[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Can I just be happy I'm going to have a nice evening with a great person please?

You don't have to buy into the commercial nonsense to use it as an excuse to do something nice together. The same way a whole host of other things can serve as an excuse any other day of the year.

Although, agreed with the above that I can't think of anything much worse than going out for a restaurant meal on the day.

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 13 February 2020 - 06:44 PM

[Macros]

Yup, I agree, you don't have to spend money and buy into hallmark day to have a nice wee day.

[Tiste Simeon]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 13 February 2020 - 05:04 PM, said:

Can I just be happy I'm going to have a nice evening with a great person please?

No! You can't show your true feelings unless you're worried about how much the bill will come to and accidentally putting your elbow of the soup of the lady on the table next to you who is definitely angling for her bored man to get down on one knee and make a scene for her...

[Malankazooie]

Go ancient and get all Lupercalia with it - sacrifice a goat, dance naked around a bonfire and fornicate with whoever is nearby until you are out of breath and then start it all over again. And then just to make the contemporary gods happy, buy a Hallmark card dripping in sappy sentiments and a box of chocolates that only have one or two good types (with the rest being trash) and in a proper and timely manner, present those to your paramour.

[Tiste Simeon]

Malankazooie, on 13 February 2020 - 06:26 PM, said:

Go ancient and get all Lupercalia with it - sacrifice a goat, dance naked around a bonfire and fornicate with whoever is nearby until you are out of breath and then start it all over again.

That's just a standard night in Yorkshire though...

[Gorefest]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 13 February 2020 - 05:04 PM, said:

Can I just be happy I'm going to have a nice evening with a great person please?

By all means, always a great thing to do. It is the Valentine's Day link that I was commenting on, not the nice Friday evening with a loved one. Every time the day is mentioned, Hallmark reaps another orphan soul for the legions of Hell.

[Malankazooie]

Brittunculi

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Gorefest, on 13 February 2020 - 07:03 PM, said:

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 13 February 2020 - 05:04 PM, said:

Can I just be happy I'm going to have a nice evening with a great person please?

By all means, always a great thing to do. It is the Valentine's Day link that I was commenting on, not the nice Friday evening with a loved one. Every time the day is mentioned, Hallmark reaps another orphan soul for the legions of Hell.

Fair enough, I didn't mean to jump down your throat. Think I'm just a little twitchy as the moment you mention you're doing something for it (before you have a chance to explain that something is not buying into the nonsense) a bunch of people seem to leap on you and tell you why it's terrible. Hello Facebook - yes I mean you.

It's also a long time since I've had anyone to spend it with, so I'm a little excited just in and of itself

This post has been edited by TheRetiredBridgeburner: 13 February 2020 - 09:12 PM

[Gorefest]

No need to mollify, I clearly was being a bit of a self-rightious dick there in true internet warrior fashion. I stand by my Valentine's Day remark as I simply just find it a terrible commercial milking of human emotion, but it wasn't intended to come across as a slight on you or anyone else specifically for using the occasion as a way to celebrate a relationship. I should have made that a bit clearer. No snide remark intended, it was just a general observation which in retrospect probably was a bit misplaced.

Also, I just Wikipedia'd Valentine's Day and there is some bleeding historical background to it beyond Hallmark. Live and learn.

Still icky, though.

[Mezla PigDog]

Gorefest, on 13 February 2020 - 07:03 PM, said:

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 13 February 2020 - 05:04 PM, said:

Can I just be happy I'm going to have a nice evening with a great person please?

By all means, always a great thing to do. It is the Valentine's Day link that I was commenting on, not the nice Friday evening with a loved one. Every time the day is mentioned, Hallmark reaps another orphan soul for the legions of Hell.

But the card I bought has a picture of a slice of pizza on it and says "You took a pizza my heart".

[Gorefest]

Ack. No. Just no.

[Slow Ben]

Spent the weekend in Indy with the Famdamily.

Took the kids swimming 3 times, hung out with the wifes sister, had some awesome Thai food, picked up some new dnd miniatures at the local shop, and picked up 2 pair of Duluth Trading work pants on clearance.

Pretty nice little weekend.

[Slow Ben]

Their DuluthFlex work clothes are so fucking comfortable.

And their Buck Naked underwear are about $25 ($12 if you wait till they're on sale) each, but they are worth every damn penny. Especially if you move a lot or do any kind of labor for a living.

[Gorefest]

Slow Ben, on 17 February 2020 - 02:20 AM, said:

And their Buck Naked underwear are about $25 ($12 if you wait till they're on sale) each, but they are worth every damn penny.

Sounds very "emperor's clothes"-y.

[Malankazooie]

Duluth is too nichey and expensive. Don't mail order anything from them because they'll send you a catalog at least once a month (if not more).

Instead go with Carhartt. The true 'John Q. Sixpacks' out there wear Carhartt. Whether they are hanging drywall, on the roof driving nails, out in the field taking soil samples, in a skid loader contouring that new drainage canal, in tight spaces pulling wire, pipe and hose, or in one of them makeshift trailer offices going over a stack of code requirments; Carhartt is what the real working man proudly displays on his body as he gets to work building and keeping america great again. Find yourself a Big R Store and just get silly with it.

https://www.bigr.com/

[Tiste Simeon]

Oh man. The Dear Hunter are coming to Manchester!!! This is a band I have absolutely loved for ages and they haven't been to the UK for years! I am massively hyped!

If you like melodic progressive concept based rock then check out the Acts - a series of 5 albums that tell a story using sweeping orchestral music and a diversity of styles. So freaking good and I am so getting tickets!

[Slow Ben]

Malankazooie, on 17 February 2020 - 01:53 PM, said:

Duluth is too nichey and expensive. Don't mail order anything from them because they'll send you a catalog at least once a month (if not more).

Instead go with Carhartt. The true 'John Q. Sixpacks' out there wear Carhartt. Whether they are hanging drywall, on the roof driving nails, out in the field taking soil samples, in a skid loader contouring that new drainage canal, in tight spaces pulling wire, pipe and hose, or in one of them makeshift trailer offices going over a stack of code requirments; Carhartt is what the real working man proudly displays on his body as he gets to work building and keeping america great again. Find yourself a Big R Store and just get silly with it.

https://www.bigr.com/

Nope

[Malankazooie]

[amphibian]

My brother and I found Carhartt to be sort of a marginal upgrade to cheap stuff and Duluth stuff to be very good. So my brother now uses Carhartt only for the "it's going to be torn up very quickly anyway" stuff.

If someone is making a career in this field, like Slow Ben and my brother, the upgrades are worth it in cumulative view.

One ex military contractor I know uses a military gear carrying system (lots of straps and loops on a big vest) to carry his stuff when up a ladder. It saves him so much time and effort, plus keeps him balanced on the ladder so he's not reaching dangerously for things. Was a bunch of work to plan and train himself to do, but it's a smoothly oiled machine now.

[Malankazooie]

Carhartt sounds like a House in the north who's bannermen will ride out when House Stark sends out the call. Duluth sounds like a boring city in Minnesota. - "where you from?" "I'm from Duluth" BORING!

On the cereal though. My sister's husband owns an HVAC business that does residential and commercial installs (has recently completed a big project on a military contract doing work at an air force base). I see him in Carhartt all the time (as well as his workers). I know Carhartt is a well known brand that is a go to for working stiffs. I've never heard mention of Duluth Trading Co as an outfitter for blue collar workers. I've heard those underwear will cradle your grapes nice and snug and comfy though. It could be a regional thing, dunno. I guess some athletes wear Nike and some prefer Adidas.¯\_(ツ)_/¯