89 Comments

Thanks to Cugel for ordering too much wine and selling us his overstock, and thanks to HeyAlumniGo for bringing it to me!

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No problem. Thanks for the wineskin.

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No problem at all, let me know what you think of them.

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Cheers!

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For those who like this kind of thing, it's the 21st day of the 21st year in the 21st century https://twitter.com/thetracysimone/status/1352342157378596867

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waiting for the 21st second of the 21st minute of the 21st hour...

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Elsewhere in college

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ND gets hit with some sanctions for recruiting violations, paving way for Cal's victory in South Bend in 19 months.

https://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/notre-dame-football-program-violated-ncaa-recruiting-contact-rules

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Today in Covid

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This will surprise exactly nobody, but the Biden administration confirms that the previous administration literally had no vaccine distribution plan.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/21/politics/biden-covid-vaccination-trump/index.html

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jfc. I have the feeling that's going to be used a lot in the next year or so as we find out just how not only evil, but mind alteringly incompetent the previous administration was.

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Seems pretty symbolic for today, but check out this McMansion in Mentor, OH.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/8405-Sanctuary-Dr-Mentor-OH-44060/34501540_zpid/

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what's with the 'oval office' room? Other than being in oHIo, it looks like something you could work with, but would take some effort to be a neat place. and it is still in Ohio.

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Mentor, Ohio is where the James Garfield house is located, which was the first successful "front porch" campaign took place AKA Garfield talked to enough people who came to visit him from his porch to be elected president. That house is now operated by the National Park Service (I've only been to the outside), maybe this McMansion is paying homage to that.

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it's too dull to even be tacky.

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7 kinds of flooring in one dwelling.

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About half an hour away from where I used to live!

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Perris, California

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Fancy named unfancy places

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Mar-A-Lago

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Fancy Gap, VA. Not much there, but it is north of a picturesque part of the drive up and down the east coast (if you take the Appalachian route).

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Versailles in Ohio and Versailles in Kentucky

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Paris, Texas.

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Troy NY.

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Brutal town, as is Schenectady

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is the opposite of fancy. in fact it is incredibly run down.

we drive thru there on the way to VT skiing and sometimes think about stopping for dinner, but there is literally nothing except fast food.

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Going to VT from here, I've been known to stop for a delicious "eat while you drive" dinner from McDonald's or Dunkin. Coming back, for a few years we used to stop at the Country View diner on the outskirts of Troy but it seemed to be going downhill a bit. so now if I get a late start from VT heading home I'll get lunch at Bob's Diner in Manchester Ctr, it's got enough of that "locally sourced food" vibe that Vermonters tend to preen about.

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Ah yes, McDonald's for the authentic food of your people!

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McDonald's, home of those "Fancy Ketchup"

By the way, I looked up what makes them "fancy" -

“fancy” is simply a USDA designation that producers are allowed to use for marketing if their product meets the standards of US Grade A/US Fancy tomato ketchup, which possesses a better color, consistency and flavor, and has fewer specks and particles and less separation of the liquid/solid contents

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I didn't know DC Trojan was Irish?

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I most certainly am not. But I am Scottish and as such I'm not averse to some fried "food"

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Binghamton NY sounds Brit-like fancy but is an honest to God shi*hole

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I have only driven past it but they do have the minor league baseball team Binghamton Rumble Ponies whose name is supposedly based on what the city is famous for...carousels.

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I drove through once and dios mio. Totally agree with you.

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that was because there was summer weekend traffic so bad that the backups from the MA Pike and the Thruway had reached Troy, so I ended up getting on 80 toward Schenectady & then heading south on 88. Absolutely lovely until about Port Crane & then just an ugly shitshow of roads until you're through Wilkes-Barre on 81.

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Asian Jewels .. dim sum place in Flushing.

i find that all the really good and massive dim sum places have names like that.

i am sure it is cultural that i dont find those places fancy when often you see a wedding going on, or all the ornate gold decorations.

that being said, i am happy to go anytime because the food is so good.

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A lot of Chinese restaurants have those fancy names. Golden Palace, Silver Dragon.

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Speaking of Chinese, Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu is an interesting take on growing up in Chinatown.

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now i am hungry for good Chinese food

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Golden Palace sounds like a place you go to get peed on.

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So then what does Silver Dragon sound like?

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a place to get hand jobs

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but is the food good? I can get peed on anywhere....errr....one can get peed on anywhere...

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One restaurant I loved to visit when I lived in San Francisco: Cordon Bleu.

Not a fancy French place at all, a hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese spot where they slapped meat and rice (or noodles) down on your plate, straight off the grill. Delicious!

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Hawaiian Gardens

Gardenia

Chungking Mansion

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OUR "It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life" DEMOCRACY

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Biden removes the Diet Coke button from the Oval Office desk.

https://twitter.com/tnewtondunn/status/1352284365854806017

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/smh

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I don't know about y'all, but I broke Dry January with a nice bottle of wine last night. In other news, I am a lightweight now.

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I will confess to feeling a bit at loose ends today now that I don't feel like I need to spend my entire day doomscrolling.

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That's a good problem to have. But if you want to doomscroll, well, the pandemic is still a problem.

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150 protestors in Seattle/Portland turn violent, including attacking Democrat offices. Fox News goes effing bananas with Antifa-gone-wild.

https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/1352043124512747523

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Jen Psaki holds her first briefing. It was mind-blowingly professional and normal.

https://twitter.com/thenewsoncnbc/status/1352048812198686722

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The sudden return to normal, respectable behavior remains jarring. Yesterday's executive orders, for example, when Biden didn't hold up each one for the camera like a kindergartner showing off some crayon scribblings.

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No more alternative facts?

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Only if you watch Fox News, OANN, Newsmax or believe in QAnon. So basically 70 million Americans will view these press briefings as nothing but lies and alternative facts.

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PRO

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I'd be shocked if anyone takes on that contract.

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Maybe the Texans would possibly do this because they need to get rid of DeShaun Watson but I just don't think any team will take that contract. I still predict that Goff gets another year/shot with the Rams by default.

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The Rams are better than they were before the coaching change a couple years ago, but management still struggles to assemble a complete team. Goff and the defensive stars can only do so much with limited and inconsistent help.

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for a non-elite qb

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Such a hater

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What in his nfl career has he shown to be a top tier qb?

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He does have a Super Bowl appearance and played well in both playoff games this year. The Rams need to get a few threat WR and some OL help.

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curse of #smallhands

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CAL

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Cardwell top 4: Cal, Oregon, Auburn, aTm

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Men's Soccer senior striker Tommy Williamson is the 12th overall pick to San Jose Earthquakes in the MLS SuperDraft.

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Cal women's tennis is having their season opener right now, hosting SMC

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Go Bears! Beat fUCLA

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Speaking of Hollywood and the entertainment industry did anyone see last night's musical performance narrated by Tom Hanks? Fantastic, I thought.

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His outtakes from the sound check are pure dad-humor gold.

https://twitter.com/bubbaprog/status/1352076518927822848

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It was great but how many kids had to be killed in sacrificial ritual by Hanks, Democrats and Hollywood to put on such a highly entertaining and well done show?!?!

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I watched and just near the end I started to the kitchen to wash some dishes. Then I feel a shake and hear boom, boom, boom. I turn around and see fireworks on TV. My condo is across the street from a park that looks down the Mall so I, and a bunch of my neighbors, dash out to watch. A nice end to the day.

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I was too busy with my evening scrolling on Twitter

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Basque Cultural Center, South San Francisco, just the definition of misleading and overrated aside from the waiters/waitresses themselves and the racquet court inside it.

Lambeau Field just doesn't seem like an exciting place to be in unless you are a blue collar Green Bay native, especially with the less than casual fan confusing it for a Lamborghini sponsorship.

Sonoma Raceway where they host NASCAR, INDYCAR, and other sports car racing, needs a whole new reset of the way the seating works, especially for a 2 mile road course. Only one section of regular seating bench bleachers on the start finish straight and then the rest of the stands across the 11 turn course is literally brick bench seating, which already ruined my back as a 19 year old after 3 races there.

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