[Kickaha]

Oh sweet jesus on a pogo stick, yeah. Udvar-Hazy is utterly amazing. It's like your dream ceiling of model airplanes as a kid, except they're real.

There's a Concorde, an SR-71, a 707, and a Shuttle just sitting there, and they look *small*.

My favorite spot in the whole place? Stand just a bit off of the port nose of the Shuttle. Turn around and look in the glass case. It's one of Goddard's first liquid engine rockets. Then turn back around. That's roughly 50 years of development.

[psmith2.0]

I loved that museum. Amazing stuff to see up close. As a kid, I’d go to the Huntsville (Alabama) Space/Rocket museum(school fiekd trips, etc.). One of my favorite possessions as a yoof, and I wore it ALL THE TIME was a little white Lee denim jacket. From the Huntsville museum, I’d purchased an American flag, NASA logo and Apollo 11 mission patch and my grandmother sewed them all onto my white jacket in the appropriate locations which I referenced from books/magazines.

I have so wanted to do this again, as a 50-something adult, now that the patches can easily be bought online (although I’d probably change to one ofvthe Mercury or Gemini missions). I just need to find/buy a cool white jacket that looks somewhat “space-tl/cool. I’ve actually got a blue/black jacket and an orange (of course) with a cool design/look, but I think k I want white still.

[709]

Originally Posted by 709 ... - Feinstein is 90 (!!) and at this point her staff is pretty much pulling a Weekend at Bernie's reenactment.

Originally Posted by turtle ... in the case of Feinstein, Weekend at Bernie's is the best representation I've heard. Already dead, just waiting for the body to actually catch up.

It caught up.

[psmith2.0]

Uh oh. Will this be the story that knocks the Travis Kelce/Taylor Swift (TayVis?) thing off the front pages/homepages?!

A battered nation can only hope.

Because one more breathless, written by a junior-high intern "OMG, Taylor Swift eats chicken tenders in the KC Chiefs VIP Box, and we're, like, totally here for it! So much THIS!!!" story and out go my brains, via gunpowder-assisted force.

I honestly can never predict what will, and what won't, make "news" anymore. It's all so twisted/crazy.

I'd like to think the death of a long-serving U.S. Senator garners/merits more coverage than America's favorite pop tart and her latest breakup song inspiration, but who the hell truly knows anymore? News is entertainment, entertainment is news, nobody acts right/sane, etc.

*shrug*

Was Senator Feinstein still serving, then? Was she truly active/participating/contributing? Any more, or less, than her colleagues (and what's their excuse)? I don't know, I'm asking.

[709]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 Because one more breathless, written by a junior-high intern "OMG, Taylor Swift ...

Ahem that's a real job thankyouverymuch.

She might take some wind out of TS stories for a couple of days, but then it's MAGA shutdown season that will overshadow everything else.

[Anonymous Coward]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 Was Senator Feinstein still serving, then? Was she truly active/participating/contributing? Any more, or less, than her colleagues (and what's their excuse)? I don't know, I'm asking.

I'm sure I saw a story within the past two months that she intended to seek reelection, but when I tried to find a link, all I found were February announcements that she intended to retire.

She filed paperwork to seek reelection in 2021. Maybe the stories I thought I remembered were where, a few months ago, she declared she would return to work rather than retire.

[kieran]

Pelosi made an announcement last week that she's running again, so maybe that was it? Feinstein has been mostly just being pushed around catatonic for the last few months.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by 709 Ahem that's a real job thankyouverymuch.

Ugh. Case, closed. I give up.

The two most uninteresting "celebrities" I can think of/know, no less...at least make the effort? Fairuza Balk and John Mulaney, maybe?

The following isn't just snark for snark's sake, but I truly cannot wrap my head around the success/popularity of Taylor Swift. It isn't her music, I've heard it. There are far more attractive singers/pop tarts out there who don't get anywhere near her fawning coverage. She seems to have the personality of a Swiferer mop. If that.

Like Kanye West, I think it's a marketing/PR success story vs. a true musical talent/"genius". It's just that half the planet has bought into it and aren't letting go.

And, no...I don't need any resident musicologists trying to convince me of her "artistry". Spare me, please. Don't make me block you.

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by kieran Pelosi made an announcement last week that she's running again, so maybe that was it? Feinstein has been mostly just being pushed around catatonic for the last few months.

I suppose the following gets me pegged with an all-new "-ist" tag (hey, pretend I give a shit if it helps), but I'm not sure I like the idea of 90-year-olds, or even 80-somethings, like that Kentucky turtle (who seems to misfire/freeze up a bit here lately) making such big, important decisions that affect my 54-year-old existence. I know none of these clowns are gonna give up the gig voluntarily/easily, but perhaps the decision needs to be taken out of their hands (and the hands of their staff, supporters, bootlickers, diaper-changers, etc.)

Let's cut the shit and be honest: you wouldn't want any of these people - Feinstein, McConnell, RBG, President Biden, etc. - if they were your grandparents, given the keys to/turned loose in a car to drive to Target and shop on their own for 2-4 hours. Then why are they making decisions re: the economy, spending, immigration, taxes and any of the rest?! I don't care what side of the aisle you're on or who you worship/fanboy/fangirl over. Even the most lenient, "anything goes", "I'm perfect and open-minded" and "progressive" among you have to realize "okay, 'too old' is a thing." And it can't just apply to all your political enemies/boogeymen either, while all your guys get a pass.

I don't think this was ever supposed to be a lifetime, multi-decade gig, and most of these "old lions" aren't the bright-eyed, go-getter fighters and figureheads they once were, in 1970-something. Ted Kennedy, Bob Dole, Robert Byrd and Strom Thurmond would all still be around, in office (and, God help us, gearing up for a re-election campaign for the next go-around). Yet, nobody here, if they're honest, would trust any of them (pretending for a moment they were still alive) to feed your cat and get your mail if you went out of town for 5-6 days. You just wouldn't. You'd be all "jeez, I'm gonna come back to a dead cat and a mailbox that won't close due to the dozens and dozens of magazines, catalogs, bills, letters, junk mail, crammed inside."

But their brain-dead, no-original-thoughts-left supporters will just automatically pull that lever for them, and spend the rest of the afternoon patting themselves on the back for sending "a good man" (or woman) "back to Washington", a town they all should've left 2-3 decades ago.

Is it even up for debate that, after a certain age, some aspects to human beings typically start to decline and wane? Mental acuity, quickness, reflexes, abstract thinking, short-term memory, motor skills, etc. No, not everyone, of course not. But they're merely the exceptions that prove the rule. I love my mom more than anything in this world, but I can tell how her thinking/memory/forming thoughts/sentences has declined in recent years. I would never want her to run for public office and be put under that harsh microscope/scrutiny that national-level political figures endure (and to wield so much power and influence over the lives of millions of Americans). I just wouldn't! So what does that say about the families and loved ones of the some of the folks named above? Is "power" that addictive/intoxicating? It must be.

This discussion - a serious, non-partisan and sober one - should've been had ages ago. Now that everyone's seeing concrete evidence/examples of it near-daily, it's the trendy, hot topic suddenly on everyone's tongues. But, I suspect, it'll all degenerate into the usual partisan "my useless old fart-knockers are better than your useless old fart-knockers!" horseshit and tribalism and, a year from now, zero has changed.

For everyone who reflexively screams "term limits", I say "we have them...you just gotta find your balls and not vote for your 88-year-old babbling buddy/hero next time around", but that's a tall order, obviously. So maybe real term limits is the answer? I don't know. It can't hurt. Something probably needs to be done, and it can't take 1-2 decades either.

[kieran]

We wouldn't trust these people to run local businesses, yet they're extremely in charge of the country.

Makes no sense at all.

Term limits should be put in place, but we also need other methods to actually incentivize people to not hang around until you're 87 years old and die in office.

[psmith2.0]

Yeah, I kinda see it that way.

And, definitely. I wouldn't trust any of them to run a local print shop or trophy shop. I just wouldn't. The typos and missed deadlines would choke a T-Rex.

I don't think I want the country run by a bunch of know-it-all (but really don't) Zoomer fuckwits who can't ever set their iPhones down. But the other end of the scale isn't anything to strive for either. As in real life, people are only really bearable in that 35-65 zone. There are exceptions, yes. But that's exactly what they are. Younger than 35? Older than 65? Awesome. Leave me alone.

[turtle]

The Ring of Power. My precious....

The images of Gollum and the desire to maintain power are just more and more true.


These old farts are starting to look like him!

[Anonymous Coward]

Originally Posted by kieran Pelosi made an announcement last week that she's running again, so maybe that was it? Feinstein has been mostly just being pushed around catatonic for the last few months.

Yes, that must be it. I see that Pelosi is only 83.

[turtle]

Originally Posted by Anonymous Coward Yes, that must be it. I see that Pelosi is only 83.

She is a trend breaker! Look at her buck the stats.

Race Average life expectancy for women Average life expectancy for men Average life expectancy overall
White 80.6 75.5 78
Black 75.8 68.3 72
Hispanic 83.3 76.6 79.9
Source*

Maybe we shouldn't be voting people into office who are already past their expiration date. I mean, I know not everything expires, but some are certainly beyond "best by date". Can't we all agree on that? (Looking at you Mitch.)

[psmith2.0]

Originally Posted by turtle She is a trend breaker! Look at her buck the stats. Race Average life expectancy for women Average life expectancy for men Average life expectancy overall White 80.6 75.5 78 Black 75.8 68.3 72 Hispanic 83.3 76.6 79.9 Source* Maybe we shouldn't be voting people into office who are already past their expiration date. I mean, I know not everything expires, but some are certainly beyond "best by date". Can't we all agree on that? (Looking at you Mitch.)

I think the takesway here is…more tacos/Mexican food in general? Totally cool with me. My favorite already! If that’s the secret, I ain’t ever dying! Every Tuesday, every other Friday and about every 3-4 Sundays (including this coming one), plus any random lunchtime Taco Bell or Del Taco (we now have one in town, just a few miles away in Georgia) visits, which could be 1-3 times a week. not to mention the chips and salsa I ALWAYS keep/have here at the house for any snacking needs.

I’m gonna turn into a tortilla shell and a spoon of guac before it’s all over. Or a chicken taco, or carne asada burrito.

[turtle]

Actually, I bet the diet has a lot to do with that. I happen to love that diet/genre of food too! I would also bet that it is because there is less processed foods in their diet.

However... this is derailing us from the real topic: Mummies in Capitol Hill!

[psmith2.0]

**Bad Ideas R Us, Volume 732**

Toys ‘R’ US to open stores across US, including at airports and cruise ships

Yes, because that's exactly what airports need. A place where cranky, bratty not-suitable-for-flying kids can scream/demand "toys" prior to a 7-hour flight, and their idiot, enabling parents trying to bring some 5-foot stuffed panda onto a Southwest flight with all the overhead bins taken. Horrible idea. An airport, for a dozen reasons, is the worst place for a "toy store". I'm sure that little 250-piece Lego set will arrive intact/all pieces. And the "beepity-boopity" handheld video games will surely be appreciated by other passengers. And all those barefoot cruise ship passengers stepping on stray Lego pieces throughout the ship...it only adds to the fun of a Caribbean cruise! Especially if you can get on one with malfunctioning toilets and shit seeping down the walls everywhere, which, for something that should never happen, has actually happened a few times.

Families go on vacations/getaways to leave the real world behind. The real world of whiny, entitled and demanding kids wanting everything in sight. Why put such an emporium in an airport? You think little kids are already tough to handle on a plane? Try dealing with one who didn't get the 785-piece Anakin's Sith Droid Builder Factory from Hasbro, eight minutes prior to boarding/takeoff.

Unless airlines are gonna start serving booze to toddlers (an/or muzzles), I don't see how this idea pans out.

Stores go under for a reason. What has actually changed in recent years, to make this version of Toys R Us do well? Are toy stores even needed anymore, when even Walgreens and Ace Hardware have little sections devoted to toys? Seems like a solution to a problem nobody's bringing up. And in an airport, no less. Gonna be a complete brat-zone/trigger station. I've dated enough single moms over 20+ years to fully know how a typical 7-8 year old reacts when they don't get something - toy, candy, milkshake, pet, etc. - they want. Yikes. And I don't wanna hear that unhinged shit in an airport terminal or on a flight that I'm already edgy/nervous about as it is. The best I can hope for re: flying anymore is sitting there with my Dr. Pepper and honey roasted peanuts (perhaps a Miller Lite or Michelob Ultra), earbuds in, bothering nobody and doing my Sunday crossword omnibus or finally getting around to listening to those 2-3 podcast episodes I've been wanting to hear. The key is, I'm bothering/annoying nobody (other passengers, the flight crew, etc.). A screaming, crying, whining kid(s) kinda wrecks all that and destroys the "chill" vibe I try to make for myself so I don't start thinking too much about what is actually taking place ("this plane probably weighs how much? And how high are we?"). I have to be distracted/zoned-out while flying (magazines, podcasts, crossword, doodle pad, notebook, etc.) or I'm Charles Grodin in Midnight Run..."these things go doooowwwn!"

And, yes. It is about me, at that point.

[Capella]

There's a Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, etc. store at Orlando International Airport and yeahhhh it works about like that where kids are screaming trying to get last minute souveniers. Awful.

[psmith2.0]

Ahh, nice to hear confirmation. I know, realistically, it would have to be like that. Kids don't give a shit, they're not looking at it from the perspective of parents or other flyers ("sit down, shut up, find something to occupy yourself"). Kids just want everything, all the time. That's why they're kids. Some grow out of it, far too many don't.

Yeah, putting cool, colorful, lighted, animated stuff in front of them, with the very real possibility of parents saying "no!" is a recipe for nuttiness. Especially for that class of kids who've never once heard the word in their entire life. The absolute worst kind of kid(s). I've known a few, unfortunately.

"'No'? What the fuck is father talking about?! He told me 'no'?!? Has he forgotten who he's speaking to? But I wannnnnnt it...NOW!"

I'm sorry, but every kid has the potential to morph into Veruca Salt in a toy store, at any second.

That's their stomping grounds, and they take it seriously.

Whoever mans those airport Toys R Us branches merits hazard pay. Give them a fencing outfits (or a Batman suit, and a working lightsaber and a loaded .45). They're gonna need it (or wish they had it).

Turnover rate, about every 7-9 days. "I tried my best, Alan. I stayed on as long as I could! I'm going back to feeding lions and alligators by hand at the zoo! Way safer/more relaxing...".


PS - Just so I'm not a hypocrite, I'm not a fan/supporter of bars/alcohol in airports, which is the adult version of a kid's toy store. Every "incident" on a plane involving unruly, moron passengers acting the role always gets linked back to "booze + prescription medication", as though nobody's figured out/heard you're not supposed to mix the two.

I don't think booze should be served at airports, on planes, etc. If that's truly what you need to "fly", a) that's sad, and b) seek some sort of professional help and grow up. I can tell, by sight/one sentence, who around me has been drinking on a flight. They're always 2-3 notches louder than everyone else, and they say things no sober, normal person would ever say in close-quarters, mixed company (pussy or dick jokes/references, ethnic slurs, always talking about politics, as though they're the first person to ever say what they're about to say, etc.). Stick those folks out on the wings, or strap them to the belly for the duration.

My worst flight ever was from Las Vegas back to Nashville, where I had some drunk-ass Alex Jones wannabe type sitting beside me, just doing/saying all the things you'd expect such a person to do/say. I've never been so embarrassed in my life, everyone around, within earshot, thinking this was my guy and that I thought/believed as he did and was nodding my head the entire time.

I faked sleep, deafness, "no speaky English!" and he wouldn't leave me alone. I just stared straight ahead and close-lip grimaced/nodded every 9-10 minutes for about five hours. The longest five hours I've ever known. "Did they pick up and move Nashville out into the Atlantic this past week? Should be me tilted down/on landing approach by now?!?"

"I'm not your friend, fat ass. I'm not 'amused' by any of this, you're not 'funny' in the least, you certainly aren't interesting, no, I don't care how nice your wife's titties are and I assure you I don't care about what cars are in your overcompensating garage."

I'm sure he thought little of me too, but he never gave up. Was he crushing on me? I never even considered the gay angle (I never do, frankly...not being gay, why would I? I don't consider the Russian, European, Muslim, Catholic, Jewish, African, etc. angles either; I only know what I know...the universally-dreaded straight, white Christian male, public enemy #1 to everyone who isn't, so I've heard ). He thought maybe if he broke through my "ice bitch" facade, I'd give him a one-hander under the little southwest fleece sleeping blanket? I don't even do that stuff straight, with a woman, so the chances of any stranger guy-on-guy action involving me is less than zero. Sorry, just isn't going to happen, ever. I barely even like my own dick, I have zero interest in yours.

[PB PM]

Originally Posted by psmith2.0 Stores go under for a reason. What has actually changed in recent years, to make this version of Toys R Us do well?

I guess Toy R US only went under in the US of A. Stores in Canada never closed, ownership changed though, and it's a zoo every time I've gone there for stuff for my niece and nephew. There are several other chain kids toy stores in Canada that do well too. I'll shop at those places over some US based conglomerate any day of the week.

[psmith2.0]

When I was a little boy, there was a small toy store, kinda decorated like a castle from the outside, and it had a little digital "xxx days until Christmas" countdown sign out front, up on the side of the building. Where it sat was on a main road through this part of Chattanooga (East Ridge), at a 3-way T-intersection (there's a Walgreen's there now) and you'd approach this store, head on, from a store off I-24 a mile or so back, and I'd see that countdown sign quite a bit, all throughout the year.

It was a highlight of my childhood, seeing those glowing numbers.

Of all the times I saw the place from the outside, I was only inside once, much younger (4-5). I went with my uncle as he picked up a toy train car and had it all wrapped and put into a bag. I just remember the store because very small/cramped/cluttered on the inside, but crammed with toys...bikes, tricycles, sleds, toy/doll houses/castles, stuff animals, toys planes and rockets, telescopes, etc. In my head, despite one visit there, 50 years ago, I can still picture the layout, merchandise, the windows, the flooring, how the joint smelled, etc. I was in absolute heave for about 20 minutes, wandering around. Everything was red and shiny.

No Toys R Us chain store full of plastic junk and clutter was ever gonna top that. And it never did.

The place was demolished decades ago (the Walgreen's, remember), but every time I drive past that location, at least two times a week, sometimes 4-5), it's all I think about, that little toy store with the "xxx days until Christmas" countdown out front. I wish I had a picture of it, I don't even remember its name.

EDIT: Okay, A&M Toy Castle? Or "The Castle". I don't remember the outside being this large/dark, but it was definitely rocking the castle motif, and you see the countdown sign on the right. I just remember it being so small/compact, but maybe because, at 4, I was too?