Weekend Open Thread
Human nature is one of the reasons to why communism and socialism consistently fail. Success, and the enjoyment of the fruits of one’s labor, motivate the wealth generators who make capitalism beneficial to most. So, when the communists finally gain power and implement their policies, the wealth generators either stop generating wealth or they leave. The elites accumulate the balance of the wealth that could be collected, leaving the masses “fighting for scraps.” By the time the communism advocates realize that they’ve been hoodwinked, it’s too late. The movers and shakers of the movement have consolidated their hold to power. Enjoy your weekend.
Category: Open thread
Oh wise and all knowing Magic 8- Ball, will Hack Stone regain his rightful place as a kind and benevolent dictator by securing the highly coveted and rarely awarded First Comment in the Weekend Open Thread, or will Hack Stone have to be satisfied with spending his Friday afternoon standing of the ICE Field Office in Baltimore selling outdated and overpriced Red Hat Software to supporters of Kilmer Abrego Garcia? Magic 8-Ball says…
Hack Stone was driving up Route 1 in Arlington and he spotted Phil Monkress on the road.
Ha!
Or:
This
Or this view
Every red light driving on Route 1 Hack Stone was pumping that refresh on the iPhone. Took a lot of heat from Rosetta for looking at the phone. Told her was waiting on a customer to call back and place an order. She said “You’ve been waiting for that call for over ten years. They are not going to call.”
First!
Denied!
I will forward your attention to below.
I blame Commisar.
Blame it on your outdated Red Hat Software.
No.
(Truth is my attention was away from my phone at the wrong time.)
Hack Stone returns to the throne … it seems that there’s a pattern here. Hack one week, Amateur Historian the next, and the old Commish trying his best to get into the fun. Ah, well. There’s always trivia.
DID YOU KNOW…?
Did two airline CEOs settle a dispute over an advertising slogan with an arm-wrestling match?
By Commissioner Wretched
didyouknowcolumn@gmail.com
Copyright © 2025
Time for that honored tradition, my annual letter to Santa Claus!
Dear Santa,
To tell you the truth, I don’t want anything special for Christmas this year.
I know, based my past history, that’s pretty amazing, but at my age … well, I already have everything I need and a great deal of what I want.
So if you had anything specific for me, please leave it under the tree of a deserving soul who could use it better than I.
If you stop by anyway, I’ll leave out the milk and cookies.
Love,
The Commish
Now, on to the trivia!
Did you know …
… you may have practiced stultiloquence? We all have, I’d guess. Stultiloquence means silly or senseless talk, or babble. (Sounds like the language of most politicians, if you ask me.)
… when a French queen got married, her husband wasn’t even there? Marie Antoinette (1755-1793) was part of an arranged marriage to the man who would become King Louis XVI of France (1754-1793) as a way to seal the union between her native Austria and France. The wedding took place on April 19, 1770, but Louis wasn’t there; rather, Marie’s brother Ferdinand (1754-1806) stood in for the groom in a proxy wedding in Vienna. Louis and Marie held a ceremonial wedding on May 16 of that year at Versailles. (But which day was their anniversary?)
… a President of the United States was an honored guest at a circus wedding? On February 10, 1863, circus dwarf “General Tom Thumb” (born Charles Sherwood Stratton, 1838-1883) married another circus dwarf, Lavinia Warren (1842-1919) in a production staged for the “Greatest Show on Earth” by circus promoter Phineas T. Barnum (1810-1891). More than 2,000 guests attended the wedding, including President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), his wife Mary (1818-1882), and Lincoln’s entire Cabinet. The ceremony was dubbed “The Fairy Wedding” by the press. (No word on what the couple called it.)
… two airline CEOs settled a dispute over an ad slogan with an arm wrestling match? In 1992, both Southwest Airlines and Stevens Aviation were using the same advertising slogan: “Just Plane Smart.” Rather than having to resort to lawsuits or other messy means of settling the dispute, the chief executive officer of Stevens, Kurt Herwald (born 1954), playfully challenged the CEO of Southwest, Herb Kelleher (1931-2019), to an arm wrestling match. The event took place in Dallas, and Herwald beat Kelleher in a two-out-of-three match. However, Herwald gave the slogan to Kelleher anyway, in exchange for a $5000 donation to Herwald’s favorite charity and the dropping of any legal challenges. (Beats pistols at ten paces any day of the week.)
… popcorn became a popular movie snack because of World War II? During the war, sugar shortages made candy hard to come by and expensive, sometimes too expensive for theater owners. So the owners turned to popcorn, which was cheaper, easier to prepare, and apparently sold like hotcakes – so much so that popcorn is now the best-selling movie snack. (Now, with the price of butter …)
Movie popcorn has markup right there beside what Starbucks squeezes out of gullible consumers for a product that probably costs $0.14 to produce.
General Tom Thumb and his bride Lavinia Warren reportedly went on a short honeymoon.
🙄
Well played.
… Eve (of Adam and Eve) is depicted as having blonde hair for a reason? During the Middle Ages, women with blonde hair were viewed with suspicion, and by the middle of the 14th Century that suspicion had even worked its way into paintings set in the Garden of Eden. Eve was given flowing blonde locks that marked her as an evil temptress. (They don’t print enough money to make me comment on this.)
… the kiss at the end of a wedding ceremony has a historical precedent? People who study such things have said that the kiss comes from ancient Rome, where tradition had a kiss used to sign a contract. (Hard to take that back.)
… some of the sets of a classic science fiction movie are now a tourist destination? In the desert of Tunisia, in Africa, the sets of the planet Tatooine from Star Wars (1977) were built, used, and then abandoned after filming was complete. But the desert preserved the sets, and now they are a popular tourist destination in that country. You can even stay the night in Luke Skywalker’s home. (The Force may, indeed, be with you.)
… the movie Jaws inspired a widespread fear and hunting of sharks? The 1975 film, which (if you didn’t already know) was about a monster great white shark attacking swimmers at a New England beach resort, caused such a backlash against sharks that they have been intensely hunted ever since. Several nations have, in fact, enacted steps to protect sharks. Additional trivia note: In a stunning twist of irony, the man who wrote the novel Jaws, Peter Benchley (1940-2006), was a strong supporter of shark conservation.
… a World War II UFO incident was kept from the public by orders at the highest levels? It was not until 2010 that documents were released showing that British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874-1965) ordered a report of a UFO incident from the early 1940s involving an unidentified pilot of the Royal Air Force to be sealed. Churchill said he was concerned the report would create a mass panic, and made the report secret after conferring with General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969). The report itself has still not been released. (The Little Green Men were pleased.)
Now … you know!
Did you know that my and Hack’s weekly rotating kingships is loosely similar to Oedipus’s sons, Eteocles and Polynices, who agreed to share the kingship of Thebes by alternating rule each year?
Hack was under the impression that our rotating occupation of the WOT throne is based on Bob and Doug McKenzie. So take off, hoser!
Stultiloquence is my default.
Not surprising for Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. There were rumors at the time the couple had an impotence problem. (Extra! Extra! Read all about it! The King can’t get it up!)
I hope the food was good at the circus wedding.
I worked with Southwest Airlines before. They aren’t “Plane Anything!”
I f**king love popcorn 🍿!
Explains my sister. She’s a blonde (don’t ask).
So… did the Romans have Mono back then?
Booking tickets to Tunisia right now!
That is ironic and most sharks are not man eaters. Just man-biters. They confuse us for their usual food and then let go. They don’t think we taste good.
Well, at the time the British had enough going on with the blitz to add this on top of their worries (Not agreeing with it. Just stating a fact.).
It has now been 40 years since Arrow Air Flight No. 1285R went down at Gander. “Requiescat In Pace” to the 256 souls lost on that day, including my best running buddy (from a previous tour to Germany) Andy.
I’ll never forget.
I recall that day.
Sorry for your loss.
5th maybe? Present though.
Happy Friday, you gents. Hope You had a great week. Welp, I lost my throne. Rule justly and benevolently for the coming week, Hack, until I get my throne back. As I noted on CW’s thread, our jockeying for first is similar to certain Kings from Ancient Thebes.
Anyway, big news this week: I have graduated from the certificate program with the highest Latin Honors and I will be moving into the degree program next year. I’m really excited about it and am looking forward to getting decently plastered today or this weekend. Depends on when some family are available to celebrate with me.
Finally, I got a ton of interesting Youtube videos to drop today. So be sure to check those out.
Have a great weekend!
For reasons that Hack Stone cannot fathom, for some reason last night just before attempting to fall asleep, Hack Stone asked himself what did the US government do with the remains of the Jonestown Massacre. He did not get the final disposition of the bodies, but did find this interesting article about the US military once again Being called upon to handle international disasters.
https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/mass-suicide-at-jonestown/
Yeah, not a war crime:
Top 25!! 🖕
Lol, I’m doing better!!
It’s that damn used mailbox door salesman Hack Stone again.
Oh well, that’s all fine and good.
I’ve gotten used to being in everybody’s bitch recently or the last year or six months or 20 minutes whatever
Just under two weeks until Santa drives his sleigh down River Road in Bethesda, passing out goodies to all of the less fortunate who lost their jobs, homes, life savings and personal hygiene as a result of standing up for Phil Monkress and are now residing in inoperative 1980’s vintage Jaguars corroding on the side of the road. So, if you happened to pull Psul of The Ballsack’s name in this year’s Secret Santa, the answer is yes, he desperately needs another pair of crotchless boxer shorts.
Ahhh, the United Nations. We love ’em (thats an effing lie!). We hate ’em (thats mostly true!). And we most certainly can live with out ’em! Here’s a complete historical list on the UN’s failures that I will submit as Exhibit A on why they should be dissolved:
Don’t know if any of y’all are preppers. I’m kinda interested in prepping, but constrained by money issues. Though knowledge is free. So I found a YouTube video by Chrono Prepper on 10 survival myths that can get you killed (ignore the timeline talk. Its a bit he does):
Fire Department Chronicles:
Oh, Flakka! (Or is it Flocka? Mmm)
THE INSULIN DEPENDENT INCREDIBLE HULK!!!
The awesome drug adenosine, used to treat SVT ( Supraventricular Tachycardia), works by taking away the high heart rate of the patient and dividing it evenly among everyone in the room waiting for the guy to wake back up.
Where are they now?
Bonus Green screen:
I randomly found this 😂:
Also:
POV: You’re an Iranian Nuclear Engineer who works at Fordo when one of these bursts through your ceiling.
Present.
Unaccountable.
Needing to recover from two Christmas parties. May have one more before The Big Day.
Was handed a note by Grandchild #8 today. Read it when I got home – it was a letter to Santa asking for a fish for Christmas. 😀
(note: my ‘nom de plume’ is accurate. I have been mistaken for (or ‘outed as’, take your pick) Santa Claus in the past.)
Go Navy!
The wings are on the wrong side of the fuselage…
Words of wisdom…
Read the words with smooth molasses voice of Morgan Freeman in your head.
40-something, present and unaccountable as I award myself yet another Honorary First!
((((OVER))))
Oh, yeah.
In memory of the Gun Bunny:
God, I miss that man.
It’s just not the same around here without my big brother.
Did anybody here ever get a chance to meet him personally?
And agreed, it doesn’t feel the same without him (and others too).
Prepare.
I don’t know that anyone did.
I never got the chance to meet him, even though he lived only about three hours’ drive from me. We did, however, exchange numerous e-mails and he absolutely loved my science fiction novels. As I said when he passed, the third one I write will be dedicated to him, since he did a lot to encourage my working on it.
RIP, Gun Bunny. You had some real friends here.
Former SEALs beefing w/ each other. Congressman Dan Crenshaw is thinking of suing YouTuber & businessman Shawn Ryan. Yeah, there are lots of people wondering how DC politicians are getting so rich.
🚨IMMEDIATE RELEASE 🚨 Rep. Dan Crenshaw Threatens to Sue Shawn Ryan…
Another week down
Anyone remember these nasty things
Yeah, I had a few of these. I thought they were out of business.
Yes, please!
Ah, the WOT. That which I will never post First!, Second!, or even 15th in. 🫡 Sixty-six hours down this week, mostly around the Cajun Coast and Acadiana. I usually ramble about guns, or maybe post incoherently about a political, social, or military topic, but today I think I’ll focus on another passion: tools. I finally got the US General 5-drawer mechanic’s cart I’ve been wanting for a while. They had them for under $200 for Black Friday, so I bought two of them. The purple one was assembled last weekend, and I started organizing stuff a little. The orange one has yet to be assembled, but I’m thinking of focusing on lawn mower maintenance and repair tools in it since it matches the Bad Boy mower. I also got the Icon radiator hose pick set and used it to finally pop the hood on my daily driver. The release cable had come loose a few weeks back and despite tearing off the grill, I couldn’t find or fabricate a good tool to release the hood. I saw that pick set and knew instantly it’s what I needed, despite the almost $60 price tag. Harbor Freight has stepped up their game, and I’d say surpassed what Sears used to be for the DIY type or even professional on a budget. I’m still debating selling the excellent condition ’70s-vintage Snap-On toolbox set I got when we cleared out a trailer for $200 earlier this year. I have the old Mac three-tier set I used when I turned wrenches for a living in storage, along with a few Craftsman and other chests. I also have a Kobalt rolling chest here. Before long, though, I’ll likely get the 72″ US General cabinet with a hitch and side cabinets, though the Icon is tempting (albeit a bit more expensive). The Snap-On box could probably be sold for enough to cover most of what I want, but it’s growing on me and would look great in the shop that’s eventually going to be built. All of my toolboxes are 26-30-inch ones, which my longer screwdrivers,… Read more »
Well, I’m stuck babysitting the nephew and waiting for my sirloin tip roast to air out a bit more. It’s going in the oven in a bit, along with some bacon-wrapped asparagus and russet potatoes.
I made another trip to Harbor Freight (or is it Hazard Fraught?) this morning, buying the “12 Days of Christmas” deal of the day: Locking Flex-Head Ratchet and Bit Set, 35-Piece, along with the Long-Reach Universal Hose Clamp Pliers. I really hope the latter work well, as I’m replacing my upper and lower radiator hoses and thermostat tomorrow. I have nearly every Channellock-brand plier, not to mention various slip-joint, tongue-in-groove, needle nose, and other type of plier from other brands including Snap-On, but I have yet to find something that’s ideal for spring-type hose clamps. Large tongue-in-grooves (CL 440s or 460s) work when I have the clearance, but others tend to twist, lack leverage, or otherwise prove less than ideal for the task.
On the tool front, I found a few good deals at Lowe’s last week. A 33-piece Craftsman 1/2″-drive socket set for $33 (originally $95), a Kobalt 1/4″ and 3/8″ socket set for $25 (50% off), and DeWalt right-angle 1/4″ and 3/8″ drill bit adapters for $10 (75% off).
I keep telling myself I’ll make it out to Georgia to clear out the storage units any week now. I definitely need to do so before it gets hot again. My old mechanic’s tools (the Mac boxes, most of my Snap-On hand tools, and specialty tools) are outside of Fort Stewart, along with my Dad’s 1966 Honda 65 motorcycle I plan to restore. A lot of my other tools are outside of Fort Benning. Once I consolidate everything, I might be able to find a 10mm socket for two when I need them.
I just remembered that somewhere I have a specialized hose clamp removal tool that works well. It’s similar to the one at the top of this set: Amazon.com: 9PCS Hose Clamp Pliers Set, Hose Clamp Removal Tool for Automotive, Flexible Removing Clamps Pliers Automotive for Coolant Radiator Heater and Water Hose : Automotive. Oh well, I ordered that set just now in case my Quinn pliers aren’t up to the task.
EDIT: Between Amazon and Harbor Freight, you can find almost anything you need for automotive or other repairs for a lot cheaper than it used to be. If I’m going to buy Chinese-made tools, I’d just as soon pay $30 for an unbranded tool than I would $90 for something that says “Craftsman” on the box but comes from the same factory. But once I get everything organized, my Snap-On and vintage Craftsman tools will get the most use.
My son has the 72″ U.S. General tool box sans side boxes, and can attest to its sturdiness. It seems to take 3 men and a boy to move it. Once you get it rolling, it isnt bad. Thats where the boy part comes in as a chock is needed to stop it. I don’t get in it much, as its mostly tools for aircraft, and while some can cross over to hobby/repair work, they aren’t mine to break or lose. The reason I have them at my house is he took a job at a large, major corporation and they supply all tools. So, until he buys a house, his mother and I get to store them. The toolbox is taking up space that could be better used, IMHO, by me. So, between my 3 craftsman/snap on toolbox plus his, I have a lot or garage real estate tied up in my small (to me) 24×26.
Possible major STOLEN VALOR alert —-
ANY of you been to VIRGINIA BEACH ???
FROGGIE’s BBQ ??
Could this be true ?
Or NOT ?
Hmmm….
August 2025 photo, for his 60th bday,
easily found on the Book of the Fake.
Well, if he is a faker he is too close to the real deal Seals for it to be ignored. I never went in there, because there are better places literally in walking distance from him. The Back Deck and Bubba’s are nearby and really good.
I’m not so sure this is stolen valor. Here’s his LinkedIn. (32) William Bickel | LinkedIn. Do you have anything besides the Navy SEAL claim and obligatory biker vest photo to support the allegation? I don’t see SEAL plastered all over the Froggies website or FB or even his or his wife’s personal FB pages. Just a few pics of him in the garb above rocking a Trident. No valor (or other awards), no braggadocious claims of having bin Laden in his sights in Digital Booty Djibouti back in ’89, no books detailing his exploits as America’s most deadly SEAL and retired Commander Chief who graduated Ranger School, the French Commando Course, and Culinary School before his selection as a SEAL after boot camp. Just 20 years as a Corpsman in the Navy, 16 years of which were in SEALs/Special Warfare and followed by two years as an instructor at Blackwater. I guess it’s second nature for us to be cynical about claims to anything besides completely average and undistinguished service. I’m sure that somewhere out there is someone I once served with who would raise their eyebrows if they saw me wearing a Drill Sergeant Badge (having only known me earlier in my career as that guy who became a Recruiter). I know more than a few Green Berets who are just average guys, at least one of whom has a little fame on podcasts and shocked me when I saw his name and face. I remember him as a goofy E-4 who got kicked out of the promotion board but do recall him talking about SFAS before I left The Old Guard. Claiming “SEAL Team Six” and sharing stories of derring-do about his exploits on Obama’s protection detail as the CinC personally led the raid on Osama’s compound is one thing. Regular SOF types are a dime a dozen (not trying to take away from their accomplishments) and while there seems to be three imposters for every SEAL, Green Beret, or other operator we’ve heard of, there are thousands of Quiet Professionals who live out their lives with… Read more »
fm2176,
Thanks for the detailed reply.
Oh oh, possible trouble here.
(paste) EducationBachelor of Science (BS)
United States Naval Academy
Operations Research
Naval Postgraduate School
(end paste)
IMHO, not too many USNA grads
end up as patchy vesty bling types.
Certainly, veteran SEALs of this 60’s age group
(Shipley !) would know the name. Or not.
I sent Shipley an email yesterday. We shall see.
https://www.datanyze.com/people/William-Bickel/7534841252
I was at Little Creek to attend the Marine Corps’ Amphibious Recon course. I landed on Virginia Beach (Fort Story) in an RB-7 one moonless night back in 1973. I did have frogs legs at the Ft. Bragg “O” club brunch buffet once. They really do taste like chicken white meat.
I should add my only experiences with real Navy SEALs was with the two who were in my platoon at Ranger School. But I have seen plenty of fakes exposed here and by “The Hair” Shipley.
I should add my experience with the Naval Advisory Detachment in Da Nang, where two SEALs gave me a tour of the RVN Sea Commando base.
Anyone already post an update on the Sig “accidental discharge”?
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AnmVCBD7g/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Here ya go: It “Just went off!” : This ain’t Hell, but you can see it from here
Good news for SIG, bad (but well-deserved) news for the Airmen.
Fire Department Chronicles:
The most stupidest things I’ve ever seen my “fellow” human beings do happened when they ever start to think of urine being anything except waste (nsfw):