It's been a while and I simply quit, taking a better job at Johns Hopkins APL. Longer commute and a stepping stone to an even better job at NASA.

[John]

When I commented that I had received a raise and the company found out about it, the raise was rescinded. Others in the group didn't get a raise and were upset. There are other ways of dealing with folks who flap their lips as I discovered.

[John]

And to note, in general I'm cruising at normal speeds. The nice thing about being in Colorado is traffic isn't near the insane levels of metro areas (I used to live in the DC area). So no. I don't need to scoot around someone doing 1mph under the speed limit.

[John]

Yea, even slowing down to find a stopping place can get hairy with someone sitting so close you can count the veins standing out on their foreheads.

I like riding my bike, especially in the mountains. I don't take unnecessary chances, am cautious of other riders, cars, trucks, and even bicyclists. Still there'll be someone who didn't like that I passed them in a passing lane because they were going slower than the speed limit and sightseeing and decide to show me he can keep up by riding on my tailpipe.

[John]

Considering I ride a sport bike that can get to 170mph or more, that I only have the one snapshot pic in 130,000 miles on this bike should tell you something (other than, can't catch me).

I'm actually a pretty sane rider in my opinion. When on a motorcycle, I do tend to be a bit more offensive to be effectively defensive. Having an SUV tailgate me is not a fun experience and tends to be a little distracting. Since I _can_ get out of the way of the idiot who's in a hurry, I _do_. And when I'm out of the way, I'm back down to normal traffic speeds. Which if there was a cop who spotted me vs the camera, he would have seen and likely wouldn't have ticketed me for it.

[John]

57 and I ride a sport bike.

"Well, be a little careful around here in the future."

"Yes sir, thanks!"

I think they're just happy you don't run :D

[John]

The bad part about the cameras is they don't take into account conditions. I got speed camera'd when I escaped from a dangerous situation with a couple of larger SUVs coming down off a mountain road.

I've been pulled over by the police three times in the past 10 years. 57mph in a 55mph zone, got a warning ticket. Passing a county sheriff on a double yellow, verbal warning. 10mph over in front of a traffic control officer (left a light and didn't see him behind me, got me on the curve), warning. In all three, the police office was able to take into account conditions and make a judgement call.

(Note, all four of these were on Sport Bikes; I was surprised to get a verbal from the county sheriff though :) ).

[John]

From the ladies I've spoken to, anything not oriented towards pleasing her is a toy. Hence the 'Man Cave'.

I have 2 basses, 2 acoustic guitars, and 5 electric guitars. A PA system, Marshall half stack, Fender Princeton, and Fender Bassman. Add a Piano and a Mandolin. Looking for drums next. I mainly play Rocksmith with some band practice now and then.

Gaming, I have over 100' of board, card, and role playing gaming gear. Stuff I've kept around since I started gaming in the 60's. I just spent $500 Saturday on a stack of gear (Bioshock Infinite seems interesting) and have another $500 earmarked for more gaming gear.

My computer gear has been cut back a little. Printer, main computer, 4 monitors, second computer designated as a gateway, server in Florida. Last year I dumped a bunch of old computers that were kicking around. I do write a bunch of code for this and that and use the server as a point to keep the skills I had in other jobs up (like DNS; our group doesn't manage DNS so I use my server to keep up on at least the basic stuff).

I have three motorcycles for touring and commuting plus touring gear and of course tools to do the maintenance on them.

I have plenty of main woodworking gear. Table saw, jigsaw, router and table, miter saw, etc. I'm getting some smaller gear for more intricate work.

I have a bunch of gardening stuff, rakes, shovels, and instruments of destruction, although I'm more inclined to decoration than food gardens. I built a shed last year and plan on building a deck, a patio, and putting in a reading area in the back yard next year.

I will note that I haven't watched broadcast/cable TV in a year and not much for the year prior to that and recently cut the Facebook connection. I didn't delete my account, just removed the apps from my portable devices.

[John]

Back in the day, I worked in the DC metro area and needed to drive to work. I had unexpectedly gotten out of the military (sorry, 5lbs overweight we won't let you re-up) and had a job. But it was cross county vs up to DC (so public transportation wasn't a good option and going from living on post and walking distance to off post and an hour from a new job). In looking for inexpensive cars that would be reliable, I finally had a choice at a rental car company selling their 100,000+ mile cars with prices I could afford. The choice was a Yugo and an old Pontiac Fiero. I naturally took the Fiero and had it repossessed once before getting it back. But I put some work into it to ensure it was reliable enough to drive from Stafford VA over to the airport daily until I was making enough money to afford a better car. Even so, I had to have it towed two or three times due to the fuseable link bailing out and once when I blew a piston.

[John]

The problem though is any man (or woman) who dares to question any feminist "facts" is labeled a MRA. It's almost impossible to have an intelligent discussion with either side to understand the facts without being called an MRA or a Feminist. I've been called both based on the assumptions I question at the time. It would be quite funny if it wasn't so tragic. The folks who actually are interested in equal opportunity are being herded to the MRA sites because of the toxic responses to questions.

I have a question about what you're saying here ...

You're a misogynistic rapist scumbag and need to die in a fire.

Okaaayyy, maybe I'll head over here and ask instead ...

[John]

You can't really believe that every single man who believes in "Men's Rights" is "dedicated to opposing introspection and protecting established norms at all costs."?

That's like believing that all women who are feminists believe 90% of men should be phased out.

Get some perspective.

[John]

Concrete Poisoning

[John]

Maybe not a regular character but at least the Physicist motorcycle rider appeared to be "normal" in a pick up girls, ride a motorcycle (vs Howard's "Hog" :) ), etc. way. Heck, he was even a scumbag as most PUA's are portrayed :)

[John]

Agree. Up north of Denver I had those Penis mushrooms growing all over the back yard. I had to turn off my sprinklers for a month. I just kicked them back on for a week or two (aerating Wednesday) and then it's time to pack it all away.

[John]