Hatrax

25254 pts ยท July 26, 2015


Writer / Editor / Translator based in Detroit.

My plumber is expensive. It hurts to write the check in the moment. But they're also very very good, so there's no pain later- I don't have to worry about anything they've touched for the next several decades. The peace of mind and all the disasters I never have to deal with are well worth the price.

1 month ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

My house was built in the 1920s. Things are sagging and settling a bit, sure. But the only real WTF things I've found to date are tied to renovations that were carried out long after it was built. The work they did 100 years ago is still rock-solid.

1 month ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

They also have online audio books, video classes for learning various skills, movies, and more.

1 month ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Head out east to the great state of Animaine!

2 months ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

There's a reason why Wal-Mart's logo looks like a golden asshole.

2 months ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I would give this artist all sorts of compliments, but I don't want to egg them on.

7 months ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

The live-action Violet Evergarden is different than I expected.

7 months ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

Chuck has always had a backbone. Politics is a process that takes experience, guile, and expertise to work with in a byzantine system to get half-loaves instead of nothing. Those who constantly criticize him and other Dems have little idea how the sausage is made and expect magic instead of applied effort over time. The system isn't opaque, and no, it isn't perfect, but you need to work with the system you have now to get the system you want.

7 months ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 5

"I know 10,000 different ways to say 'breast'."
(Reads this post)
"Make that 10,001."

9 months ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

What this tells me is that there are talented people who work hard on their skills everywhere in the world- but unless you're in NYC or LA or a cultural center of any country, it's unlikely that anyone will ever find you.

11 months ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

It's not even about talent. I've found that most people can write a good story, if... IF they want to put in the work, learn the craft, and work at that craft until they no longer are crappy. It's like saying "I have no talent playing the guitar" when you've never even picked one up.

1 year ago | Likes 58 Dislikes 4

I had the exact same thought. Made a mental note to have some adhesive strips of window foam ready for trying this.

1 year ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

In plumbing terms, it's like every joint in every pipe just gave way, and the blue plumbers are going to work while the red side tries to tackle them and hide their tools. Meanwhile, you have certain blue podcasters screaming at the blue plumbers because, according to them, they should be able to fix every pipe in the house in five minutes without moving any appliances or tearing holes in any walls, and if they can't, that means they're stupid or a neoliberal sell-out, etc.

1 year ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 1

Unfortunately, there are bad actors on the blue side who want clicks and views just as much as Fox and they're getting them by convincing other blues to despair and rage by pretending that there are magic solutions to a complex political train wreck. In real world terms, there's a big gulf between "doing what they can to preserve the ship" (they are) and "waving a magic wand to make all the red stuff go away" (they can't.)

1 year ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 3

Ice ice stinky

1 year ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

The owner of the building just wants them guano.

1 year ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

I can still write programs in BASIC because I started on Commodore PETs. I used Mac for a while until they became so expensive that I was willing to learn the ins and outs of Windows. I'm competent on it now, can even troubleshoot for my family a bit, but anything advanced is much more of a struggle.

1 year ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Those Friday nights after work, searching for bad low-budget gems. The hunt was sometimes more fun than the result. There was also something about standing in a physical space with all of the titles out that browsing a menu on the screen, no matter how much more extensive, lacks.

1 year ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

This is what happens in the Southern Reach Trilogy, basically.

1 year ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

One of the things I miss about living in Japan is that this is the season for the yaki imo (roasted potato) vendors that ply the neighborhoods, slowly rolling through town, playing their haunting calls over loudspeakers on their mini pickups like some kind of otherworldly ice cream truck.

1 year ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

My Thanksgiving has been shrinking each year as family members grow up, have their own plans, pass away, and move away. This year, it'll just be me, my wife, my mom, and a big pot of stew. This is fine by me. I've always thought the "family holiday" could be harmful in a way because it implies that families should only get together and be nice to each other on certain prescribed days of the year.

1 year ago | Likes 9 Dislikes 0

#21 Big Beaver Road is, no kidding, Exit 69 on I-75 in Michigan.

1 year ago | Likes 8 Dislikes 0

The school, no doubt. A lot of cities in Japan have somewhat limited space for sports fields and so the school backs right up to them. Some have protective netting but I suppose this school never thought anyone would hit one 426ft.

1 year ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

I had the pleasure of tabling next to Peter S Beagle at a convention about 12 years ago. He was an exceptionally lovely human being, even more so than you might expect, if that's possible. He was genuinely interested and engaged talking to all of his fans and spent a good amount of down time talking to me, a struggling unknown at the time whom he'd never met before, and had plenty of encouraging things to say. Peter S Beagle is a treasure to humanity.

1 year ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I don't need to smell it. I saw it.

1 year ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

But can monk dunk?

1 year ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

If I had stone work like this at my house, I think a bit of moss would beautify it... but to each their own.

1 year ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0