So it's entirely possible that their dog wrecked the toy the first time they gave it to him.

And yes, it smells and tastes like dirt. Or feet. I've found, though, that it mixes quite well with Bushmill's Black Bush, which tastes like alcoholic feet.

Laugh riot? Maybe not, but the joke is about companies who make shit up to get out of trouble, not disabled people. Would it have made you feel better if the bullshit excuse were something like "Crazy Larry in the mailroom set all the mail on fire one day and the men in the white coats took him away," or would you find that offensive to people with mental illnesses?

It's irresponsible as hell to lend money without the considerations that used to be in place, but at some point we really should have figured out that the game had changed -- you know, before disaster struck. It's not the bank's job to keep us honest, though I submit that it is the bank's job to lend only that which can be repaid.

Also, I want Planter's to bring back its crunchy cheese balls. Those were outstanding.

I know I'm not the only person with phone problems, but I also know that we're kind of in the minority.

Funny thing, though? The internet and phone bill will be less than it was for DSL/traditional phone, for far better service (flat rate on all calls, bandwidth that actually resembles advertised speeds). That, and we're getting a month of TV free and $200 cash back. So hey.

We've always lived pretty cheaply, anyway, since we're a one-income household -- he bikes to work and eats microwave soups for lunch, I bike to the grocery store when I can and cook bulk meals for the freezer. The mortgage and utility bills are low and there's only one student loan to pay off. When you keep your basic/recurring expenses low like that, there isn't much to worry about.

Also, our '98 Ford Escort gets 30 mpg city/40 highway. I don't know why Detroit's whining so much about fuel efficiency standards when they clearly were capable of making an efficient car ten years ago.

I cook all of our meals from scratch. How can I manage that? It's easy -- I don't have a job.

After all of that business, it feels terribly extravagant to have people over and just throw food and drinks at them without worrying about collecting money at the end of the evening.

I'll probably buy this one too, and you know, I'll probably buy Year Zero at some point. I don't have terribly discriminating taste in music, so I'm sure I'll like them. Anyway, I have a whole ton of NIN tracks on my computer that I didn't pay for.

If it's because the food companies are slacking off, then they can damn well eat the cost of increased federal oversight, because it's their own fault. Had they done their jobs in the first place, this wouldn't be necessary.