But you're all old and distinguished now.

Your political columns have been great. I haven't commented in any because I just can't deal with the idiots anymore. Keep writing them and I'll keep reading and enjoying them.

Honestly, trying to engage in sober debate is far more likely to kill me than home-cooked Taco Bell. There was a thread a while back, about a Jewish dating service that matches gay men with gay women, and I seriously about lost my shit when several posters made some comments that were--with only the orientations changed--straight out of Pat Robertson's mouth. I was genuinely so angry that my fingers couldn't hit the correct keys on the keyboard, not because of the specific views being espoused but because of the deep level of hypocrisy on display. Pretty sure someday I'm going to read a thread and pop a blood vessel with sufficient concussive force to level Pittsburgh.

Seriously, though, since that thread I've tried really hard to keep pretty well disengaged from shit like that. I'll go in, lay down the usual Voltaire quotes and whatever, and then I'm pretty much done. I mean, you get some "I'm an independent!" conservative blowhard in there, yeah, I'll beat him to death with a literary pipe wrench; there's no cost, there--it's straightforward. Telling people they're reaching the right conclusions using horrifically, unforgivably wrong methods is hard if only because I think it's harder for people to hear. It's harder for me to hear, I know that much.

What the fuck did I do now?

I'm headed out of town bright and early tomorrow morning, should be back by monday night or so.

Thank you for getting at what I was trying to get at in a much clearer way in the "trolling doesn't pay" thread. Hopefully someone will someday address that issue.

Blargh. Gotta pay the piper this time, and it's going to take a while and cost bank.

Thought you did well in the "trolling" thread. Sorry you got treated the way you did for trying to have a fucking discussion.

If you could get a sticker that says "I Farted" that looks like the "I Voted" stickers... that would be the best sticker.

It was some random fairly pedestrian automatic. Nothing notable. I'm around for the next several months for the most part, so anytime you feel like heading for the range, let me know. Haven't had my automatic out in a while; it would be nice to get familiar with it again.

Welp, nothing apocalyptic occurred this year, so I guess happy holidays.

You are grandfathered in. You get to call me whatever you like, toots.

Germans. Amiright?