BSR

I know this thread is gas prices in your area (no, I don't live in Madrid), nonetheless, I had to post this. Ignore the text* because he's making a sarcastic crack about some Spanish politicians. Focus on the shock at the pump: the top number is euros, the bottom liters. If you convert it to US$ and gallons: 24.745 gallons for $194.13!! OK, 25 gallons is a big tank but common in big pickups and SUVs. I get upset that it costs almost $50 to fill up. If I had to pay 4x that, I'd have a heart attack. * if you're curious: "I just paid this in gas. But happy knowing that Irene takes away our fear of tits, Calviño doesn't debate herself, and Yoli does supercool stuff." Irene Montero is the Spanish Minister of Equality, don't know the other two he's talking about.

I can't comment on the entire situation but do feel I can comment on her text to you. Yikes! That sounds like something a middle-schooler would say. Not only is she an adult, but the president of a company?? If some wet-behind-the-ears 22yo working his first job after graduation sent me that text, I'd still take him to task for his immaturity.

The latest Juan Martín del Potro comeback is from a broken kneecap, caused when he slipped and fell on it at Queens Club (June 2019). He's had four(!) surgeries on the knee since yet has still not fully recovered. Even though he complains of pain and I can't imagine he's fit enough to play an ATP tournament, he still plans to play Buenos Aires (??). In a press conference, Juan Martín del Potro said, "It’s possible that this is more of a goodbye than a comeback." While he didn't say 100% for sure that he was retiring, it sounds like that the official retirement announcement is imminent post-tournament. As many times as he's come back from so many injuries (I've long since lost count), this last one was just too much. JMDP has always been one of my favorites. I liked him for his loveable personality and his monster forehand, and of course he got the underdog support from fans after coming back from one injury after another after another. When it rains, it pours. As if this (likely) career-ending injury weren't bad enough, Juan Martín received a financial shock after his father's death last year. His father had been managing his money, or rather mismanaging it in multiple bad investments. Of the original $30 million, JMDP has only $3 million left, with a number of debts still to be paid. You would hope that the guy would at least be able to retire in comfort and style after an injury-plagued career ($30 million can buy a helluva lotta solace). Now I'm worried the guy is broke or close to it.

You can run, but you can't hide, especially true for something as big as a cruise ship. Crystal Serenity & Symphony fled to the Bahamas but couldn't escape the long arm of the law. Both ships got "arrested" in Freeport. I guess fuel companies get very testy when you fail to pay $4.6 million in past due fuel bills.

Too often after heavy snowfalls, you hear about some poor old man who died of a heart attack while shoveling his driveway. Because snow removal is expensive, seniors on a fixed income have no choice but to try to do it themselves. If this story inspired a few people to lend a helping hand, I'm all for it.

Thanks, I kinda forgot about Deflategate. As a die-hard Patriots and Brady fan, I brushed it aside, but for everyone else, it was a big No-No.

Wow, that was one heckuva short program! I get so insanely nervous during figure skating. I'll be defecating a brick during his short & long for men's gold.

Pic is a bit cropped. Click to see the uncropped version.

Some cruise lines offer A Cruise to Nowhere, short cruises with no ports of call, just a chance to work on your tan and drink yourself into oblivion. When Crystal starts back up again, maybe they can offer A Cruise to God Knows Where. I'm still kinda blown away by the Serenity's world cruise getting cut so short. Imagine planning for a 3.5 month cruise around the world, eagerly anticipating all the exotic, glamorous ports of call. You set sail from Miami and ... end up in the Bahamas??

I know I should wait to hear it from the horse's mouth, but I can't help but get excited to hear that Novak is caving -- he will get vaccinated! This should make the remaining 3 Slams of 2022 a heckuva lot more interesting. Now let's see if he'll be allowed to play Australia in 2023. I'm still not sure if he got slapped with a 3-year ban or not.

I know about the controversy around Aaron Rodgers, but what skeletons are in Tom Brady's closet that complicate his HOF induction?

I must be remembering things wrong. I could have sworn there was some controversy about the HOF and Simpson post-trial, but it's all too fuzzy now. In light of a widespread belief that Simpson got away with murder coupled with his 2008 convictions for armed robbery, kidnapping, and other charges, there was talk of expelling Simpson from the HOF, but the Football HOF rules don't allow it.

No seizure warrant, but Crystal Symphony's sister ship Serenity also owes big fuel bills ($2.2 million). Serenity's 3.5 month world cruise was cut short due to its parent company's disastrous finances. I can't imagine doing all the planning and preparation necessary for a world cruise only to have it aborted almost at the start.

Because NYC neighborhoods have no official boundaries, you can call 432 Park the Upper East Side if you want, but I think most would say it's Midtown, maybe Midtown East. While I love 432 Park as a work of architecture and engineering, apparently it's a nightmare for the residents. The condo owners are suing the developer for $500 million, yikes, because of numerous serious issues like flooding and water damage, unbearably loud building "groaning" in high winds, elevators shutting down and trapping residents in high wind. Here's a video covering just how bad the situation is:

Unless the rules have been changed recently, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, unlike its baseball counterpart, has no character clause. That's why OJ Simpson was quietly inducted despite all his notoriety and how Darren Sharper, a convicted serial rapist, was nominated for the 2017 class.

Could it be that he hasn't come to a decision yet? According to nfl.com, he is in the process of figuring it out. Honestly, I don't see him coming back. Then again, I said that 3 seasons ago.

I'm so accustomed to the crowd cheering against my fave Novak that I forget that a hostile crowd does bother players. In his postmatch presser, Medvedev expresses just how hurt he felt by the crowd cheering his double-faults and unforced errors. I doubt Medvedev is going to skip Roland Garros or Wimbledon to play Moscow, if for no other reason than they're scheduled far apart on the ATP calendar. But crowd hostility is something that Medvedev will have to learn to overcome.

If you don't care that much about your future relationship with the provider, just ghost him. You've told him you're simply too busy. You don't owe him any more of an explanation than that. If you do care about future relations with this provider, give him an idea of the demands on your time & energy to whatever degree of detail you feel comfortable. Just your 12-hour workday+commute would wipe out most people. He should understand. I wouldn't tell him to get a job (yikes); leave it to him to figure out his financial situation. You have so much to cope with right now. Eliminating the stress of a needy provider is the easiest one to deal with.

Probably best to avoid mentioning what agreed-to activities changed, but can you tell us how much he increased the price? I assume you mentioned your agreement via text. How did he justify the sudden rate hike? Or did his evil twin send those texts??

I've read that Australian players feel a special kind of pressure at their home Slam. There have been Aussies good enough to win other Slams during the 44-year drought (Rafter, Hewitt, Stosur), but they couldn't do it at home. I don't know if Barty never really felt that pressure or if she did but managed to overcome it. As much as fans & pundits talk about the Next Gen 3 -- Medvedev, Zverev, and Tsitsipas -- The Big 3 (at least 2 of 3) have won 6 of the last 8 Slams. Coming back from down 2 sets to love doesn't happen often, but this is the 2nd time a Big 3 did it against a Next Gen 3 (Novak vs. Tsitsipas 2021 Roland Garros). To think, Rafa came into this Australian Open thinking it might be his last one. Now after winning, and looking fresher & stronger in the 5th than his 10 years younger opponent, he wants to play for years and years to come. I do have to wonder what Novak's next move will be. It's gotta be killing him that Rafa jumped to the lead in the Slam race, especially at Novak's best Slam and Rafa's worst. After 2 years of refusing surgery for an elbow problem, Novak finally caved and submitted to surgery. Now that he's fallen behind Rafa and he knows he can't count on medical exemptions or prior infection, will Novak cave and submit to the jab?

Is that Nile Miami's The One? If so, it started at an asking price of $500 million. Knocked down to just $295 million ... think of all the money you're saving!!

Since each situation is different with its own unique circumstances, I cannot make any generalizations about all women in abusive marriages. I do know that abuse doesn't just start one day out of the wild blue yonder. Troubling behaviors usually precede the start of physical beatings: a need to know where you are every single minute, extreme jealousy of your friends, anger/resentment over how much time you spend with them, telling you nothing you do is right or good enough, insulting or demeaning you especially in public, destroying your belongings or property as payback for a grievance, and many more ... it's a long list of ugly behaviors, and I have to think a woman who puts up with all that must have some serious issues. Not to judge because we all have issues. But we all have to own them, no exceptions. We must not judge women who are in abusive relationships because fear of judgment might prevent them from telling someone or seeking help. At the same time, an abused woman has to understand that she is the only one who can put an end to the abuse. She has to leave the house, leave him, report him to the police, and face an uncertain future alone. That might be hard or even terrifying, but she has to make that decision and take that first step. Nobody can do it for her. This thread is getting really tiresome. I've asked umpteen times yet still no evidence that Hefner's "girlfriends" were coerced to do anything against their will. However controlling, manipulative, and all around horrible Hefner was, these women still could have said no & left. You can scream, "They were victims!!" eighty-five quadrillion times, and you still won't change my take on the matter. Scream all you like, but I'm out.

I am not defending Hefner as much as I am defending presumption of innocence. Let me rephrase: to date, no evidence has come out that Hefner made those photos/videos public (which would be a crime) or that he used the threat of publishing them to coerce his "girlfriends" to do things they didn't want to do (also a crime). If he kept a scrapbook for his personal viewing pleasure, that's not a crime. Also, I oppose the Cult of Victimhood. I hate people who play the victim because they refuse to take responsibility for their lives. Hefner's girlfriends were free to say no and were free to leave. They made choices that they regret. They were not victims of the patriarchy or the creepy gross geriatric. They were victims of their own bad decisions.

Hefner manipulated his "girlfriends," but manipulation, while gross, is not coercion. It's also gross that he took pictures & video of his GFs without their knowledge. While they might have feared he'd use the pix as revenge porn, is there any evidence that he ever did? Or that he even threatened to do so? It sounds like he kept the photos for his private viewing pleasure.

Did someone mention "staged cat fights"?