GlibFit 4.0 – High Intensity Training

by | Nov 6, 2022 | GlibFit | 196 comments

A short history lesson before we get to the (veggie) meat of this week’s article. YouTube took me back in time by offering me a video on the feud between Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mike Mentzer. You all know the Austrian Oak. He won Mr. Olympia every year from 1970-1975. He then retired from bodybuilding to become an actor.

After Arnold left the sport, there was a collective sigh of relief the top spot was once again up for grabs. One of the men with his eye on the prize was Mike Mentzer. In 1978, Mike Mentzer became the first bodybuilder to get a perfect score at a pro event (Mr. Universe). In 1979, he won the heavyweight division of Mr. Olympia but lost the overall to the legendary Frank Zane. This was despite Mentzer achieving his second perfect score.

Mentzer was an outlier in the sport. Arnold, like the large majority of pros, did high volume, split set training. Mentzer trained and ate differently from other pros. Mentzer was using macros and intermittent fasting before they were a thing. He ate plenty of carbs, including pancakes and ice cream.

Mentzer had been introduced to Arthur Jones, the inventor of Nautilus machines, who changed his thinking about training. Mentzer became an acolyte of High Intensity Training (HIT).

HIT’s principles are straightforward:

• Growth is correlated to exercise intensity.

• Sets must be pushed to absolute failure, and such sets must be kept to a minimum.

• Workouts must be brief and infrequent.

• Emphasis on the eccentric (negative portion of reps) is crucial.

• To go beyond failure, do pre-exhaust supersets. For example, do a set of dips immediately after triceps extensions.

Mentzer used the HIT method to great success during his all too brief career. He refined the HIT method into what he called Heavy Duty. The Heavy Duty workout basics are:

Go to full-rep failure in the 6-9 rep range. Try to grow increasingly stronger in this range.

• Always maintain proper exercise form.

• Push sets past failure with forced reps and negatives. Train with a partner, so he or she can assist you.

• Rest-pause is another method of transcending failure. Mike Mentzer had a unique method of doing rest-pause. He advised doing a set of four to six maximum reps with rests of 10-15 seconds between reps (and a 20% weight reduction near the end), so, in essence, the set would be a series of all-out singles.

Mentzer wrote two books (booklets really) Heavy Duty and Heavy Duty Journal. He had gained a significant following and he was in a great position to win the 1980 Mr. Olympia.

Arnold was scheduled to cover the event for CBS. The day before the contest, Arnold announced he was entering the competition. There was an uproar among the competitors. The judging for the event was rather obviously biased and there were several irregularities at the event. Arnold won it and Mentzer tied for 4th place. There is almost universal acknowledgement Arnold was not at the same level as the other competitors. I won’t go so far as to say Mentzer was a lock to win but plenty of fans thought he should have.

Mentzer was so enraged he quit bodybuilding. It was a terrible loss to the sport. He was pioneering new training regiments and nutrition plans. All of which contradicted the best advice of the time.

This week’s music.

About The Author

Chafed

Chafed

I'm looking California but feeling Minnesota

196 Comments

  1. Shiny Nerfherder

    *adds one more anecdote about Arnold being a dick to the list *

  2. MikeS

    Cool tune. I haven’t heard much enough Motorhead.

    • Chafed

      🤘🤘

  3. Tundra

    Chafed!

    Really interesting history. Bodybuilding is such a weird sport. So incredibly hard on the body and, being a judged sport, susceptible to the fuckery you described.

    Still, the discipline needed to get that shredded is truly impressive. It’s a full time job. A friend of mine did a comp and did well. Once it was over he said never again.

    My Glibfit week was not good. I promise to do better this week.

    • Drake

      I have noticed that very few actual athletes look like that – fighters trying to make weight being the exception sometimes.

      • Tundra

        There is no practical value to being that lean. Don’t forget, they are only at that body fat for a few hours.

        It can really fuck you up, though. Rhabdomyolysis is some scary shit.

      • Tres Cool

        Fuck you for making me look that up. On the other hand, today I learned….

      • Ted S.

        Look up Hypervitaminosis A.

    • Raven Nation

      “Bodybuilding is such a weird sport.”

      According to his Wikipedia page, Mentzer became an objectivist.

      • Tundra

        I didn’t realize he was only 49 when he died.

        These dudes don’t seem to age too gracefully.Ronnie Coleman can’t even walk.

      • Chafed

        Mike Mentzer has a very sad story including some institutionalizations. He did get his life together but died too young. His brother, Ray Mentzer, was also a competitive bodybuilder. He died 2 days after his brother of some disease. I forget the name of the disease.

    • Timeloose

      I’ve started doing push-ups differently based on a recommendation of my shredded cousin.

      Elbows close to the body, lower slowly, then explode upward once you reach the bottom.

      It really works the chest more than wide elbows and puts less stress on the shoulder joints.

      • Tundra

        Smart. The same principle works for bench press. Narrowing my grip and keeping my elbows in has really helped my shoulder pain.

      • Lackadaisical

        Agreed- I recently made this change as well. People had told me for so long to do it that way, but I’d never implemented until recently- wish I’d fixed by mechanics years ago.

  4. Drake

    Doing the curl thing from last week.

    Thank you for the exquisite pain.

    • Chafed

      Enjoy.

  5. Timeloose

    On a related topic, here is a documentary on the insane level of dedication and frankly addition some powerlifters have.

    https://m.imdb.com/title/tt10876506/

    It’s a story about Westside Barbell in Cleveland.

    • Tundra

      That looks great. Thanks!

      No question that mental illness plays a big part in these sports.

      • Timeloose

        Nearly everyone in the gym has a checkered past. The number of people breaking their backs was astonishing.

      • hayeksplosives

        It would seem to be a form of body dysmorphia, like when a slender woman with anorexia looks in the mirror and sees only a totally fat whale. Then she starves herself and thinks that looks better.

        Anorexic people also often feel like they aren’t in control of their lives, so they control their weight as the one area where they are in charge. Maybe the extreme body builders are like that?

      • Lackadaisical

        I think so. Like, they never realize how really stacked and shredded they are and they could just stop.

    • Chafed

      Nephilium hardest hit.

    • slumbrew

      Yeah, take a seat and play kingmaker already.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        I don’t know about Kingmaker, at least not yet. The knives are out in the GOP party between Trump backed candidates and establishment GOP candidates. I may not like Trump, but the MAGA GOP candidates seem preferable over the McConnell-approved eGOP candidates. The ostensibly conservative MSM outlets (like the WSJ) are still running daily hits on Trump and all non-eGOP candidates.

        I think if you saw McConnell bend the knee and tell Trump they want to work together, Trump would endorse DeSantis as the nominee, and in return the eGOP throws the full weight of the GOP behind MAGA candidates, it would be done. The eGOP doesn’t want that. Why should Trump endorse an eGOP candidate with nothing in return? He wouldn’t be a Kingmaker and the GOP would fracture even further.

        This is like watching a replay of the Tea Party movement as the eGOP absorbs and neuters the discontented MAGA segment of the party. And the uniparty machine chugs on.

      • Nephilium

        There’s quite a bit of infighting still going on. And a split in the party. Even though DeWine and J.D. Vance are both Republicans, there’s a large chunk of Republicans who have no interest in voting for DeWine, but they’re not (yet) willing to vote for Nan Whatley. Instead they’ll just vote for the Senate and House races.

      • slumbrew

        This is like watching a replay of the Tea Party movement as the eGOP absorbs and neuters the discontented MAGA segment of the party. And the uniparty machine chugs on.

        *drinks heavily*

        *heavily-er*

    • Urthona

      He finally did something to piss off Trumpers. Turns out they all really love DeSantis.

      Today Trump is back to cheering DeSantis.

      • Chafed

        I missed that. I still don’t know how his fans don’t see he is only in it for himself.

  6. Zwak. who's suit is as ragged as his nerves.

    Well. Now it is snowing. What fresh hell is this?

    Anyway, did my exercises, but could have done more of them. Walked my dog, but could have walked more. Would have loved to ride on of my bicycles, but with weather like this, who needs friends.

    Sadly, my local bookstore has not received its allotted copies of the new Cormac McCarthy. So, still waiting for that.

  7. slumbrew

    Ugh, just realized I’m almost certainly still gonna be at my MIL’s on Election Day. Knee-jerk NPR leftist

    Just let me enjoy my schadenfreude in peace.

    • Urthona

      That actually sounds like it could be fun.

      • slumbrew

        I don’t otherwise dislike her, just don’t want to deal with her stupid politics and what I’m sure is an inevitable tirade about how everyone who doesn’t vote the way she does is stupid.

        She already tried to start a conversation around how she just doesn’t understand how any Jew could vote for a Republican. It’s her house so I don’t want to get into it with her but she’s a parody of a “bubble” white, upper-middle-class stay at home mom. All the worst aspects of Reform Judaism – “tolerance” that’s an inch deep and covers a complete doctrinaire worldview.

      • Chafed

        That’s an excellent description. Most of the time, they won’t even address a counter-argument. It’s as though it’s impossible to hold a different principle/value/belief.

      • slumbrew

        As an outsider, it’s a frustrating aspect of the Reform folks I’ve dealt with – there is a _lot_ to like about it, but it really is rigid in its own way. Not sure if it’s all Reform congregations but it spoils what would otherwise be an attractive community.

        Not truly a problem for me – I’m not seriously thinking of converting & my wife doesn’t even belong to a synagogue near us – it’s just when I’m dealing with her family.

      • Not Adahn

        Because they can’t support the party of such antisemites as Al Sharpton and Ilhan Omar?

      • slumbrew

        That’s the ridiculous nonsense that has me biting my tongue.

      • Not Adahn

        I know at least a few Christian churches that believe the “true” message of Jesus is “be a good person and support Social Justice.” They would not have much of a problem if the government cracked down on those Christians “misusing scripture as a weapon to oppress.”

      • rhywun

        It’s disheartening that so many people’s politics are “cultural” like that, without giving any actual thought to what the people they vote for say and do.

    • Chafed

      My condolences. Perhaps a short trip to the local bar will help.

      • slumbrew

        That’s a thought.

        We’ll be at shiva for a good chunk of the evening, so there will be drinks, at least.

      • Chafed

        You are going to eat well my friend.

      • slumbrew

        Already started yesterday.

        There will be So. Much. Food.

      • Ted S.

        But he’s not getting any bacon.

  8. Fourscore

    I’m going all in on the training, I’m starting with the pancakes and ice cream and just increase the reps.

    • Ted S.

      The best thing about getting to 85 is you don’t have to worry about peer pressure, because all of your peers are dead.

      • MikeS

        Please don’t ever try to cheer me up.

      • Chafed

        ^^^This

      • Ted S.

        Don’t my music links cheer you up?

      • MikeS

        In a weird sort of way, yes, actually.

      • Fourscore

        True but there are plenty of widow ladies around and my wife keeps a good eye on me

    • kinnath

      Friday was my father’s 87th birthday. We went up and had pizza, cake, and ice cream to celebrate tonight.

      • Festus

        That’s great! I miss my Dad even after all of the drama. Still dream about him regularly.

      • rhywun

        I still dream about my mom all the time and she’s been gone for 14 years. Family…. Various brothers appear all the time too, and I barely speak to any of them. Nothing bad, we were just not a “close” family.

      • Festus

        You can’t close that door and back away. It is embedded in your psyche. They treated me and Davey pretty terribly after we grew a little older but god damn did they shower us with educational gifts. I suppose we discovered rock music and drugs and drinking right about the same time that they knew that their marriage was failing. No fun. I don’t miss her.

      • rhywun

        I miss my mom. We had gotten closer than in years after my brothers and I had pitched in to buy her a nice desktop PC and she had drawn to it like a moth to a flame, with all kinds of projects she was working on and assistance that was needed. She was very intelligent and a quicker learner than, say, most of the coworkers I need to help at work at times….

      • Festus

        Mother features in there too. I wish they would both just leave me alone for once. I’m marching toward my own mortality.

      • Festus

        She was smarter than me. They were all of them smarter than me. I was the “nice one”, the “handsome” one, the “dumb” one. It broke my brain trying to make peace in that dysfunctional family. I’m pushing 60 and still can’t get over it.

  9. slumbrew

    Sober October has come to a close and I have run some cocktails through the ol’ liver – still functioning.

    With holiday and family related travel spinning up for the next couple of months, I’m going to have to be on guard with the eating, since my exercise will be erratic – the rowing machine doesn’t travel well.

    If nothing else I’ll have to take my MIL’s exercise bike for a spin while I’m here for Thanksgiving.

    • Urthona

      As long as I have kids who trick or treat there will never be a sober October for me.

      • R.J.

        This is true.

  10. R C Dean

    Having dinner with my NPR liberal bosses. I think my line will be:

    1. The polls have been less and less reliable. Who knows what will happen?

    2. My beef with the government on energy policy and the war on fossil fuel won’t be affected. That’s all being done by the agencies, so whoever has Congress won’t affect energy policy.

    It’s true, and should thread the needle of being a little unsettling without offending sensibilities. It’s a game, so I will score it accordingly.

    • Shiny Nerfherder

      Just tell them you’re trans and expect the hospital to cover the treatments.

    • rhywun

      I’ve never had a political conversation with a boss in the two decades or so at my present company and its predecessor.

      One co-worker tried to engage me in politics a decade ago – typical “caring” lefty. My problem is I am not a smooth talker, so I was not able to get my points across to my satisfaction.

      Fill me with booze or drugs in a social situation with the people of my choosing, however… I can go on at length and convincingly.

    • juris imprudent

      How many points for making them squirm in their seats?

      • R C Dean

        The game is to get them just a little uncomfortable with their preconceptions, but not start an argument or directly challenge their views. The way the seating fell out, I was not really in the subgroup with the people who are really politics-obsessed, so it didn’t come up. I was in the subgroup with my successor and his delightful wife, and a couple of our outside risk finance people who are actually quite colorful, so me and the risk finance guys were telling stories on each other and drawing out the new guy and his wife. It was a very nice dinner.

        I’ll have other opportunities, though. We are at an offshore meeting, so there’s all day tomorrow and most of the day Tuesday.

      • Festus

        So walking the tightrope and giggling at the same time. Nice work!

      • slumbrew

        “ We are at an offshore meeting…”

        I picture you on a quasi legal gambling ship, carefully keeping to international waters.

    • Lackadaisical

      ‘2. My beef with the government on energy policy and the war on fossil fuel won’t be affected. That’s all being done by the agencies, so whoever has Congress won’t affect energy policy.’

      There is some truth to this, but things were definitely a little different with Trump. But yes, he should have done better job of purging, like day 1 of Biden everything went into effect while they slow-walked all of Trump’s stuff.

  11. Sean

    Watching In the Line of Fire (1993), plot point is that CA was still a competitive state for presidential elections. Lulz.

    • Rat on a train

      Well, Clinton only received 46% of the vote in 1992.

    • EvilSheldon

      Even so, that movie still kicks ass.

    • KSuellington

      California had Republican Governor when that movie was made, Pete Wilson. And the guy that preceded him was also a Repub. It was not all that long ago that it was a relatively competitive state. One party rule has been a fucking disaster here.

      • juris imprudent

        I can’t think of any place where one party rule doesn’t end in disaster. Monoculture just ain’t healthy.

      • MikeS

        I just looked it up and was surprised; From Eisenhower through GHW Bush’s first run, CA went Republican in every election except for LBJ.

  12. Rat on a train

    Hey League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund, you might want to be more specific when buying ad time. Running ads for Washington the state in the Washington the city market is unlikely to get much of a return on investment.

    • Shpip

      Why not? DC voters can mail in ballots for Patty Murray just as easily as Seattle voters can. And if the WA Secretary of State disallows those votes, well, he’s just a big meanie suppressing minority votes and trying to undermine our (D)emocracy.

  13. Tundra

    Bucs/Rams is hilarious. The punters are the heroes of the game!

    • slumbrew

      “It’s a defensive battle”

      • slumbrew

        Pats/Colts started out like this, but got slightly (only slightly) better.

      • Ted S.

        It’s the Arthur Murray School of Football: One, two, three, kick.

      • Mojeaux

        Husband LOLd.

      • Ted S.

        At least I’m cheering *somebody* up.

      • MikeS

        🤪

    • slumbrew

      That might be the greatest punt I’ve ever seen.

      • slumbrew

        And I can’t believe they didn’t challenge that.

      • juris imprudent

        It was obviously part of the insidious plan so that Brady could deliver another game winning drive. Or something like that.

  14. Timeloose

    So my glib fit diet took a hit this weekend.

    I went to bacon fest yesterday. Ate way too much but shared food with my wife and another couple. Lots of wine, booze and beer.

    The best “bacon” based foods I had were braised and fried pork belly on a stick with Chinese BBQ sauce and Pork Ribs with chimichuri from an Argentinian BBQ company.

    We did a hike after the festival as it was beautiful out.

    Today I made a bolognese sauce ate it with tagliatelle. Froze the rest.

    • Sean

      I’m way under weight this week. I should get some hushpuppies.

      Glad you enjoyed baconfest.

      • R.J.

        I can loan you some weight if you need it.

      • Sean

        I’m 4 lbs under my set point.

    • Annoyed Nomad

      went to bacon fest yesterday. Ate way too much

      Sorry, but those phrases together just don’t make sense to me.

  15. rhywun

    Jeebus every single commercial on NBC is abortion this, extremist that.

    • Tundra

      I haven’t seen a single republican ad on the MN feed.

      • rhywun

        The ratio is 3 or 4 to 1 here – prolly the same as their campaign chests.

    • KK the Porcine Pearl-Eater

      Only ads I see are for Tim Scott & that old fart McMaster. Scott is OKish, but I’m tempted to vote for myself for gov.

      • MikeS

        ‘ello, guvna!

  16. KK the Porcine Pearl-Eater

    My glibfit was scissoring Vivian this morning.

    https://ibb.co/d082MYb

    • MikeS

      *furiously clicks

      *has a sad

      • Chafed

        You’re not alone.

      • rhywun

        Scissoring Vivian was the name of my post-rock art collective.

    • Tundra

      Hawt.

    • Festus

      Oh my…

    • Mojeaux

      LOL. Read it out loud to husband, who immediately said, “Scissor jack?”

      • Festus

        What a square, Daddy-o!

      • Mojeaux

        LOL

        We are boring and we LIKE it!

      • Festus

        Sigh #metoo.

      • rhywun

        #methree

      • R C Dean

        I put a lot of effort into being boring.

      • Mojeaux

        We, too, earned our right to be boring.

      • rhywun

        Imagine your idea of being boring is naked male models jumping up and down on trampolines.

      • Lackadaisical

        It is an underappreciated virtue.

  17. Festus

    I know the midterms draw nigh but am I the only one ready to run through a plate glass window if I ever have to hear the terms “Mama Bear”, “Kitchen-table Issues” or “Democracy is on the ballot”? At this point I’m hoping that both Parties engage in a mutual death-grip and sink into the depths of the ocean. Cthulu can deal with the overspill.

      • PudPaisley

        Rapping to a Jane’s Addiction song? Can’t say I ever expected to hear that. Yet somehow it sounds pretty bad ass.

      • Zwak. who's suit is as ragged as his nerves.

        I believe that is Charles Manson at the beginning.

    • creech

      All I’m hearing is “Will gut social security,” “abortion rights,” and “moved jobs overseas” and “stop the (crime) insanity.” The local NBC affiliate did an “expose” on Dark Money. Yeah, sure, if there wasn’t any then about 85% of your advertising revenue from August on would have evaporated and you couldn’t pay news readers $500,000 per year for 2 hours work.

      • Festus

        Up here the Liberal Government gave $500 million to preferred news agencies last year. My local rag has succumbed to the woke agenda. The only non-local stories are all from the CP and the AP. You can imagine what their editorial stance might be. This place is as Tory Blue as anywhere else in Canada but the board can’t resist that siren song. They stopped printing and went to on-line a couple of years ago. They are dying a slow death.

  18. Festus

    On a happier note, Neer-do-well has been housed and little Peanut seems to be back to normalish.

    • Festus

      So far as glib-fit goes, I think chunky dog and rapidly chunkier Festus need to perambulate through the suburbs. I haven’t weighed myself in awhile but jeans and shirts don’t lie. If I’ve become as chubby as the dog has that may be a problem.

    • one true athena

      Glad to hear Peanut is getting better!

  19. pistoffnick

    Minnesoda deer rifle season opener this weekend. My Glibfit is shot. The food was good (I am the cook, so it fucking better be good): beef stroganoff, scrambled eggs and homemade hash browns, biscuits and sausage gravy this morning, wild rice soup and grilled bratwurst for lunch today. One of my deer hunting buddies is a whisky distiller, so we had to try his wares. My liver hurts.

    We saw 3 deer the whole weekend, all too small to shoot. I hope Fourscore (a few miles south of us) had better luck.

    • Festus

      Deer sausage is the best sausage.

      • Festus

        I like it dry-ish.

      • pistoffnick

        I make my own (when I get a deer, I passed on the little yearling doe that walked within 15 yards of my ground blind).

        Deer processing is expensive.

    • Gustave Lytton

      I don’t hunt, but I’m going hunting with PON.

      • Chafed

        I read that as poon hunting. Make of it what you will.

  20. dbleagle

    Got back a while ago from a 20-hour LeMans style boat race. It was part of a fund raiser for youth sailing and was tied to a BBQ contest. All night they were cooking and giving tastes to the sailors between racing shifts. Had some excellent venison sausage and various other meats.

    Crew swaps were a hoot. The boat would come in to parallel the dock without stopping and people would be jumping on and off. The sails would be adjusted and the boat headed back out into the dark.

    Around 0100hrs we were in the middle of the bay when a bit of wind brought us the smell of cooking meat. Lovely.

    • Festus

      Man, I miss being that spry. Good for you and Bon Appetit!

  21. CPRM

    Finally looked into why the establishment R’s in my assembly district are pushing a write-in candidate instead of supporting the guy that won the primary.

    Schmidt later told the officer he held the victim “in place by his neck but didn’t choke him out.” Either way, he was arrested and later charged with Disorderly Conduct (a misdemeanor) and Strangulation and Suffocation (a felony). He was eventually sentenced to two years of probation, had to take anger management classes, underwent a psychological assessment, and ordered to write an apology letter to the victim.

    on December 31, 2019, Schmidt visited the local sheriff’s office to make a complaint of his own: Someone was trying to blackmail him.

    The unknown suspect was demanding $50,000… in exchange for not releasing a sex tape of Schmidt “performing oral sex on another male.”

    “I was the victim of a crime, but I’ve put the matter behind me and I’ve focused on my faith,” Schmidt said in a statement to [WisPolitics.com]. “I’m a strong conservative and Christian, but there was a brief moment I struggled with my sexuality. No one should be persecuted or smeared for their personal orientation.”

    • slumbrew

      “No kink shaming”?

    • Festus

      *Nelson Laugh*

      • Festus

        “Why do all of these Fags keep sucking my weenie?”

    • rhywun

      I can’t make head or tails of anything at play there; I’m just smirking at the “Anti-Gay!” headline.

    • Chafed

      This reminds me of the closeted evangelicals in the 80s. Dude, you’re gay. Make peace with yourself and go on with your life.

      • CPRM

        That is my thought. If he ran a small government gay guy I, nor do I think many up here, would have an issue. But yeah, seems he’s playing the ‘I’m not gay! The Gay Agenda what did it to me! I’m a God Fearing Christian Republican!’ card.

    • CPRM

      It says he attends St. Paul’s, which is a Lutheran Church. My dad grew up attending that church, both of his parents were heavily involved. So on special occasions we would attend church there. Seemed like every time we went there the pastor would talk about porn (they had 2 pastors, but it didn’t matter which one was running the service). So, I think it’s probably full of lots of repressed folks…

      • Lackadaisical

        that is special. I don’t think I’ve ever heard porn directly addressed in a homily before.

  22. robodruid

    Good Morning:
    This time switch screws up my schedule.
    Who is up at 3:30?

    • hayeksplosives

      *raises hand tentatively *

      I’m awake anyway. Not really “up”. My body click is whacked so I woke up an hour ago, ate a pudding cup (I ate sugar free pudding cups before the Prez made it cool) and fed some canned food to the kitties.

      Now back in bed and hoping for more sleep.

      • robodruid

        Good Morning, Good night, Good Luck.

    • Rat on a train

      vampires?

    • rhywun

      Apparently, I’m up with the sun now no matter when I retire. *drags*

    • Ownbestenemy

      Looks around…..yep me

  23. Sean

    Mornin y’all.

  24. Sean

    Buy yer Powerball tickets.

    • robodruid

      I guess i need to do that today.
      1.x billion is a tempting thing.

      • robodruid

        LOL, I would build a “vault-tech shelter”.

      • Sean

        😃 👍

        My vault is a post apocalypse mess. It’s beautiful. You can glitch walls with a door in to the caved in tubes and create little apartments.

      • R C Dean

        With that kind of money, you could be a decommissioned nuclear missile silo. And refurbish it. Your biggest challenge would be power.

      • Ownbestenemy

        A combination of diesel generators and battery banks or a nuclear reactor…both I would assume raise some eyebrows.

    • rhywun

      I wonder if they sell them online.

      • Rat on a train

        They do in Virginia.

    • Rat on a train

      Reading an article about plans to develop the mall of my childhood.

      Planners said they walked away with the message that the community had a vision of more mixed uses for the area, with things to experience such as a farmers market, food halls and a “main street” to stroll during the evenings.

      Your current main street does suck as a main street lacking any business. How can you have a farmers market without local farmers? Are they going to have local grocery stores posing as farmers?

      • Not Adahn

        I see you’ve been to a few “Farmer’s Markets.”

        I only buy from vendors that at least have the decency to put people behind the table with gnarled, calloused hands.

      • rhywun

        The one that showed up in the little park across from work twice a week was Amish. I figured they had to be the real deal since nobody would wear those get-ups otherwise.

      • Rat on a train

        Did it say Amish on the side of the box truck?

      • Grosspatzer

        “Certified Amish”. Not sure how Amish get to Brooklyn, I don’t think horse and buggy are permitted in the Hudson/East River crossings.

      • Rat on a train

        Certified in a rustic “Crazy Bob’s” way?

      • rhywun

        Jersey City.

      • Grosspatzer

        Ah, Jersey City. Still quite a hike from Lancaster. Those poor horses.

      • Rat on a train

        Doesn’t Jersey City have an Amishtown neighborhood?

      • Rat on a train

        I’ve only been to the local markets but there are actual farms in the area.

      • rhywun

        Just turn it into an Amazon distribution center and be done with it. This isn’t rocket surgery.

      • Rat on a train

        and ghost kitchens

  25. Gender Traitor

    Good morning, rhy, NA, RoaT, Sean, ‘bodru, and Lack!

    Amazingly, I got my superduper high tech atomic alarm clock synched with the Mothership in CO before I went to bed last night, so it woke me up at the correct time this morning. Gotta get payroll done quicker than usual today because of the Fed holiday on Friday, which means we’ll get paid a day early…if all our supervisors cooperate and get their folks’ timesheets approved this morning! 😒

    • Lackadaisical

      ‘Morning!

      Have fun paying everybody- people who never save are relying on you!

    • robodruid

      Crud, i forgot about that holiday.

    • Grosspatzer

      “if all our supervisors cooperate and get their folks’ timesheets approved this morning!”

      *sustained raucous laughter*

  26. Grosspatzer

    Mornin’, reprobates!

    • Gender Traitor

      Good morning, ‘patzie! Warm enough so far?

      • Grosspatzer

        G’morning, GT. 65°, not bad. And boiler installation is today, a day early. Woot!

  27. slumbrew

    High of 74 today. WTF, November?

    I gotta dress for a funeral, I could use some cooler weather.

    • Gender Traitor

      Good morning, slummy! ::thinks:: Do they make seersucker suits in black?

      • slumbrew

        Black linen, maybe. But then I’d feel like I should be in a John Woo film.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Stay outta the tea house then

      • EvilSheldon

        Totally not seeing the problem here.

  28. Certified Public Asshat

    Kathy Griffin and now Ethan Klein have been booted off of Twitter. Almost enough to get me to create an account.

    • Rat on a train

      Give it a try.

    • EvilSheldon

      Booted off, or left in a snit?

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Banned. They fucked around with the rule against impersonation without clearly marking it as parody.

      • Rat on a train

        You should lose your checkmark if you change your display name from what was verified.

      • Ownbestenemy

        She also started tweeting under her deceased mother’s account. Lol to be so tied to that platform is weird

      • Ownbestenemy

        KG was booted but offered a return path of 8/mo.

      • R.J.

        Kathy Griffin was personally given a lifetime ban by Elon. Don’t know who Ethan Klein is.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Video game youtuber turned childish and unfunny pop culture pod caster.

  29. EvilSheldon

    Last night after the post-range trip pub lunch, I mistakenly looked at the TV and caught an Abigail Spamburger ad. I almost couldn’t finish my sandwich. Is there anyone in their right mind who would vote for someone because they were a CIA employee?

    Oh yeah, northern VA. I forgot.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Vote for me and I’ll promise to piss on your leg and tell you it’s raining.

    • Rat on a train

      That is why they threw Stafford and eastern PW into the district.