CarolAnn

Yes, it's a creek. Yes, it's in Texas. No, no one is sure why it's called that.

Regardless, there is still no excuse for Hanson.

I've never been fond of CarolAnn. I have, however, always considered myself fortunate not to have been named Sunbeam or Moonshine or Clover or Leaf or some such shit - mom was a hippie, dad thought he was an avant garde artist, and I was born in what was termed an "informal" commune in Westchester County, NY, which meant my parents were typical 60s crazies who got into the free love end of things and marched against everything else but were allergic to living without modern conveniences. It's what happens when counterculture flourishes in NYC suburbia. I never said it worked - just what it was.

Since you all labor under the delusion that you will be raptured, in reality you may all go to hell and I will go to Texas. Apologies to Davy Crockett.

West Texas is out of an old western movie. Smells like one, too.

Yes. https://tpwd.texas.gov/landwater/water/environconcerns/hab/redtide/faq.phtml

He lied.

Meh. I've seen it happen. But then I'm much older than you so I can say that you - young whipper-snapper, you - don't know anything whatsoever. It was 34F here today.

Oh god I've had 4G for years and I use a Samsung Note 8. You're all still walking.

There's a reason my TV only gets turned on for sports. Of course, some commentators are right up that alley as well.

No. No, it doesn't.

Define adult.

Baby. Steve Miller Band, Tarrant County Convention Center, 1978.

By not dying.

I have read through this thread and decided that I have no freaking concept. Except that I concur with the divorce recommendation. As anyone who knows me can swear and testify, shopping is one of my more enviable talents.

Damn skippy.

Had a friend in high school who had a bet with another friend concerning how many guys they could sleep with before they graduated. I'd be willing to bet over, say, six months. But condoms are required. I have a grandchild.

I've been inundated with life. It seems to be contagious around here. Right now I'm waiting for a flight home. I didn't see this - I'm sorry. PM me next time for are heading through my area. I don't mind driving out to save you a hour.

Where have you been, my lovely? I have missed you!

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Roethlisberger is a fucking waste of oxygen.

My prediction is that I won't care anymore this year than I have since 1985 - and I faked it then.

You completely miss the point. Yes, El Salvador, etc., are horrible places. Even "lefties" like me don't argue that point. The objection is to the idea that someone from El Salvador, etc., is not worthy of coming to the United States simply because s/he is from a country that is - shall we say - a shithole. American mass immigration has not historically been based on what the immigrant can do for the United States but rather what the United States can do for the immigrant. The idea that an immigrant should arrive prepared to raise the GDP by a point is a recent phenomenon. Ironically, most Norwegians wouldn't lower themselves to come to the US, and I don't blame them. They would lose a lot and probably gain a neighbor with an AR-15 pointed out the window warning the local kids off the lawn. As presented by Trump, immigration selection based solely on country of origin is anathema to most Americans as it reeks of racism. Most of us are here because our less-than-Norwegian ancestors emigrated from comparable mid- to late-19th century European shitholes - places that are perfectly acceptable now but that at that time were cesspits of famine, poverty and disease. *cough*mid 19th century great famine*cough* Anything that suggests the exclusion of a group of people based on their race touches a deep well of societal guilt in the US, as it well should. We do not have the greatest track record of treating "the other" very well at all. As an aside, 1/3 of the American population hold passports. We do not travel outside the US as much as many other people do, but we have an incredibly large and diverse country that we would be hard pressed to see in one lifetime. It's hardly necessary to go to the expense and inconvenience of an international trip when you live here and can do most anything domestically. London or Paris or Tokyo or Shanghai or Johannesburg, et al, are many times what it would cost me to go to New York or San Francisco. If there isn't a driving force sending me to any of them I would just go to San Francisco and hang out at Alcatraz and be perfectly happy with no need for a visa or an international flight.

Well, for fuck's sake, if I had known my little trip post was going to devolve quite this well I would have taken a trip long ago. Carry on......

AAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Google is your friend. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2095626/ "Two UK studies and four from Western Europe were used to estimate LE and AAD for patients with PD from SMRs. The mean LEs of patients with PD compared with the general population were: 38 (SD 5) years for onset between 25 and 39 years compared with 49 (SD 5) years; 21 (SD 5) years for onset between 40 and 64 years compared with 31 (SD 7) years; and 5 (SD 4) years for onset age ⩾65 years compared with 9 (SD 5) years. The average AAD of patients with PD with onset between 25 and 39 years was 71 (SD 3) years and considerably lower than that of the general population (82 (SD 2) years). The difference between average AAD for older individuals with PD (onset ⩾65 years) and the general population was smaller, with an AAD of approximately 88 (SD 7) years compared with 91 (SD 5) years." Ali got hit in the head a bit more than Michael J Fox so I'm not sure those two are a valid comparison. CTE may have been a factor for Ali.