Behave yourself and heel quickly, ya hear?
Rosetta Stone has been trying to get Hack to “heel” for a long time…with very little success. 😀
Dangit
Patience, Grasshopper. The WOT will roll around again next Friday. Tell you what I’m gonna do for you, Slow Joe, being as I have much respect for The Warrior that you are. Yeah, I’ve kept up and remember some deep dives that one of our ninjas (RTR) did a few years back when you were using another screen name. I’ll let you in on a secret. Shhh…don’t tell nobody. The Gun Bunny will be going dark in the next coupla days (’bout Monday or Tuesday?), will only be able to monitor the net a bit bit and will be pretty much completely out of hunt for The Title of FIRST next Friday. Here’s your sign. Shhh
Not first.
On station.
Pretty damn good showing to get the sloppy seconds by just wandering by, Mick. Can’t remember when we’ve EVAH had 5+ minutes elapse between a FIRST and a SECOND Place post. Only thing I can figure is Hack Stone is trying to close a deal on some outdated Hated Red Soft Wear, CW is chansing Lois around the print shop, Roh-Dog is hard at his Honey Do List for that Trophy Bride of hissen, and Chippy is still loading up rubberized novelties in Hong Kong. No clue where the other “usual suspects” are, but rest assured…the haters will be here soon.
Late, again.
I was hoping the WOT drop would be at 2 … so I worked on a story for the Daily Planet. That’ll teach me. Fourth again.
Most apropos that you were 4th, again, CW. After all…you are a member of The Fourth Estate…and one of the few members of said estate that we actually trust…and believe what you report.
Okay, the King of Battle is on the throne once again, my broken arm is healing (albeit slowly), and I have another collection of silly trivia to drop on your unsuspecting selves. All is right with the world! So enjoy, friends, enjoy.
DID YOU KNOW…?
Whose portrait was on the first $1 bill printed by the U.S. Government?
By Commissioner Wretched
didyouknowcolumn@gmail.com
Copyright © 2025
Ah, the glories of a beautiful spring!
The flowers are in bloom, the birds are singing in the trees, leaves are bursting out all over … spring is heavenly, isn’t it?
(You’re waiting for me to say something about baseball, aren’t you? Well, not this time, bucko! Even I can go overboard, you know.)
Another wonderful thing about spring is the trivia we can find. Of course, I could say that about summer, fall and winter, too. So let’s turn up some nifty trivia for us all to enjoy!
Did you know …
… an auto designer once tried to design a new kind of pasta? In 1983, the Italian pasta manufacturer Voiello commissioned Giorgetto Giugiaro (born 1938) to create a new kind of pasta. Giugiaro designed what he called Marille, a pasta that had two tubes instead of one, with grooves on the inside to get more sauce in each bite. The pasta failed, however, because it cooked unevenly due to its design. The company stopped producing the pasta shortly after it debuted. (Guess it didn’t make it to the finish line.)
… splintered baseball bats have a future in Japan? True. Many of the baseball bats that end up in splinters in professional games are turned into chopsticks. The Japanese even have a word for such things – kattobashi, which is (according to The New York Times) a combination of the word for chopsticks and a baseball chant meaning “get a big hit.” (Ever try using baseball bats as chopsticks? Neither have I.)
… whose portrait was on the first paper one-dollar bill printed by the United States government? In 1862, the first legal tender note with a value of one dollar was printed by the government. But you might not recognize who’s picture is on it, because it isn’t George Washington (1732-1799), first President of the United States. The bill actually bears the picture of Salmon P. Chase (1808-1873) who was Secretary of the Treasury under President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865). And yes, Chase’s picture was printed on the bill while he was still alive to see it. Washington was pictured on the one-dollar bill beginning in 1869. Chase, by the way, eventually was “promoted” to being pictured on the $10,000 bill beginning in 1918. Additional trivia note: It was legal to put living people on U.S. money until 1866. That year, Spencer Clark (1811-1890), then head of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, placed his own face on the short-lived 5¢ note. The public outcry led Congress to enact a law requiring a person to be dead ten years before they could be depicted on currency. (I don’t really care whose face is on it, I just want more of it.)
… speaking of money, a dollar is called a “buck” for a reason? During the early days of Michigan’s existence as a U.S. territory, deer were so common and plentiful that hunting was a part of daily life. For a time, deer skins – and sometimes whole deer – were used as a medium of exchange. A deer carcass was worth a dollar, and thus did the dollar become known as the “buck.” (Oh, deer.)
… elephants are evolving in response to ivory poaching? African elephants are now being born and growing up without their huge ivory tusks, as it appears that – thanks to poachers – the ones with tusks aren’t living very long. The problem is that the tusks aren’t just for show. The elephants use them to build habitats and dig for water, among other needs. In some parts of Africa, tuskless elephants have grown from 3% of the population to more than 50%. (The tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth.)
… the name of a popular dessert has a special, practical meaning? I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love tiramisu, the creamy dessert made of espresso-soaked ladyfingers surrounded with whipped cream (and offered with or without alcohol enhancement). But the word tiramisu itself means “pick me up” or “cheer me up” in Italian. (Aptly named, I think.)
… film is called “footage” for a reason? The reason is because it is measured in feet. Yeah, you already knew that. But do you know the backstory to it? Movies were primarily released on 35 mm film, and one foot of 35 mm film contained 16 frames. That one foot took exactly one second of screen time. So the amount of seconds in a film is also the same as the amount of footage. The term was originated by film editors. (Film at 11.)
… which high school and college sport produces the most head and spinal injuries? If you said football, you’re wrong. It’s cheerleading. In fact, cheerleading produces more head and spinal injuries than all other high school and college sports combined. (Give a cheer!)
Hack Stone always wondered about cheerleading competitions. At these events, are there football players on the sidelines inspiring the cheerleaders?
Be nice to Giorgetto Giugiaro, his fingers were on some very influential cars. Start with the time machine – the DMC Delorean, as well as the Maserati Ghibli (and Bora), DeTomaso Mangusta, first VW Golf, the Lotus Esprit, the BMW M1, and the AMC AMX. He’s still designing.
… divorce is a breeze today compared to the Middle Ages? While a divorce can be expensive and sometimes messy, it is nothing next to the way marital disputes were settled in the Middle Ages. Then, it could come down to sanctioned, violent combat. Records from the time indicate that a husband and wife who wanted to divorce each other could be ordered to fight. The husband would be placed in a waist-deep hole and given a club, while the wife was provided with a sling and a lot of rocks. The combat involved beating each other until one or the other went unconscious, or more likely dead. (Alimony is eliminated that way, though.)
… scarecrows frighten birds because of odor? If a farmer puts a “naked” scarecrow out in the field, birds will typically ignore it and munch away on the crop to their hearts’ content. But if the scarecrow is wearing clothing, birds are frightened off. The clothing emanates a human odor, but over time – and with the help of weather – that odor dissipates. (There’s gotta be a joke in there somewhere.)
Now … you know!
I had a classmate who could have substituted for a dissipated scare crow. A shower with scrub brushes relieved our olfactory nerves; however, I think he enjoyed the attention.
I loved Robin Williams’ explanation of divorce on the Tonight Show, he said; “Divorce; from the Latin ‘Divortorum’, meaning ‘to have your genitals removed through your wallet’.”
CW, My Man, iffen that broken wing is hindering your ability to give Lois her Daily Quota of hugs…I’m available to help out.
Yeah…Spring…Pollen, gnats, grass growing so fast you gotta cut it once a week, skeeters, humidity, 5 more months till College Football starts again… *sigh*
Giorgetto shoulda stuck to designing cars. His pasta idea crashed and burned.
Chopsticks were never a big hit with me. Too much work. Give me a fork and spoon…any day.
If one had an original 1918 $10K Chase bill it could be worth between 50K to 480K “bucks”. $10K was some really seriously “bucks” back then being as the average yearly wage was between $200 and $400. Now…imagine how much wealth one would have if Grand Pa hada spent that $10K bill on some gold bars…and kept them for you…and you had the gold today? Bambi was unavailable for comment.
Read somewhere awhile back that most of the poached ivory ends up in the hands of the ChiComs. They’re even on the hunt for old piano keys and billiard balls.
It would cheer me up to pick me up some of them Lady Fingers. I’ll betcha that they are as sweet as our very own OAM. another *sigh*
Not near as tiring shooting 16 frames as it was loading 16 tons.
I knew some cheerleader that got hurt throwing themselves at the jocks.
Marriage is the leading cause of divorce. ‘specially if you’re married to an old, scary crow.
Another fine j.o.b. on the trivia, CW. You are muchly appreciated for educating us each week.
I was fixing the ceiling heater in the bathroom when I heard
something drop so I figured I better check it out.
Yep, it was weekend open thread. The heater can wait.
6th I’m guessing. So much for being a kind, benevolent ruler for a week.
FIRST!!!!111
Women celebrating birthdays alone! So if you cant find a man that measures up to your standards ladies, then your standards are too high, for who you are. You’re not all 10’s regardless of what you tell each other. Boo hoo!
Just tell them … “I’ve upped my standards, now, up yours”.
The problem is when she finally meets a man that’s up to their standards she doesn’t meet his standards.
The man that’s up to her standards doesn’t exist and never did.
Sure he does .. but he’s married already and wants to stay that way
TGIF
ROFLMAO…
Sums it up
Happy weekend.
Is that Ocrazio-Cortez worshipping at the grave of that German guru of politico-economics?
Yep…The same dude that was Old Abe’s pen pal.
Twenty-suMp’n as I declare myself present and unaccountable while I award myself yet another Honorary First.
((((OVER))))
I’m still enjoying the schadenfreude.
Present!
Trump is lying about trade deals that don’t exist. And lying about the economy.
https://www.axios.com/2025/04/25/trump-time-interview-china-trade-war-tariffs-xi
https://youtu.be/vmUImmV8N3k?si=zPwncpz2DIg12Ykc
The constant lying has always been an issue. But his lies are also really idiotic. And his explanations often more so.
Do you guys even see or pay attention to what he says?
So, the previous administration was virtuous? No lies told?
Well of course.. Xi totally would never lie to us..
You GO gorl!
do you ever pay attention to your bullshit
Here is a full transcript of Trump’s trade interview.
https://time.com/7280114/donald-trump-2025-interview-transcript/
I genuinely think the right wing bubble keeps most on the right from ever actually hearing or reading what the moron actually has to say except curated soundbites.
Even his rally speeches are idiotic.
https://time.com/7280114/donald-trump-2025-interview-transcript/
At least Trumps speeches are not,, repeat,, not on a teleprompter where he reads them verbatim. The last guy read everything, even to the point of reading where the prompter said pause.
Idiotic indeed.
Commissar,
Here’s the problem – there’s not a good alternative. Most of us cannot stand the Left. Your side of the aisle prefers Hamas, syndicates like MS13, and anyone hopping the border to Americans. The Left wants the military to focus on fighting climate change and helping people transition to 57 different genders. We are not going to join your side even if something you post is actually annoying, just like how you will stick with the Left no matter what they do.
You are wasting your time here.
You’re so full of s* you float. I’ve been arguing against the left, online, for over 21 years, and it’s the left that argues from leftist media soundbites. We, on the right, aim for first-tiered information sources such as the transcripts that you linked to.
We have to, every time we come across leftist soundbite, propagandist article, or leftist nonsense argument about what Trump said, a check of the transcripts of what President Donald Trump actually said tells a completely different story. Heck, whenever the leftist media makes a claim, we double check its accuracy with our own search for how others are reporting that story with the view of getting access to first tiered information source… E.g., actual Goerge Floyd arrest body cam video versus what the left reported.
For example, the left insists that Trump is lying about trade deals. Yes, deals are already being made, what the interviewer did was deception via semantics. Deals are made before a final agreement is paraded out and announced. A deal is not a one step process, but a multiple step process where there is give and take going on.
There’s a whole bunch of factors involved that have to be agreed on, right now, they have deals in many areas, but they don’t have deals in other areas. Once these other areas are covered, an agreement could be formalized… And then announced.
That’s a key difference. The absence of a final agreement is what leftist propagandists are using to claim that Trump is “lying” about deals being made.
If you read the transcripts that you linked to, you’d notice that the interviewer was asking a lot of loaded questions. Donald Trump did not lie or pull s* out of his a* like leftists naturally do as if it were as easy as breathing.
I wonder why she’s alone and no one has snapped her up?
What she really means.
“Hi, I’m a communist s#!t show that doesn’t eat meat, would you please be my friend, on my terms, only on my terms.”
“not in dead-end job” may have eliminated Lars.
In order to determine whether you are in a dead-end job, you first need to have one.
Does a cul-de-sac in an up-scale gated community count as a dead end?
And must have no balls but a hefty paycheck.
Usually politicians of both stripes save the stupid pardons for their last days in office. What gives in this one?
https://apnews.com/article/trump-pardon-michele-fiore-nevada-fraud-cf56ef8b302b8111e47cf52d5a606d19
I am reminded, strongly, of a conversation between myself and my husband ere these many years ago. He was working an office job in a major metropolitan area, and I used to send homemade food in with him on a semi-regular basis. One of his coworkers really appreciated this, and loudly lamented that he couldn’t find a girlfriend with those kinds of skills – a complaint echoed by several others in the office.
This fellow was big on the party scene, doing a pretty notorious club scene in the area; when my husband told me this, my first and immediate reaction was, “If you want to find a girl who can cook, first look for a girl who looks like she enjoys food.”
This is in some ways the other end of this – on the one hand, way too many people avoid building the skills necessary to have a relationship, and on the other, pricing themselves out of the market. I could go on and on but instead I’ll just enjoy my multi-decade marriage and three kids with my husband who is also a partner to me. Why preach to the converted, here, or to the barren ground, there?
Mrs. GB regularly brags about her husband. I regularly try to keep her feeling that way.
The fact that I have much to brag about in her aids and abets the situation.
Like you, farmgirl, we are in a multi-decade (51 as of last Monday) marriage with 3 kids, 3 fantastic children-in-law, and 11 (so far) grandchildren.
On the other hand – some of the feel-good stories relate to girls who settled for a guy she should’a ignored. I know some fantastic young(er) ladies who didn’t settle – and were in their 30’s-40’s before an acceptable guy came around.
But they didn’t post “poor me” videos – they went out and did some good for others.
My brother just celebrated 50 years of marriage. My brother in law just celebrated 60 years. I m 38 years… 1st marriage. My advice to a long marriage, ignore advice from single and x+divorced people. Remember it takes two people working together, me doesn’t exist!
“…takes two people working together,…” Nailed it, Jimbojszz! It’s not a 50/50 deal…it’s a 100/100 for both parties…to each other and the relationship.
Marriage vows say that two become one in the eyes of God. Not the exact words but the meaning is the same.
MRS D and I will be together 9 years in November. Second go-round for us both. We got it right this time. She got me this recently:
I want a tee shirt that reads…”Human Needing Emotional Support…Please Pet”
In general I find keeping busy is a great cure for complaints. Even if I find myself complaining, at least it’s about the stuff I have to do and not the people I do them with!
100%
Where do you keep your Mosin in that cab? Roof rack? Rear window rack?
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgd_iKYW5pGVMXNMjH-y_26mvWBuoOszcy7hJP1rXkhQSjyKYrAiSW4ifdCO6fJrqA1UWy_V1RRmjeH6abqaMgrqy704qD2cVE8Utv6iclXj2KjxYiYePvnH4divGInOgcVetvb572oyQjNRbkoACU0mMzl1g7xM3WbhGcbC3Idx4GJ87Pnh5sgdIVw050=w607-h759
Gun cabinet usually when I’m out on the farm! I’m spoiled for choice for handguns though for daily carry. 1911 chambered in .45ACP or a PX4 Storm in 9mil are my usual two that I choose from. While there may not be any such thing as overkill, only just enough kill, there’s also something to be said about the conservation of energy.
“…1911 chambered in .45ACP …” Be still my beating heart. And some wonder why I love you! 😀
If something’s coming at me with deadly intent, I might as well try to make a really BIG hole!
Funny story I may or may not have told people here about the first time I fired it with intent at something other than an inanimate object. I’ve definitely reached ‘that’ stage of parenthood, where I don’t remember the stories I’ve told already.
“…make a really BIG hole!” And make an “Earth shattering KA-BOOM!” Marvin…grins! I knew that you like to practice The Gospel of His Most Saintly, John Moses Browning (Howitzer Be His Name) and I seem to recollect you relating a story of your abilities with such. No concerns with repeats here, a lot of us can’t remember why we walked into a room these days. My love affair with the 1911 started as a young lad with the one that Papa brought home from WWII, continued during my Artillery Service as an issued sidearm, and still today. Pops also had a captured Walther and both had been given to his sister for safe keeping just before he was killed in a truck wreck right after my 10th birthday. The Walther is in possession of older brother now, given to him by a cousin after our Aunt died in ’13. The 1911 had disappeared a number of years back, probably stolen by another cousin that had drug issues. Or so the theory goes. There were other items that it was known that came up missing by that one.
Recommended to me. Never heard Steve Bannon speak before, but I listened to this. Maybe some here will like it. About 30 minutes, sound is faulty at first.
https://x.com/Bannons_WarRoom/status/1915570511570161785?t=3330s
Is this true
No. It is D-rat propaganda. Replaced Pete with Hillary and it would be true.
She would be Hiatus Hillary, she’s still awaiting “Her turn”.
Present and non-accountable.
Mrs. GB and I completed our 51st year of wedded bliss last Monday.
Becoming more convinced that, while God has Trump et al dismantling the corrupt system the (D)emon-rats and (R)ino-fats have built, Christians need to be getting busy with the Kingdom work, rebuilding a culture that finds its values in Scripture.
Otherwise, the (D)emon-rats will return:
Unless we fill the void, the corruption will return.
The Wife and I will hit 43 years of wedded hiss later this year.
…wedded hiss, huh? Better behave yourself feller. She’s a treasure.
Auto correct, right? Blame it on auto correct.
Autocorrect can be a real mother forklift from time to time!
“I’d hit it.”
“Phony” Phil Monkress (CEO of All Points Logistics) works balls.
And Lori Benton looks on…
Because they were stupid enough to believe liberals saying, “you’re a strong independent woman, you don’t need no man!”
So now they’ll be alone forever.
Men have learned the dangers…
This may help to explain things…
50th birthday and a 12 pack and a bottle of Jack!
Happy Half Century, GT! I guess the Clown, Phil Monkress, will be too busy working balls to make the party, right?
Word!
You’ll notice no invites were extended to the horde, so he apparently doesn’t like us.
I drink alone…..
Happy 50th, Young-‘un!
Ramble time… I worked just shy of 60 hours this week and the bank account will be looking really good for a few hours next week, with 105 hours of pay (bi-weekly, with 15% increase for doing the solo armored van gig), disability and retirement checks, and tax return all hitting around the same time. Then the bills will be paid, groceries bought, and I’ll be wondering where it all went by next payday.
I thought the image looked a little AI and found this: Alma Hanna / Military Thirst Trap Bot Account | Know Your Meme. Seems like there are some extremely disproportionate (in all the right areas) AI women out there for you single men looking for some digital dogging.
The whole “alone and aging” fad does have some real-world truth, though. How many “empowered women” of Gen-X and younger generations squandered their youth doing their own thing, never wishing to have a meaningful relationship or children of their own. That is, until their youth is gone, their looks are in decline, and they realize that all of the money they made, places they visited, and things they did weren’t worth dying alone and forgotten. Even my 26-year-old, who’s been vocal about never wanting kids, has had a change of mindset and occasionally talks to her mom about wanting one. Problem is, she’s with a guy who has two kids with different mothers, and though they’ve been together for five or six years, I wouldn’t be surprised if he jumped ship the second she gave him a third kid. My wife is fully onboard with becoming a grandmother, and I think she’s disappointed that our kids didn’t follow in our footsteps. I’m glad, it keeps me young, and I don’t want to be “grandpa” in my 40s any more than I did in my 30s. 👴
Simps gonna simp.