GreatWhiteNorth

I'm guessing you live someplace warm. Training for Boston in the cold, snowy, dark midwest is awful. To train for a 2:50 here is rare. Either way, best of luck to you. Maybe post your bib, it'd be fun to follow. My training group had us doing enough hills to prepare for the "no, downhill is not easy at all" realization. But still not enough for Newton (is there ever?) I bonked and penguin'ed my way from Heartbreak to finish in 3:40'ish. Was brutal.

I get it... you have the "I'm a hammer 24/7 schtick going on." That's one choice. But, no. I didn't apologize for assuming incorrectly. Not even a tiny bit. It appears you can read, but thinking is the problem.

Wasn't offended - no wilting daisies here. The thing is that you missed what was actually happening on the thread. He and I were listening to each other from the start. We were having a good discussion. Turned out to be an early misunderstanding that we sorted out very quickly. Your take was awful, you had it all wrong from the beginning. Maybe read carefully and think before pulling a Jenkins next time.

This last week or so before Christmas is when the annual 'FexEx'/'UPS'/'USPS' scams come around. You'll get an email letting you know you've got a package and all you have to do is click the link... but don't click it. Be on triple-careful alert. I'd recommend going to the actual web site instead of clicking the link.

You are right. If Trump played hardball, it wouldn't make sense. That's where it starts to become clear that the US citizens have been played. Trump was faking hardball all along.

As I had been told many times, the key to Boston is to enjoy it. It's not a race as much as it's an awesome event. Superbowl level event. Can't just sign up for it - it's one that you have to earn to be a part of. The fast runners (world caliber) will be situated in corrals well ahead of the middle and slower runners' corrals. Makes for a smooth marathon for everyone. Nice job bnwtwg, sounds like you qualified.

Hi Amir: I've re-read this post a half dozen times to be sure ... I respect every word you've written. I retract anything I posted that implies that Iranians are OK with not having freedom to protest. That was unintended. What I'm seeing are brave people fighting for their rights. Best of luck to all of them. And you, as well.

I like it here. It is working just fine. Maybe take your "appropriate" judgements somewhere else, where you "can adult", that might be better for you.

But you didn't - you went off topic and on a 'stereotype' tirade. Incredibly bad take. I'm still in discussion with the Amir - good exchange so far. Why are you trying to censor us? He seems like a cool guy, and we're getting to common ground.

When I look at 40+ years of evil behavior by a regime, that implies a level of popular support. Otherwise, that regime would be gone by now. But, yes, you're right. My view didn't take 1000's of years of history into account. I currently live in a country that is 243 years old. Our perspectives on the definition of culture may be quite different.

Don't be such a dope. He and I are in agreement. His point is that Iranian culture shouldn't be judged by 1980 and forward. His take on 'culture' is that it should reference the 1000's of years of history not the current period being run by an evil regime that I was referencing. That is good discussion - should the "culture" of the regime of the last 40+ years be considered a country's "culture"? Great topic. You just had a bad take the first time. Not a problem, re-read. Feel free to chime in on the actual topic we're discussing.

I spent a short time in Turkey not long ago. Western Turkey. I felt lucky to find welcoming and hospitable people to spend time with. I learned that historically, their people were mostly nomadic. For many generations they had a hard life but enjoyed music and dancing and taking a drink when they could. No longer nomadic, Turks in the west still enjoyed music, dancing, and drink. This led to a considerable rift between them and the regime at the time that was brought to power largely by eastern Turkey - which had a significantly different set of values. So, what is Turkish culture? Depends on who you ask.

On the contrary, I believe it does help prove my point. History proves Iran has repressed protesters for many years under threat of jail or worse. What is happening right now shows potential that this may change.

With the soccer WC well underway, I've already grown tired of the "you must respect our culture" bologna. Respect is both voluntary and earned. Nobody "must" respect anything or anyone by order. In many western countries, fans drink and get rowdy - in Qatar, there is no drinking allowed. Who's culture needs to respect the other's? In Iran, people are jailed for protesting - in the US, we are free to be openly defiant when we feel it is necessary. Who's culture needs to respect the other's? In the US, we sometimes celebrate like crazy when we win - in other countries, competitors must remain solemn. Who's culture needs to respect the other's? We all need to understand that we are all very different. That won't change. Nor should it have to for us to get along. Attempting to impose your cultural norms on me is wasted effort. You, be you, I'll be me. Stop with the judgmental comments, unless you intend to look like a self-righteous idiot.

No - you are not necessarily fine to use Face ID. If you are travelling abroad, it is important to realize that you may be legally forced to use your face to open your phone at the border so the contents can be examined in detail. At very least, consider turning off face recognition before travelling if you have privacy concerns. In this day and age, I'd recommend everybody become serious about personal privacy concerns.

1. Agreed. Biden is not responsible for inflation. This is an inherited situation from the previous administration, combined with Russian moronic and homicidal leadership. This isn't a simple "cause and effect" situation. Economists all know the economy doesn't work that way. In an F1 car, a twitch will turn you 180. On an aircraft carrier, it may take miles. The economy is more of a carrier. Let's be fair - Trump was accused of the economic downturn caused by Covid. He didn't deal with Covid well, but the economic results were not his fault. Any sitting president would have experienced a similar trial. 2. You said nothing more on item #2 other than quoting a slack article (not fact nor data) - so I am unable to respond to your personal contribution. The truth is that Trump has been campaigning for getting out of these "endless wars" since he got on the DC stage. Other than the border wall, this was probably the only real policy Trump was ever behind that wasn't independently created by the Senate. To think that Biden, somehow, made a bad decision by actually getting us out of Afghanistan (instead of just talking about it for years), doesn't make much sense. We were all in agreement on this one. At a cost of $300 million per day to keep us in Afghanistan, getting out was a welcome decision across the board. The president isn't ever involved in the logistics of specific military operations. Period. Anybody who thinks otherwise is simply confused. The military leadership handles the budget, manpower, planning and, most importantly, manages the risks involved in each operation. Blaming a failure by military leadership on Biden is simply BS. 3. Agreed. Border with Mexico is one of those difficult things that none of us, regardless of political leanings, has had any answer to for many decades. Trump had zero answers. "Build wall" is, and was, not a solution. (Consider this, if it was viable, then why is nobody asking for it now?) Trump had no other new solutions at all - he had no "slow down" or "drip mode", he has changed nothing. Again, be honest, he spent much more time on Twitter than actually doing anything about the border other than repeating his "build wall" nonsense. This isn't a D vs R issue. We would ALL really like to figure out a way to get the border under control. Too bad that so many politicians would rather divide us so we continue to argue between ourselves rather than work to find solutions. Title 42 is NOT being ignored. We all wish we had all the answers. But we don't. Haven't had for decades. Not having an answer isn't the same as "ignoring." I think you are being quite reasonable, given the weakness of your sources. I have no political bent, so that isn't an issue. Be careful what you trust as "Facts and data?" ... they may well be "on the record", which is good. Because, after review, we see much of it is garbage. The bad news sites get by because so many of us are too lazy to critically review them. Even the best web news sites are only as good as our ability to filter them.

So - Demas got a garbage takedown on Blockhus when it was 3-2. Good match, though. Lee/Wick? It's at about 1:10:00 at the link https://t.co/LQ0zZCk6ml You seem seasoned. I'd maybe recommend watching it yourself rather than listening to other guys.

That's fair. Just like Pro-choice vs Pro-life. Two different views on the same topic. We don't all have to agree. It's more important that we understand each other than it is to try to force each other to change.

C'mon Art, let's be reasonable: 1. Inflation - Not a result of decisions made by the sitting president. That's a wave of economic momentum that would hit any leader essentially the same way. 2. Afghanistan evacuation - The details of analyzing, scrutinizing, and planning were done by the U.S. Military. If any mistake was made, it was on the military. 3. Border problem - This problem has existed for many decades without any solution in sight. To somehow attribute it to a current president/party is just wrong.

Low class post. Really, seriously weak. Maybe you're angry, but - still - try to do better.

This is free stream from the 4:30p match in California - recommended to watch until the end! [Note that the audio is absent at the beginning, but it shows up before any actual wrestling starts.]

Short story is that we were both cast in a musical about dancing. The director paired her with someone else, who wasn't a terribly good dancer. She paired me with a couple of very good dancers, and we lit it up during the show - particularly in the jitterbug. (I'll find a GIF.) After that, she asked me to prom... and, yes, I was ready.

A real nail-biter... but Warner is up now, so at least we're guaranteed a ton of action.

"Double losers" - Never heard that one before, that's pretty good. I'll use that. Seems to me that the amount of time and effort that goes into a dual (or tournament), not to mention the time and effort of the wrestlers and coaches preparing for it, is all done with the singular goal of finding out who the better wrestler was that day. One simple goal. To stop short of the goal when it is 99% of the way there, seems like a waste of time and effort. As my prom date in HS told me, if you're going to a dance, be ready to dance.