The Three Thousand Dollar Shirt

by | Aug 1, 2023 | Economy, Energy, History, LifeSkills, Technology | 160 comments

The following image is from Topographia Hiberniae (The Topography of Ireland), Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales), 1188.ย  It shows an Irishman dressed in a basic linen shirt (the leine) and a pair of woolen pants (the trius).

 

This would be representative of the clothing worn by the peasantry through most of the Middle Ages for most of the countries in Europe (with potentially significant styling differences by culture but still a linen shirt and woolen pants).

Few people today understand how much work was involved in making even these simple clothes.ย  The general rule of thumb used by fiber/fabric geeks (such as my wife) is that it takes seven weavers to keep one seamstress busy, and it takes seven spinsters to keep one weaver busy.ย ย  This means that a single person working to make this simple linen shirt would spend about one day sewing the garment, thatโ€™s after spending about seven days weaving the fabric, and thatโ€™s after spending about 49 days spinning flax fiber into linen thread.ย  Thus, a single linen shirt is about 57 days of labor to produce.ย  Assuming 8 hours per day at the current Federal Minimum Wage ($7.25/hr), that is $3306 in labor cost for one shirt.ย  Note that this does not include the labor to grow the flax and process it into fiber.

The woolen pants would have a similar cost structure for raising sheep, shearing them, cleaning the wool, spinning it into thread/yarn, weaving the fabric, and sewing garments.

Prior to the industrial revolution, clothing was wealth.ย ย  A peasant would have one set of clothes.ย  The clothes would be mended repeatedly as needed.ย  If they became unrepairable, the fabric in the clothes would be repurposed for something else.ย  It was far too valuable to go to waste.

So, one can only imagine the staggering labor costs associated with the garments exhibited by Charles II of England at his coronation in 1661.

 

 

Throughout history, fine clothing was absolutely an in-your-face display of power and wealth.ย  And it still is today in many ways.ย  But not because of the shear cost of producing fabric.ย ย  Now it is driven by the exclusivity of niche designers and producers.

But for us peasants, life is much better now.ย ย Thanks to the industrial revolution, we have this:

 

Two tee shirts โ€“ 100% Cotton โ€“ delivered to your door for under 15 bucks (American).

 

And, this is what the green new deal is going to take away from us.

Not a single part of growing, harvesting, and processing fiber; spinning threads and yarns; weaving fabrics; sewing garments; and transporting all of the previous from one place to another happens without cheap and plentiful energy.

Not a single machine or tool gets manufactured from raw materials and transported to where it is needed without cheap and plentiful energy.

The green new deal will take us back to the dark ages.

Are you prepared?

About The Author

kinnath

kinnath

I am not a bum. I'm a jerk. I once had wealth, power, and the love of a beautiful woman. Now I only have two things: the glibs, and... uh... my booze.

160 Comments

  1. rhywun

    Much to chew on here!

    I have several thoughts that will come after a meal and a drinks top-up.

  2. DEG

    So, one can only imagine the staggering labor costs associated with the garments exhibited by Charles II of England at his coronation in 1661.

    And not just the garments. Their palaces too.

    • kinnath

      Their palaces too.

      This topic expands to every single “thing” owned by people. I have been trying go figure out what the labor is to produce a basic oak trestle table (kitchen table). It’s large. But the big issue with clothing is that is fundamentally “temporary”.

      • DEG

        This topic expands to every single โ€œthingโ€ owned by people.

        True.

        I have been trying go figure out what the labor is to produce a basic oak trestle table (kitchen table). Itโ€™s large.

        Including shipping charges of raw materials/finished goods? Or just production?

      • kinnath

        Two answers: 1) turn a pile of oak lumber into a trestle table using hand tools; 2) turn a tree into a trestle table using hand tools. I do a bit of wood working, but I don’t have prior experience with hand tools.

        This would be the parallel story to how a peasant gets a table for their cottage.

      • DEG

        Those two things are big enough as-is without even getting into transport.

      • UnCivilServant

        Durable goods like that don’t get moved a lot when transport is costly. It’d make more sense to use local trees, unless there’s some other reason (prestige etc). A peasant’s table is going to be from the nearest woodland they won’t get prosecuted for cutting from.

      • kinnath

        Correct.

        So, I am trying to build a model of how a medieval village would work. Presumably we have some specialization. Someone does wood working. Someone else does clothing.

        How many linens shirt to I need to barter to the woodworker to get a table for my bride to use in our cottage? The table should last a lifetime. So, it is a one-time trade.

      • UnCivilServant

        I don’t have as much data on tables, but beds were one of the most common items listed in wills because of their cost. I’d estimate that tables would also be multigenerational items

      • kinnath

        I know people that have made basic rope beds. They are relatively low in lumber content. Larger, sturdier beds would have a lot more lumber involved.

        Peasants would have been sleeping on piles of straw in the corner.

      • UnCivilServant

        Only the poorest of the poor slept on a pile of loose straw.

        Average peasants put the straw in a bag and put the bag in a box.

        The ropes in a frame were usually not slept on directly, they’d put the bag of straw on the rope.

        Random (possibly aphcyphal) factoid – “Sleep Tight” came from the act of tightening the ropes for better tension under the straw bag.

      • kinnath

        The simplest tables that I have seen at medieval camping events are basically a pair of three-legged saw horses with a plank laid over the top.

        To the best of my knowledge, this would be historically accurate.

        I expect peasants would have something along this line in their homes.

        A quality trestle table would be a once-in-a-lifetime acquisition and would probably be passed down through generations.

      • DEG

        Got it.

        We are so fucked.

        Thanks kinnath!

      • UnCivilServant

        I suspect we’re examining different slices of the peasant demographic.

      • kinnath

        Average peasants put the straw in a bag and put the bag in a box.

        Thank you for the clarification.

        And correct on the bag on the ropes and the sleep-tight comment.

        Ropes beds are held together by the tension of the ropes. All ropes stretch and need to be tightened. The beds could and did collapse under vigorous activity.

      • kinnath

        I suspect weโ€™re examining different slices of the peasant demographic.

        A few dozen cultures spread over 1,000+ years just for Europe.

        Making generalities is dangerous.

  3. rhywun

    Thought 1: One thing I have noticed is that people have decided to trade “quality” for “cheap”.

    Those $100 Doc Martens you bought in college 20 30 years ago are now $200 or $250 – i.e. cheaper after inflation – but now they’re made in China and are of noticeably inferior quality. You can get the same ones made in England but they’re like $400 now.

    • Lackadaisical

      Jesus.

      And I’ve bought the one each of the good and the shit Docs. The shitty ones fell apart so fast that I haven’t bothered to buy from them again.

  4. Yusef drives a Kia

    I am prepping for the day, I have plenty of tee shirts,

  5. rhywun

    The green new deal will take us back to the dark ages.

    Germany, of all places, folded like a cheap suit when reality started to intrude on the fantasy.

    I’m hoping for something similar here.

    • Zwak , โ€œThere is infinite amount of hope in the universeโ€ฆ just not for us.โ€

      And you can watch it in real time in the Netherlands, with their farms uprising, which has spread to Ireland, too.

      Alsotoo, here in the states, there is no more than skin deep support for green initiatives. People both want all options on the table, energy wise, and while they want to be green, not if it costs them real money. https://www.liberalpatriot.com/p/the-democrats-agenda-has-a-green?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2

    • Rebel Scum

      Americans need to learn/remember their own history.

      • Ownbestenemy

        We are too busy destroying our history to bother with that.

    • Chafed

      Interesting you see Germany that way. I see it as a sign of desperation. They shuttered all their nuclear plants and never had enough gas plants to make up for the loss. Now that the effects of their green policies are kicking in, they have no other alternatives.

      See also the coal fired electric plant they just authorized instead of a wind farm. I’ll believe they folded when a German PM publicly declares they will lose all their heavy industry if they don’t either build more nukes or gas fired electric plants.

      • rhywun

        I see it as a sign of desperation.

        ?

        That is what I mean by folded. The official policy was green green green. They folded.

      • Lackadaisical

        “German PM publicly declares they will lose all their heavy industry if they donโ€™t either build more nukes or gas fired electric plants.”

        Which if I understand correctly would be relegating the middle portion of the country (those that go to tech schools) out of work. Not a great idea to piss off the whole of your middle class.

  6. Sensei

    Thanks. FedGov is doing its best to have us back to those days.

    As well DDoS the site.

  7. UnCivilServant

    The labor theory of value still doesn’t work.

    The regulated Minimum wage doesn’t reflect the value of the labor or even the person-hours.

    Traditional textile manufacture was a cottage industry for a reason. It used those slack hours that might otherwise be applied to a hobby to provide some additional household income. Textiles were the first place the industrial revolution kicked off because it was so readily mechanized.

    • UnCivilServant

      I’m just saying your methodology needs work.

      Person-hours might be a measure for inputs for preindustrial production, but it doesn’t translate to postindustrial fiat currencies.

      • kinnath

        The “price tag” of the shirt is meaningless. It’s just a way to catch people’s attention. This is more effective with audiences outside the gliberverse.

        After I wrote this, I stumbled on a Facebook thread where they looked at the effort to reproduce an iron age wool tunic. They calculated about 760 hours of work which they magically mapped to $30k by assuming skilled labor rates or something or other. The labor hours are valid. The dollar values are not.

      • R.J.

        I enjoyed the article. Thank you Kinnath! I watched a video recently where a man got a bunch of iron blooms, melted them down and purified it and made exactly one breast plate. Imagine trying to make your own metal tools from ore.

      • Lackadaisical

        “The labor hours are valid. The dollar values are not.”

        I was going to bring this up as well. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Good article.

  8. rhywun

    Are you prepared?

    No.

    Was hoping to time my exit for before the world went tits-up, not during.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Me too.

      My company switched to a new work management system. It’s total shit. But at least it’s not The Old System (that worked).

  9. The Other Kevin

    With global boiling happening, weโ€™ll just go naked. NBD.

    • rhywun

      Today I read that the Earth is “wilting”. ๐Ÿ˜ง๐Ÿ™„

    • Rebel Scum

      It’s so hot there is no need to worry about shrinkage.

      • rhywun

        Meanwhile, lows in the sixties all week here. Which is well below normal. And completely ignored by the MSM.

      • Ownbestenemy

        This time of year it’s stickage you gotta contend with

      • slumbrew

        Bat wings

      • slumbrew

        Donโ€™t say โ€œcokeโ€ or โ€œfreebaseโ€ eitherโ€ฆ unless you got some.

  10. KK, Non-Man

    Thanks for getting the squirrels and orphans going again, glib staff

  11. Fourscore

    Kinnath, I was pondering this today. The No More Oil assholes just don’t understand that everything that we/they do/have revolves around cheap energy.

    As a kid, during WW2 gas was rationed, my Dad got 5 gallons a week. By taking the streetcar to/from work he could save that gas for the weekend. He had to walk several blocks from the street car line to his job and back after work. Fortunately we only lived a block from the line on our end. With the gas my folks could go shopping out of the neighborhood to stock up, save a little money on discounts/larger sizes. My mother carried a few groceries home on the street car. We didn’t have a refrig, only an ice box, so I often had to go to the corner store for small items, milk/bread, etc. Gas was about .20 a gallon but price didn’t matter, coupons did. Meat and butter was rationed, maybe other things.

    We had a radio and a telephone (DRexel 8547) ’cause my dad occasionally got calls from his boss. No school bus, walk a mile to school, across a busy street, go home for lunch. We burned coal for heat, delivered by my dad, oldest kid carried in 2 buckets every evening.

    We had enough to eat and stay warm but everyone had to pitch in to keep things running in the household. Many of our neighbors didn’t have cars at all, public transportation was it. An occasional luxury was the cowboy movie at the Saturday matinee, 12 cents for a kid under 12, .20 for older kids.

    Those jerks gluing their hands to the pavement don’t realize that the glue probably has some petroleum in it. I say, leave them there, route the traffic around them and see how long it takes before they cry for help.

    Thanks Kinnath, for doing the math.

    • Rebel Scum

      The No More Oil assholes just donโ€™t understand that everything that we/they do/have revolves around cheap energy.

      And all of the derivatives from oil. No oil, no modern world.

      • kinnath

        plastic

        Vegans would shit their pants if they have to resort to leather and wool to replace all the synthetic materials they use every day.

      • kinnath

        Can’t forget about down.

      • UnCivilServant

        Naw, they wouldn’t be able to afford down.

      • kinnath

        Leather, fur, and down are byproducts of food production.

        Vegan gonna be naked while starving.

      • UnCivilServant

        Not exactly. Most food animals don’t have fur. And the food producers will sell off the hides and feathers because they can’t tan themselves, and the feather is worth more as income than for personal use.

      • R.J.

        โ€œEnjoy your new chicken-skin vest.โ€

      • Zwak , โ€œThere is infinite amount of hope in the universeโ€ฆ just not for us.โ€

        Leatherface says “hold my ‘beer'”

      • Fourscore

        No leather ’cause cows create methane. Vegans gonna need vegan food which requires fertilizer produced and transported by oil.

    • rhywun

      donโ€™t realize that the glue probably has some petroleum in it

      That’s the trigger for me.

      These people are so irredeemably, unbelievably stupid. And that goes for all of the politicians that are feeding them this nonsense. Substitute “evil” for “stupid” as needed.

      It’s all so maddening.

      • KSuellington

        Itโ€™s utterly religious fervor that has no base in reality nor how the world actually functions. They are cargo cultists of the cities.

    • milo

      Sir,
      There is no understanding these people. I truly fear they are beyond redemption.
      My grandfather was in Pattonโ€™s 3rd Army. I truly cannot imagine what he would think about current events.

  12. kinnath

    route the traffic around over them

    You are welcome

  13. Chafed

    That’s a wonderful analysis Kinnath. It’s so easy to take for granted how much cheaper things are today and how much better off we all are due to mechanization and the division of labor. G-d bless capitalism.

  14. Rebel Scum

    Insane…

    Special Counsel Jack Smithโ€™s indictment Tuesday against former President Donald Trump for his role in attempting to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election includes several weighty felonies, including one for which death may be a penalty.

    …and ironic considering the government and its agents commit the acts described in the relevant legislation on a daily basis.

    If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same; or

    If two or more persons go in disguise on the highway, or on the premises of another, with intent to prevent or hinder his free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege so securedโ€”

    They shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, they shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.

    This is broad enough to convict everyone in the government.

  15. CPRM

    The youtube channel ‘How to Make Everything’ does these sorts of calculations on all the projects. But he seems to be shitty at doing everything, thus taking more time and ‘costing more’. The content of the channel was good for a while, But now he’s lost the plot and chases clicks more than anything else.

    • kinnath

      I generally avoid all youtube channels that cover how to make stuff from the past. They are generally worthless regarding subject that I understand. So I assume the rest are too.

  16. Rebel Scum

    Shut up, Mike…

    Mike Pence statement on Trump indictment

    “Today’s indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the USโ€ฆ On Jan. 6th, Trump demanded that I choose between him & the Constitution. I chose the Constitution”

    …you dishonest cunte.

    • Fourscore

      If Pence has all the solutions he should just tell Biden and save us all the misery of watching cities disintegrate, crime, debt, border, etc. He is part of the problem and not a real American. He’s hiding his light under a basket.

      How Dare He!

  17. KSuellington

    Indeed Kinnath, we are so damn lucky to live when we do despite the idiocy that we are subjected to. I donโ€™t actually think the green ejits are going to succeed in killing the golden goose. We will not be eating bugs anytime soon, not will we be giving up fossil fuels. The use of fossil fuels will actually increase over the next few decades until maybe we get something nuclear or hydrogen related to start taking over. Call me a delusional optimist, but reality is going to make itself felt and our lives are going to continue to improve thanks to human ingenuity, despite the best efforts of the green ejits and politicos.

    • kinnath

      The green idiots may succeed in starting civil wars that could cripple industry. The end result would not be much different that if the greens successfully shutdown energy production via planned government action.

      • KSuellington

        None of us are seers, but I think that is a very low likelihood. They are a noisy bunch and they have gotten their ideology given lip service and more by the elites. There will certainly be many more attempts by governments to push their agenda and it will have its costs, but they will ultimately fail. Itโ€™s really tragic because it has detracted from real environmental problems that are absolutely solvable and could be vastly ameliorated by the large sums getting thrown at the carbon bullshit.

      • Zwak , โ€œThere is infinite amount of hope in the universeโ€ฆ just not for us.โ€

        Look at what they did in Sri Lanka.

      • KSuellington

        And what they are trying to do in the NL. But they brought about a reaction that will end up making it even harder for them to pass their green bullshit. Donโ€™t get me wrong, I think they will cause all kinds of short term needless suffering in many places. I just think in ten years or so we look back and see that they didnโ€™t get what they wanted and got (mostly) relegated to the dust bin of history.

    • Yusef drives a Kia

      I certainly Hope so

  18. Zwak , โ€œThere is infinite amount of hope in the universeโ€ฆ just not for us.โ€

    The leftist fantasy is that with the green revolution, we would get away from the comercialization of everything; that we would have less clothes, but higher quality, that sort of thing, but across the board. That we would all use public transport, have smaller homes in denser areas, eat less, etc. But, like I said, it is a fantasy, and it starts to break down at every point they have put their fingers on.

    They either are so ill educated as to not realize it is an ecosystem (just like that frog pond, hence ECOnomics) or blind to what has been happening the last 20-30 years as the various issues come into play, such as off shoring, power shut downs, and so on. This having no idea of real world consequences would be sad if it wasn’t so dangerous.

    • UnCivilServant

      Even if their fantasy were implemented without issue, that sounds like a miserable existance.

      • R.J.

        Everyone forgets the most important detail: These people want you dead! Nobody here will be eating bugs and wearing linen shirts. We will be corpses or slaves. The elites will preserve their lifestyle on a mountain of both.

  19. Gender Traitor

    I wonder if this means I have to stay on good terms with my sister come hell or high water even though she’s an NPR Lady – she’s the one who knows how to turn flax and wool into thread or yarn and how to weave it. If I can just get the yarn, I can knit or crochet it, but I suspect few guys want to wear hand-knit pants.

    And now I’m sorrier than ever that I don’t seem to have a knack for gardening.

      • Gender Traitor

        Indeed, to make the full range (or at least a fuller range) of fabrics. Part of what daunts me is what appears to be the cumbersome process of just setting up the warp threads. And then there’s the small matter of finding room for a full floor loom.

      • UnCivilServant

        Start with a lap loom and work your way to a larger scale.

      • kinnath

        Table top loom is fine.

        You produce fabric that is 12 to 15 inches wide. Then make garments by sewing the edges to together (google rectangular construction). This gives you 48 to 60 inches around the waist/chest. Works for most people.

      • Gender Traitor

        Cool! Thanks!

      • kinnath

        You are welcome.

        For bigger pieces, try a warp-weighted loom.

        Doesn’t take up too much space.

      • kinnath

        Start collecting books. Real. Physical. Books.

      • kinnath

        Part of what daunts me is what appears to be the cumbersome process of just setting up the warp threads.

        Warping the loom is half the work.

      • Not Adahn

        It took PDQ Bach years to work his way up from assistant woofer to head warper.

      • Gender Traitor

        Are you sure he didn’t really want to be a tweeter?

      • UnCivilServant

        You’re right, those look like shit.

      • Zwak , โ€œThere is infinite amount of hope in the universeโ€ฆ just not for us.โ€

        Why? Seriously, why? Most men do. not. give. a. shit. about things like that, and just want to were cargo shorts. Or jams. Things that are comfortable. And other men do not judge them, ’cause they aren’t “fashion forward” and I would bet dollars to donughts, that this covers 95% of all men.

        Chicks dig this shit. Not dudes.

      • rhywun

        ๐Ÿคข๐Ÿคฎ

    • R C Dean

      โ€œhand-knit pantsโ€

      How you doinโ€™? *waggles eyebrows*

    • kinnath

      A friend of my makes wool hats (late medieval period). He knits them, then felts them. They do not look knitted in any way. My wife has done similar things.

      You don’t need to be able to make you clothes so long as you know someone that does and have something of value to offer in return.

  20. Brochettaward

    Close your eyes? You hear that sound?

    It’s my ballsack slapping against Hyperbacunt’s face.

  21. Festus

    Happy tidings! My titty-squisher appointment got set back for a week due to technical difficulties. Now I can pretend everything is just fine for a little bit longer. I swear that I am the King of Procrastination. None shall equal my power of putting shit off!

    • Sir Digby Classic

      Really hate to think of what qualifies as “technical difficulties” in that area of medicine…

    • milo

      I think we are about the same age. Hold on, brother. I understand.

    • Gustave Lytton

      I’ll challenge you when I get around to it. Someday.

  22. Brochettaward

    Regarding Trump indictment, I’m just going to ask anyone who is skeptical that they fucked around in 2020 once again…do you honestly believe if these people could cheat, that they wouldn’t have done it?

    • Festus

      J.I. revs his engines at the starting line.

  23. KSuellington

    Just got a beautiful orange piece of vinyl in the mail that is the reissue of a fantastic Jorge Ben album from 1970, Forรงa Bruta. Thank God for the wonders of petroleum products and byproducts that make it not only possible, but pretty inexpensive to own a physical piece of musical art, even when you can still get it through your networked and cyberspace methods streamed to your speakers. Lots of fossil fuel energy to make it possible.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVHA2lHaeqk&list=PLbRXXWySMeft4ELA9r0lYV1maIU9748aw

    • Festus

      My Brother had the original red vinyl edition of “Hemispheres”. Probably worth some coin now.

      • KSuellington

        Fantastic Rush album that.

    • slumbrew

      Love the cuรญca on the first track – such a cool sound.

      I have resisted the nerdy siren song of vinyl so far. So farโ€ฆ

      • slumbrew

        I keep getting emails from Steve Cobby about limited vinyl pressings of Fila Brazillia albums and I very much WANT.

      • Zwak , โ€œThere is infinite amount of hope in the universeโ€ฆ just not for us.โ€

        I flirted with vinyl right after I got married to my second wife and settled down. But then I realized I didn’t two nerd hobbies that are expensive and hard to carry around.

        So, hardback books!

      • slumbrew

        Itโ€™s self-limiting in my case – I simply donโ€™t have room for a vinyl collection.

        Maybe a small oneโ€ฆ. carefully selectedโ€ฆ

      • Zwak , โ€œThere is infinite amount of hope in the universeโ€ฆ just not for us.โ€

        When you live in a small city, in a house much bigger than two people need, you tend to fill it up. Hence, books everywhere.

      • Festus

        I stopped almost immediately when Judi and I got together. She has so many hobbies that take up so much space. I challenge anyone to find a flat area in our home. I triple-dog dare ya…

      • KSuellington

        Heheh, I love my nerdy hobbies. Iโ€™m a music junkie. I listen to tons of streamed music through my stereo and when working on my little Bluetooth speaker, but itโ€™s nice to have the physical media playing, and vinyl is so much better in that regard (not going to make any claims on sound quality versus CD, but it does have that certain sound). Funny enough Iโ€™m now streaming some Fila right now, Old Codes, New Chaos.

    • CPRM

      I haven’t responded to your reply yet, but I will tonight, if I don’t get too drunk. I don’t really give a damn about Dallas, just the fact that I’ve only ever been to the panhandle and I got 2 internet friends down there and I hate Sconnie winters. Good to see you around, old bean!

    • CPRM

      I ‘member that trial to. I wish I could use my penis pump at work all willy-nilly…er I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT A PENIS PUMP IS!

      • Sir Digby Classic

        all willy-nilly

        What you did there–with your words!!–I see.

  24. Gustave Lytton

    The dipshit lane splitters are growing. Dumbass did it tonight as traffic was slowing (but not stopped) for a work zone. No lights either.

    • CPRM

      The dipshit lane splitters are growing.

      Really?

  25. CPRM

    Had a movie marathon with my oldest nephew (10) Robocop, Predator, Terminator, Back to the Future. All movies I’d watched before kindergarten (yeah, I’m younger than most of you fogies). He says during Robocop ‘The gore is making me feel uncomfortable’ I says, ‘That’s the point, it makes you think about why it happens’. At the end of the marathon he says his favorite was Back to the Future because there wasn’t any gore. But that is the movie he watched the least of, as he was playing with my Robocop and Terminator toys…There is still hope for him.

    • Sir Digby Classic

      Hey–at least he’s learning to dislike Verhoeven.

    • UnCivilServant

      I thought the point of the excessive gore was to be comedic.

    • Gender Traitor

      Good morning, U! How are you today?

      • UnCivilServant

        Well, I checked in on the painting work I did last night and it looks good under normal lighting (under strong lighting you can see the slop)

        I was also pleasantly surprised to find the grocery store properly faced and stocked when I went in to buy breakfast. Then I was a bit down when I remembered that this used to be the norm and standards had slipped. I hope the good show today was because they’ve recovered and not because they want to look good for a corporate inspection.

      • Gender Traitor

        Here’s hoping your store’s condition means it’s back to “business as usual.” The “new normal” certain parties were trying to push sucked.

    • Sean

      Mornin y’all.

      โ˜•

      • Gender Traitor

        Good morning, Sean! How’s it going? ::raises travel mug in salute::

  26. Grosspatzer

    Mornin’, reprobates!

    Enjoyed the article. A nice companion piece to “I, Pencil” with a nut punch at the end.

    I don’t drive much these days so it’s been about three weeks since I filled up. Was not amused by the 30 cent increase in gas prices since the last time.

    At least the price of a bag of sugar hasn’t changed. Never mind that the 5-lb bag has gone on one of those newfangled diets and lost a pound. It’s all good, 4-lb bags take up less space.

    • UnCivilServant

      With things like sugar where I measure out a smaller amount, that type of inflation reaction is less annoying.

      When it’s things like cans of tuna or yoghurt, it’s far more annoying. So many of my childhood recipes were based on “One container of-” And when those containers were 8oz but they’re now sold in 5oz units, that makes it a serious issue.

      • Grosspatzer

        Mornin’, U. I mostly try to laugh off this bullshit. I’ll be gone before the shit really hits the fan, but my kids won’t (unless the assholes decide to start WWIII). I hope the younguns figure out how to right the ship; my generation done fucked things up.

      • Rat on a train

        They will shrink until it is ridiculously small then introduce a new, larger 8oz size.

      • Grosspatzer

        Mornin’! Who are you, so wise in the ways of marketing?

      • Not Adahn

        Shrinkflation:

        Olde Kayem hot dog packages have shrunk to packs of six. I like them better than Sabretts, but at least the latter will not leave me with leftover buns.

      • Grosspatzer

        “Leftover buns”

        Post-colonoscopy complication?

      • Not Adahn

        Honestly, that part wasn’t so bad, it was the wire bumping around in your innards that felt very similar to when the incompetent phlebotomist has to dig around to find the vein.

      • UnCivilServant

        Can they hurry the hell up?

    • Gender Traitor

      Good morning, ‘patzie!

      Yeah, just had to gas up yesterday before my cross-town commute… ๐Ÿ˜’

      The sugar shrinkflation is for your own good, you know. SOMEONE decided you needed to cut down on your carbs, ๐Ÿ™„

      • Grosspatzer

        Mornin’, GT! Poland Spring now has 3 liter bottles of spring water selling for what used to be the price of a gallon. Gallons are now $2.19, I wonder if they will be disappearing in the near future. The seventies were bad enough the first time around, why must I relive them?

      • Gender Traitor

        If we must, could we please do it without disco this time? ๐Ÿ˜–๐ŸŽถ

  27. Not Adahn

    NPR was gushing over the latest. I swear some of them were masturbating while they were announcing. Not only did they delight in the “strictness” of the judge but they spun DC juries’ willingness to convict anyone n degrees attached to a republican as proof they are “able to understand complex cases.”

    • rhywun

      The cave flooded and collapsed as the Ice Age ended and sea levels began to rise, leaving behind the Blue Hole we see today.

      These people believe humans caused that?

      โ€œEven a place where humans had never visited wasnโ€™t safe from our trash. People are terrible,โ€ added another.

      Oh fuck off. I don’t like trash either but this childishness is repellent.

  28. Not Adahn

    So, the hospital would not give me anesthesia unless there was a “responsible adult” present to release me into their custody and watch over me for 24 hours post-procedure.

    So I had the colonoscopy au naturel. Do not recommend. Also hearing the doc tell the nurse “give me the jumbo forceps” is not something you want to hear during that procedure.

    • UnCivilServant

      There’s always the old standby “Oops.”

      • Not Adahn

        With oops, I’d have probably already experienced the problem. That one gives you the opportunity to anticipate.

    • Grosspatzer

      Gaah! I’ve never heard of that, here they keep you at the facility for an hour or so and then you walk out the door.

      • Not Adahn

        I assume it’s a NY liability thing. Also, NY medical “professionals” are tremendously less impressive than the hicks back in OK/TX.

      • UnCivilServant

        Anyone worth their salt will have left for greener pastures.

      • Not Adahn

        Are you guys just used to everyone being transparently insincere and disrespectful?

      • UnCivilServant

        In fact, I have to figure out what the nice ones are trying to con me out of.

      • rhywun

        ยฏ\_(ใƒ„)_/ยฏ

        I had the complete opposite experience during all of my recent medical adventures. It was better than I expected on all sides.

        here they keep you at the facility for an hour or so and then you walk out the door

        Same here. I don’t know what kind of snow job they were feeding you, NA.

      • Not Adahn

        I’d think they’d make it easier for me to accrue some billing for an anesthesiologist..

      • UnCivilServant

        Or, the anesthesiologist was out and they wanted to get as much billing in even without that person?

      • Not Adahn

        My experience at this particular hospital:

        Workers having typical gossip sessions (including mocking patients) within 6 feet of me, then when addressing me directly switching to full-on Sherry Lewis addressing children mode.

  29. UnCivilServant

    Wha? I thought no civilized European would want American-style anything.

    • Not Adahn

      What a glorious pic of a “typical American,” except that they wouldn’t be toting that relic.,

      • UnCivilServant

        There are a lot of Mosin owners in this country.