participation trophies collect dust when displayed on the shelves of success

There's no one to blame but Johnny Cole. I knew that the minute he opened the Spring thread, the nation would be blanketed in snow. And here we are.

Learn to fail better.

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No snow here in RI. Just came home from a night out. It may have been 38 for a high here today.

It does get warmer when it rains all day.

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Went to the movies tonight with my friend. Then after the movie met her friend for dinner along with my friend's two daughters and her friend's daughter. After dinner we all went to a swanky bar in Newport.

I actually enjoyed it. It was like having two wives and three daughters.

I'm really, really glad I have only one daughter.





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John,

Just in case you end up flying back from Dublin, be aware that US customs is done in Dublin, and there isn't much to eat/drink behind that, just the gates. So get something beforehand.

Cliffs of Moher pretty awesome.

Don't worry about driving in Dublin. It's only another city, just be careful. I recommend having the GPS navigation option, though. That's pretty great and accurate, takes a lot of stress out of navigation.

I can say that central Dublin is nicely walkable; I only had a rental car for the countryside portion, then just walked about Dublin. So maybe go that route.

Can't give you much advice on things to see & do, as I was there for St. Patrick's Day.

In 2020. Sigh.

Thanks, Golddog,

Redeye also suggested waiting until ready to leave Dublin before renting a car. I wouldn't have thought of that.

I know how to drive a standard, but one of the women wants to drive some, so it looks like I need to go for an automatic.

I would like to be in Dublin on Bloomsday, June 16th and then drive along the coast up to Northern Ireland.

Now I just need the women to commit to a date (not necessarily an easy task).

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Are you going to blow anything up, John? If so, have it detonate after you leave.

Never would I consider such a thing. The ghost of my Irish grandma would haunt me.

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I was thinking some more about this and my own powerlessness in bad situations. About a month ago my nephew, my surviving sister's only son, died unexpectedly in his sleep, and the only thing I have been able to do for Sister is call and tell her that I have no words to say. I can't make it all better for her. I can't take her mind off it. I can tell her that I am here for her, but other than that, nada.

So I check in to let the family know I think of them, but what else can I do? Saddenz.

I’ll second that work is sometimes the best antidote. Pain increases if inactive.

please do not underestimate the power of checking in for those who are grieving
often times a modicum of support is all that's required to let them know we got this together

Saying you have no words to say are the words people want to hear. It shows you know enough what not to say.

Sorry to hear about your nephew.

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I thought those white clouds
were gathered
around some distant peak,
but already
they have risen between us.

Often, silence floats between us; and speaks volumes.

I shouldn't be surprised any longer, but the rapidity with which people turned an accident into something more sinister is incredible. Has all logic and rationality disappeared. No, don't answer that.

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it's just twitter, John...not the real world. It's insane in there.

Dom, I wish that were the case, but even if it's just Twitter, these people still live in the real world. Hell, some of my friends, reasonably smart people, believe ghosts exist and mediums can "see" things.

And millions of people in the real world will vote for Trump.

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don't remind me

I don’t vote; I just purchase more ammunition.

It's almost as if uneducated rubes have zero training in critical thinking.

I would say millions of people will vote for Trump's policies just like millions of people will vote for Biden's policies.

I think Trump is a loudmouthed, egotistical blowhard. I think Biden is an extremely corrupt, dementia ridden puppet. So pick your poison. I tend to take the "person" out of it and concentrate on their likely policy.

Or just ignore it as I have done many times since my vote is meaningless. A vote for Biden won't help him in deep blue Illinois (he's already won) and a vote for Trump won't defeat him (he's already lost). Swing staters have more to think about and actually may have impact.

I agree with most of this, but I can't see why Trump has as many supporters as he does whatever his policies are. He's a reprehensible person, hardly someone "presidential."

On the other hand, I will be voting for Biden's policies although I haven't seen proof of Biden's crimes, but maybe I've missed it.

Most of the regulars here would make better presidents.

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many social media platforms are designed to be echo chambers
track your consumption then redirect the buffet trough towards you
we can bridge analytic influences on elections
but nobody's rushin' to do it

Speaking of bridges. Here in RI, the bridge I drive over to get to other parts of RI is under construction, so on Friday, I need to leave before 2:00pm to avoid turning a fifty minute drive into at least 90 minutes. Yesterday I left at 3:00 and a 35 minute drive turned into an hour.

The other bridge into RI has been partially closed and may be torn down soon. Traffic is a nightmare there.

Just revealed that the DOT director got rid of engineers overseeing bridges and hired incompetents to manage. Incompetents were people who managed businesses like McDonald's if they had any management experience at all.

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