JayCeeKy

One summer in college I worked in a factory that made ammonia. I came home every night with burning eyes, nose, throat and lungs. I lasted two weeks before I quit.

One summer in college I worked in a factory that made ammonia. I came home every night with burning eyes, nose, throat and lungs. I lasted two weeks before I quit.

Last April I paid the following amount for one year of Sirius XM Select - $126.68

One summer in college I worked in a factory that made ammonia. I came home every night with burning eyes, nose, throat and lungs. I lasted two weeks before I quit.

One summer in college I worked in a factory that made ammonia. I came home every night with burning eyes, nose, throat and lungs. I lasted two weeks before I quit.

Hostess cup cake assembly line as a Summer job. Filling the cream vat with a shovel so the cupcakes could be injected with cream.
 
The shovel had slightly sharp edges, and a harmless nick occasionally mixed my blood into the vat
 
I did not last long

Don't forget that insurance and repairs are usually much higher for expensive cars. The best cars (in both reliability and comfort) are often not the most expensive. Buy something nice (and reasonable) and use the money you save on travel and escorts. Read Consumer Reports March Edition before you buy anything.

Per Consumer Reports
The Upside of Leasing
On the surface, leasing can be more appealing than buying. Monthly payments are usually lower because you’re not paying back any principal. Instead, you’re just borrowing and repaying the difference between the car’s value when new and the car’s residual—its expected value when the lease ends—plus finance charges.
The Major Advantages of Leasing
• You drive the car during its most trouble-free years.
• You’re always driving a late-model vehicle that’s covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, which may include free oil changes and other scheduled maintenance.
• Having a predictable monthly payment with no surprise repair costs can make it easier to stick to a household budget.
• You can drive a higher-priced, better-equipped vehicle than you might otherwise be able to afford. This may allow you to opt for lifesaving safety features that aren’t available on lower trims or used cars.
• You don’t have to worry about fluctuations in the car’s trade-in value or go through the hassle of selling it when it’s time to move on.
• There could be significant tax advantages for business owners.
• At the end of the lease, you just drop off the car at the dealer.
 
Disadvantages to Leasing
• In the end, leasing usually costs you more than an equivalent loan, if only because you're always driving a rapidly depreciating asset.
• If you lease one car after another, monthly payments go on forever. By contrast, the longer you keep a vehicle after the loan is paid off, the more value you get out of it. Over the long term, the cheapest way to drive is to buy a car and keep it until it’s uneconomical to repair.
• Lease contracts specify a limited number of miles. If you go over that limit, you’ll have to pay an excess mileage penalty. That can range from 10 cents to as much as 50 cents for every additional mile. So be sure to calculate how much you plan to drive. You don’t get a credit for unused miles.
• If you don’t maintain the vehicle in good condition, you’ll have to pay excess wear-and-tear charges when you turn it in. So if your kids are apt to go wild with the magic markers or you're a magnet for parking lot dents and dings, be prepared to pay extra.
• If you decide that you don’t like the car or if you can’t afford the payments, it might cost you. You will probably be stuck with thousands of dollars in early termination fees and penalties if you get out of a lease early—and they’ll all be due at once. Those charges could equal the amount of the lease for its entire term.
• With a few exceptions, such as professional window tinting, you need to bring back the car in “as it left the showroom” condition, minus usual wear and tear, and configured like it was when you leased it.
• You’re still on the hook for expendable items such as tires, which can be more expensive to replace on a better-equipped vehicle with premium wheels.

Per Consumer Reports
The Upside of Leasing
On the surface, leasing can be more appealing than buying. Monthly payments are usually lower because you’re not paying back any principal. Instead, you’re just borrowing and repaying the difference between the car’s value when new and the car’s residual—its expected value when the lease ends—plus finance charges.
The Major Advantages of Leasing
• You drive the car during its most trouble-free years.
• You’re always driving a late-model vehicle that’s covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, which may include free oil changes and other scheduled maintenance.
• Having a predictable monthly payment with no surprise repair costs can make it easier to stick to a household budget.
• You can drive a higher-priced, better-equipped vehicle than you might otherwise be able to afford. This may allow you to opt for lifesaving safety features that aren’t available on lower trims or used cars.
• You don’t have to worry about fluctuations in the car’s trade-in value or go through the hassle of selling it when it’s time to move on.
• There could be significant tax advantages for business owners.
• At the end of the lease, you just drop off the car at the dealer.
 
Disadvantages to Leasing
• In the end, leasing usually costs you more than an equivalent loan, if only because you're always driving a rapidly depreciating asset.
• If you lease one car after another, monthly payments go on forever. By contrast, the longer you keep a vehicle after the loan is paid off, the more value you get out of it. Over the long term, the cheapest way to drive is to buy a car and keep it until it’s uneconomical to repair.
• Lease contracts specify a limited number of miles. If you go over that limit, you’ll have to pay an excess mileage penalty. That can range from 10 cents to as much as 50 cents for every additional mile. So be sure to calculate how much you plan to drive. You don’t get a credit for unused miles.
• If you don’t maintain the vehicle in good condition, you’ll have to pay excess wear-and-tear charges when you turn it in. So if your kids are apt to go wild with the magic markers or you're a magnet for parking lot dents and dings, be prepared to pay extra.
• If you decide that you don’t like the car or if you can’t afford the payments, it might cost you. You will probably be stuck with thousands of dollars in early termination fees and penalties if you get out of a lease early—and they’ll all be due at once. Those charges could equal the amount of the lease for its entire term.
• With a few exceptions, such as professional window tinting, you need to bring back the car in “as it left the showroom” condition, minus usual wear and tear, and configured like it was when you leased it.
• You’re still on the hook for expendable items such as tires, which can be more expensive to replace on a better-equipped vehicle with premium wheels.

Don't forget that insurance and repairs are usually much higher for expensive cars. The best cars (in both reliability and comfort) are often not the most expensive. Buy something nice (and reasonable) and use the money you save on travel and escorts. Read Consumer Reports March Edition before you buy anything.

The 1956 Republican Convention. I was a child but I can remember watching, on our teeny-tiny b/w screen.
 
Cars w/out seat belts.

Absolutely. Every father of a teenager entering puberty should be required to memorize Prof. Samuel Perlman's advice to his son.
 
From Wikipedia:
Perlman's consoling speech given to his son in the film was described by Huffington Post writer Nell Minow as being "one of the most moving scenes ever filmed."

A Single Man (2010). With terrific acting from Colin Firth - and beautiful Nicholas Hoult as every gay man's dream college groupie. Based on a novel by Christopher Isherwood it portrays one day (November 30, 1962) in the life of a college professor (George) who has recently lost his longtime partner and is contemplating suicide. And whenever I'm having one of those crappy days I remind myself of what George tells himself on November 30, 1962: "Just get through the goddamn day."

Absolutely. Every father of a teenager entering puberty should be required to memorize Prof. Samuel Perlman's advice to his son.
 
From Wikipedia:
Perlman's consoling speech given to his son in the film was described by Huffington Post writer Nell Minow as being "one of the most moving scenes ever filmed."

If your going to talk about casting in Call Me By Your Name Michael Stuhlbarg was overlooked as the father. The performance when he came out to his son was extraordinary.

Ryan Philippe naked

NO, just in Time !
 

Strunk & White (Elements of Style) still guides my writing since college. Especially Rule #17
 
17. Omit needless words.
Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all sentences short, or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.

For full text of Strunk & White:
 
http://www.jlakes.org/ch/web/The-elements-of-style.pdf

Was watching ABC News the other night when James Longman did a report from the Middle East. Discovered James is openly gay and is called "the Beirut Beefcake" by some. Thought he should be added to our "sexiest news anchors/reporters" list.
 

Mine was walking through Chinatown when a cold rain started. I suddenly felt what I thought was lightning hit the back of my head. I reached up to check the damage and discovered a large drop of water had fallen from the fire escape above me and landed smack dab on the beginnings of a bald spot.
 
It has continued to flourish since then and, to this day, I avoid Chinatown in the rainy winter months. ⛈

For me, it was sometime in my 30’s when I had no idea what any of the “Top 40” songs were and I no longer had any interest in the Grammys. It was the beginning of the era of rap and hip-hop, and I neither liked nor understood the music. It was also about that time that I gained an appreciation for Sinatra, Ella, and Dinah Washington, so in some respects I’m glad it happened.

I dunno....maybe.....
 
a very quick image search on the shirtless one standing next to a shower with phone results in a now-defunct December, 2020, ad for "ChaseFitGod" in San Antonio.....