Cruise Reviews You Can Use to Chase Away the Blues if You Choose Part Deux

by | May 18, 2022 | Reviews, Travel | 231 comments

Wherein I Aspie the Shit Outta My Trip

In our last episode, I went over how it came to be that a landlubber like me got roped into taking a Caribbean cruise.

Once the decision was made, I just had to research the ever-loving hell out of what a cruise is actually like. Enter: YouTube.

I found there are two types of cruise YouTubers: “How to Get the Best Deals” and “Personal Vlog”. I watched a lot of both kinds, mainly to get an idea of what to expect. Those of you who have seen me at my drunkest on Zoom may find this shocking, but I hate making an ass of myself in public. And cruising has its own etiquette and social rules. Where you can and can’t go, tipping, drinking, poolside manners – it was all unfamiliar to me.

It turned out my favorite type of YouTube was the “Personal Vlog” kind. I liked peeking into people’s drinking and dining and socializing lives on board a cruise ship. I learned which cruise lines and routes are riddled with kids/families, which ones skewed old and sedate, which had the good food, how excursions are run, etc.

I did find that the line I would be cruising on, Holland America (aka HAL), does not court the social media crowd. Very few YouTubers make videos on HAL, which is a shame. It’s essentially free or low-cost advertising for the line. Oh, well. I ran through the few HAL videos in short order and moved onto videos about other cruise lines. If I ended up wanting to do more cruises, these would come in handy.

By the end of it, I felt I was prepared fairly well to keep the foolishness to a minimum.

Here are a small sampling of my favorite CruiseTubers:

Cruise With Ben and David: very much the “personal vlog” style, these two northern Brits always inject humor into their videos, even when the going gets tough and the dining gets rough. Ben’s ridiculous one-liners always entertain me. They almost never talk about getting the cheapest deals – they just film their experiences and let the audience join the fun.

Emma Cruises: kind of a hybrid between vlog and deal-getting. Emma is a professional cruise consultant, so she addresses where & how you can get the best discounts. But she also invites the viewer into her vacation experiences, with good dining, rooming, and excursion reviews.

Tips for Travellers: very much a technical approach to cruising. While Gary’s on-camera persona is a bit flat compared to people like Ben & David, he is a mostly solo traveler, which is useful to me as I enjoy traveling alone.

About The Author

KK, Plump & Unfiltered

KK, Plump & Unfiltered

In this house, we believe: Bigfoot is real; I am going to kiss him; He will be my lover; I will be the little spoon; Me and Bigfoot will fuck and you can't stop us

231 Comments

  1. Scruffy Nerfherder

    *takes big snort of glibs*

    Ah yeah, that’s the shit.

    • MikeS

      This afternoon I finally came to understand what withdrawals felt like.

  2. Tulip

    Sorry KK for going off topic so soon.

  3. LCDR_Fish

    Hope to see you and Tulip on Sat KK – 1130 at Gourmeltz?

    • Tulip

      I can’t because I have an exercise class. Sorry, I will miss you.

      • Chafed

        That’s how you GlibFit!

  4. R.J.

    Wife is going on an Alaska cruise in a few more weeks.

    • Zwak, who counted all his blessings, and counted only one.

      Leaving you unsupervised?

      • R.J.

        Yes! I’ll probably hang out with The Tall Thin Spaniard what Lurks, drink whiskey and smoke cigars the whole time. We have a new Cigars International right up the street. We have many movies to watch.

  5. LCDR_Fish

    Definitely interested in a cruise – but re locations/climate – itd have to be Alaska or something like Hawaii to SD or Australia to NZ.

    • juris imprudent

      Not interested in blue water, but canal or river cruise, that I could be up for.

      • Zwak, who counted all his blessings, and counted only one.

        When I was a kid, we did a day cruise up the Rhine. And let me tell you, for an 11 year old who loved castles, it was freakin’ AWESOME!!

      • Fourscore

        I took 3 Atlantic cruises with 700 of my newest friends, each trip with different friends. The accommodations were a little tight, the entertainment limited and the food lacked quality but other than that they were wonderful adventures. Now I’m sticking to a 14 footer and one other ship mate.

        Thanks KK, there are a lot of folks that like cruises, my wife did a Gulf one with her 2 sisters and a river cruise in Europe. She liked the European one better ’cause no relatives.

      • Chafed

        I did one when I was 17. The first hour, maybe hour and a half, was great. After that it was, meh, just another castle.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Whoa…

    • rhywun

      I mean, this is basically striking down the administrative state.

      Mark Joseph Stern ✔️ seems to think this is a bad thing?!

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Almost anyone not considered a domestic terrorist would probably think the same.

      • Count Potato

        Well, he writes for Slate.

      • rhywun

        Bless his heart.

    • DrOtto

      This is what happens when the law is applied to a case. Therefore, it will unfortunately get struck down.

    • db

      That’s pretty amazing language; finding that Congress unconstitutionally delegated legislative power to a Federal agency. That’s rare stuff.

      Let’s see a similar ruling on ATFE.

    • MikeS

      The replies. My god, the replies. So many people just openly don’t give any fucks about the Constitution. Following it is “anarchy” and “nihilism” and more I’m sure, but I stopped reading.

  6. Zwak, who counted all his blessings, and counted only one.

    I have never really looked into a cruise, but when I was thinking about taking the train across the states I looked at a lot of train vlogs. And I found about the same kind of responses, some about money saving, some about the life style, and more than a few about hacks to make the things work for you. Like excersing, how to shower best, vegan options in dinning, and so on.

    • LCDR_Fish

      Yeah…all about the exact right combination/weather/setting. The Rocky mtn railroad is potentially interesting – but the really nice one is the Canadian retro train that goes from Vancouver to Lake Louise/Banff area – esp in the winter.

      • R.J.

        So, totally bizarre. We are doing a Durango, CO narrow gauge railroad day trip this summer.

      • LCDR_Fish

        Cool – see if you can get some good pics/vids. There are a lot of areas where UP parallels the interstate but you definitely get some better Cliffside perspectives and tunnels in some areas by rail.

      • R.J.

        I will. I’ll write about it and do a GlibTrain.

        Oh God, that came out wrong.

      • Stillhunter

        I was in Durango 20 years ago this June working on the missionary ridge fire. Never got to ride the narrow gauge myself, but people in the area raved about it. The San Juans are steep and beautiful! I also recommend Mesa Verde NP which is relatively close.

      • creech

        Durango & Silverton and Cumbres & Toltec need to be on everyone’s bucket list.

      • dbleagle

        The Durango & Silverton is an outstanding day trip! You should have a great time. I have taken the trip twice. The first time was in college when we used it to cut a half a day off of an approach hike into the high mountains. The train stops to drop off and pick up backpackers at one point. The second time was when my kids were young and we took both the ways.

        The Cumbres & Toltec is the other narrow gauge line and it is good as well. But some of the D&S route was captured on classic photos from the 1800’s and the route and views haven’t changed.

      • Gender Traitor

        Loved the D&S! High point of a trip out to SW CO/NW NM a few year’s ago. My advice: spring for seats on the “inside” car toward the back (did and loved it!) and if your schedule permits, take the train for the full round trip. A co-worker said he thought the round trip was too long and said he wished he’d have taken the bus back, so that’s what we did. Bad move – the bus trip was lame.

      • Gustave Lytton

        We did the Alaska Railroad to Fairbanks and flew back. This was when Alaska still flew the Q400 in the state. Knockout of a day.

  7. kinnath

    I had my best quordle score ever and the site has been unreachable all day. It’s a conspiracy I say.

    5 4 6 3

    no pretty graphics.

    • rhywun

      I got my first non-chump of the week and am happy to let it slide.

    • The Hyperbole

      Due to the technical issues I’m bending the rules. Nice job champ!

      • kinnath

        Am I the only person to post a score today?

        Either way, I’ll take it. 😉

      • whiz

        Many people postage in the overnight thread, and others in the morning before the outage.

      • The Hyperbole

        Nah, I already posted the DQR in the last thread and I usually don’t change result if people post scores later. I do however add all posted scored to the database so don’t not post score just because they maybe late.

      • Ozymandias

        I just posted mine there – I was headed for same as kinnath but the bottom left fucked me. I guessed every other first letter possibility.

      • Ownbestenemy

        I got bottom left in two…cause my seed word for the day. But that isn’t as beneficial to the game as one would think. I was one letter off and that means I can either guess other words or burn another answer for a vowel…

      • kinnath

        Chump to Champ. I’ll take it.

      • Fourscore

        Good on the score but as a non-player you’ll probably ignore my compliment.

        On a less serious note, are your apple trees blossoming yet? I planted 9 more from seed, the 10 from last year are leafing out and I’ve got a couple new nursery trees that will soon be in blossom. I’ve given away 16 and have about 20 more to give away of the from seed baby trees, It was a fun project in the colder months.

    • Enough About Palin

      The fuck is quordle?

      • The Hyperbole

        It’s a word game all the cool Glibs are playing.

      • UnCivilServant

        Did you check the thermostat?

      • UnCivilServant

        Oh, wait, if it’s only cool, you’re probably not looking to warm up.

      • UnCivilServant

        More seriously, it is a wordgame on another site that a subset of glibs have been playing regularly.

      • The Hyperbole

        That subset being ‘Cool’

      • UnCivilServant

        You keep flaunting your HVAC privilege!

      • The Hyperbole

        I don’t even own a TV an AC.

      • MikeS

        V is for Vacuum.

        But, a filthy animal like you probably doesn’t have one of those, either.

      • The Hyperbole

        Just the one between my ears.

  8. Tulip

    I’m still not really interested in a cruise, but I love to watch travel stuff.

  9. robodruid

    HAL is so good, i got the credit card.
    But last cruise there was 2014? Inner Baltic.
    Russian port city. Rotting navy on the piers.

  10. grrizzly

    The gays are the best at cruise reviews! Not surprised.

  11. whiz

    Waiting with bated breath for future installments, KK.

    My SIL and her husband go on a lot of cruises, but Mrs. Whiz and I had never gone on one. They invited us to join them on a short 3-day cruise in the Caribbean just to see what it was like. We combined it with side-trips to Disney World (Epcot) and Cape Canaveral. We went on Norwegian Cruise Lines. Our thoughts:

    1. A lot of waiting on the front end just to get on the boat. Long lines, which were difficult since Mrs. Whiz is somewhat mobility impaired.

    2. Good and plentiful food.

    3. Interesting on-board entertainment in the evenings.

    4. The day on NCL’s private island was the best, a lot of snorkeling and lazing on the beach.

    5. The swimming pools were a joke — far too small and crowded if you actually want to swim. Of course that can be true of a lot of hotel pools, as well.

    6. They had a lot of activities for kids (which we didn’t care about) and some for adults (we had a blackjack tournament, for example).

    From the literature we get now, it sounds like many options that cost $$$$$ when we went are now thrown in for free to entice customers back. Things like internet and drinks.

    • Semi-Spartan Dad

      and some for adults (we had a blackjack tournament, for example).

      We did an NCL Carribean cruise for our honeymoon. I’d rather have done an all-inclusive resort type deal, but the wife had never been on a cruise and wanted to try it. She ended up hitting jackpot on slots in the casino. 4,350:1 payout with the sirens and everything going off. Unfortunately, she was playing the penny slots so she only walked away with a grand total of $87 for her 2 cent bet.

    • Count Potato

      “MSNBC’s @DonnyDeutsch: “We don’t have the economy on our side as Democrats. So you have to scare the bejesus out of people — & a way to scare them, to say, You know this replacement theory, this is not just coming from some dark corner of the web, this is the Republican platform””

      https://twitter.com/tomselliott/status/1526950504915472387

      • Ownbestenemy

        Yep..it isn’t just fringe voices, it’s your card carrying Republican grandpa and dad that are doing this. This is going to be one hell of a summer I think.

      • rhywun

        Is it part of the Republican platform when outlets like the NYT brag about it…?

      • Ted S.

        You know this replacement theory, this is not just coming from some dark corner of the web, this is the Republican platform

        Which is why I suggested every Republican should be tying the Democratic challenger to Merrick Garland’s memo about parents protesting at school board meetings being domestic terrorists.

      • Enough About Palin

        I have to wonder if these are false flags perpetrated by the government along the same lines as when the FBI dupes people into being “terrorists” What got me to thinking that is remembering in “The Dark Knight”, where Batman says the Joker seeks out the mentally ill to do his dirty work. These shooters are clearly mentally ill and no one seems to ever act on the signals they send, often reported repeatedly to the authorities months or years in advance of their shooting sprees. And the Progressives are desperate to move the narrative away from how badly they have and are fucking up to REPUBLICANS ARE THE EMBODYMENT OF EVIL WHO WANT TO KILL BLAC WOMENTHE MOMENT AFTER BEING FORCED TO GIVE BIRTH!!!!!

        Not a conspiracy guy by nature.

    • mikey

      “ 36-Year-Old Arrested in Dallas Salon Shooting, Possible Hate Crime”

      First sentence of the article I read on the Buffalo shooting.
      “A white male opened fire fire in a Buffalo supermarket………”

      Mere stylistic differences I suppose.

  12. DEG

    It turned out my favorite type of YouTube was the “Personal Vlog” kind. I liked peeking into people’s drinking and dining and socializing lives on board a cruise ship. I learned which cruise lines and routes are riddled with kids/families, which ones skewed old and sedate, which had the good food, how excursions are run, etc.

    I do something similar when I’m travelling. I try to find folks on instagram who use the gym I’m interested in. It gives me a better feel for what equipment the gym has than whatever list the gym has on its webpage. Unfortunately, anymore instagram makes it hard to do this.

  13. Count Potato

    “The other bizarre aspect of the Nina-Jankowicz/@TaylorLorenz saga: Taylor depicts this poor, marginalized DHS official as the victim of “right-wing” disinformation, when the most devastating investigative piece on her was this one last week in @TheNation”

    https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1526980903070834694

    https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/meet-the-head-of-bidens-new-disinformation-governing-board/

    So she had a job funded by Soros to manufacture disinformation to defend actual nazis in Ukraine.

    • rhywun

      Something’s fishy here.

      I don’t believe this administration caved on this particular totalitarian measure merely because of some complaints from the usual basket of deplorables.

      The Nation could have kept quiet and nothing else would have happened.

      I wonder what they’re really hiding.

      • one true athena

        I think they’re just going to reboot the whole thing under a new name. Notice all of it says it’s a “pause” on the Ministry’s activities – it’s not dead or disbanded, despite what some of the media is saying.

      • rhywun

        Yeah, they could always go back to censorship behind the scenes. It does kind of work for them.

      • Zwak, who counted all his blessings, and counted only one.

        I think Jankowicz, or whatever her name was, was such a bad choice to start with, and couple that with an idiotic name and it is being buried for the time being. It will come back, once the institutional memory of it is passed a bit.

  14. trshmnstr the terrible

    I’d call myself cruise curious, but I’ve never actually been. At first blush, it seems like exactly the kind of experience I’d hate. Crowded, flimsy attempts at making you feel like you’re not customer #2543 of 4500, cramped hotel rooms and too-small swimming pools and 100 amenities and activities that aren’t quite all they were billed to be.

    On the other hand, everybody I know who has gone on a cruise has enjoyed it. All for different reasons. Because of that, I’m curious. I’m not sure that a carribbean cruise would be my jam, but maybe an Alaskan cruise.

    • Shpip

      It really depends on a) the experience you want to have, and b) your budget. Then do a bit of research.

      Cruise lines are positioned like any other good, from mass market (Carnival, Princess, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean) to a bit more upscale (Celebrity, Azamara), to quite posh (Regent Seven Seas, Oceania, Silversea).

      Do you want a smaller ship with fewer fellow guests? Be prepared to pay more. Upscale food and drink? Ditto.

      A neat way to try out cruising while avoiding crowds and saving a few bucks is the repositioning cruise. When the ships are moving from, say, the Caribbean in winter season to the Med or Alaska, they’ll take passengers at what is usually a greatly reduced rate. The Bosslady and I have done San Diego to Vancouver and Ft. Lauderdale to Rome on Celebrity, as well as San Francisco to Vancouver by way of Alaska on Oceania. Enjoyed all of them.

  15. mikey

    Whew! It looks like Life on Earth as I Know It goes on!
    On the other hand. Why was I the last one to be let back into the club house?
    It was bad enough when I thought I’d lost y’all. But then to find out everyone has been here for awhile and I was still on the wrong minute. C’mon, I change my t-shirt on Wednesday.

    • Zwak, who counted all his blessings, and counted only one.

      uh, we were gonna tell you, honest…

  16. straffinrun

    Glibs has schizophrenia?

    • UnCivilServant

      No, just mutliple personality syndrome.

      • MikeS

        That’s what I told MikeW, but he’s a cynic and didn’t believe me. MikeA got all pissed off about it, but that’s normal because he is a hothead. And MikeD just ignored me and kept playing rap music.

  17. groat scotum

    Been away awhile, now that Musk bought the Internet and Emperor Trump is back in charge of social media, I think it’s time I exercise dominion over all your Jews.

    So… what’s up.

    what’s going on these days

    • UnCivilServant

      I’ve been having ‘one of those days’ where everything is broken.

      I moved to management, and the $138/month post tax income increase from that is insufficient to cover inflation.

      • rhywun

        They’d have to bump me up a lot more than that if they want me to move into management (and they do). For starters, I’d want a salary within sight of the average for my area instead of being tied to my below-average salary that’s been dragging me down for more than a decade.

      • Chafed

        You know in your industry you have options.

      • rhywun

        Let’s pretend I don’t feel like moving.

      • groat scotum

        I think you were demoted.

        Unless you’re Mark Corrigan and love being in charge of other people, that’s a demotion

    • Mojeaux

      Love that song.

      Was expecting this, which I don’t particularly care for.

      • Gender Traitor

        Was expecting this, which I quite like. (::hopes it hasn’t already been linked, as obvious song is obvious::)

    • whiz

      I have that album, on vinyl no less. Good choice!

  18. Brochettaward

    Outages of Glibs is dangerous. I carry The First That Will Change Everything in my man womb. When it is time for the birthing process, it must be inserted onto Glibs as soon as it enters this world or we risk a still born First. All of humanity is counting on this.

    • rhywun

      Do you plan to chestfeed?

      • MikeS

        While smoking a Chesterfield.

      • rhywun

        Or a ottoman.

      • Zwak, who counted all his blessings, and counted only one.

        Gilbert K. Chesterfeed?

      • Brochettaward

        A First is not like a human child. But The FIrst That Will Change Everything is not like other Firsts. Normally, a First feeds on the seconds that come after it, but even with such a powerful First and the tremendous feedback it is sure to generate, it may also need some secondary nourishment. If I am able to produce the milk, I will certainly feed it from my chest.

    • MikeS

      Fucking idiot. What did he mean at the end by “75”?

      • Ownbestenemy

        Some inside joke apparently. Yeah…I hate all our politicians past and present.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Dur….he is 75.

      • MikeS

        Oh, sure. Duh.

        Also, like he wasn’t an air head and 45?

      • Brochettaward

        It’s a very odd slip of the tongue. I wonder if he doesn’t spend a lot of his time pondering just what a fucking mess he made.

      • Ownbestenemy

        He don’t give a fuck. He had no sons so didn’t need to worry about that and was acting as a good son to finish what daddy didn’t have the balls (correctly) to do.

      • Tundra

        That’s exactly how I read it. I know these people are monsters, but as they get toward the end, I wonder if a little feat doesn’t creep in

        Of course, I can save him the angst. He’s absolutely going to hell.

      • rhywun

        All presidents go to hell, I would imagine.

      • Chafed

        If there really is such a thing as a Freudian slip then that was it.

    • rhywun

      *chef’s kiss*

    • Gustave Lytton

      And straff was thinking last night that comparison to the US invasion of Iraq would be taboo…

    • Sean

      Bruh.

  19. Ownbestenemy

    Zoomers all done?

  20. slumbrew

    Hey everybody!

    I’ve been busy – I miss anything today?

    • MikeS

      Well…the fucking world ended! But we got better.

      • pistoffnick

        The world was a newt?

    • UnCivilServant

      I’ve got an ongoing application outage, and it appears the diagnostic step Oracle asked for has broken it further.

      So I’m trying to undo the change, but it requires getting into the application 🙁

      • slumbrew

        I was just on a 8+ hour call re: a widespread internal outage due to OCSP problems. Still not fixed, but I need to rest (and it’s not something I can fix).

      • UnCivilServant

        My problem is that the root causes are all within my domain, so I’m expected to fix it.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Well, you picked the day for it. No one else was on Glibs for much of the day either.

    • Chafed

      Hi Denver J!

  21. Ozymandias

    Bringing this forward from last thread:

    1. I’ll echo everyone else’s comments on the site being down. I was checking from different devices, wondering if I did something wrong.
    Perhaps a little too concerned…?

    2. Also, is there any chance that among you malcontents there is someone who is admitted in the E.D. TX and willing to allow me to file a complaint there?
    It’s 500+ military folks against the vax mandates and I’m happy to provide a copy and explanation if someone has concerns that need mollifying.
    I’ll pay for any attorney’s or paralegal’s time for the 30 or so minutes to file it.
    I have someone to PHV me and my co-counsel in. It’s got some urgency because my clients are being systematically discharged.

    TPTB know they have my permission to give out email – doesn’t take too much searching to find out who I am from this site.

    • Tres Cool

      Ill drag one over, too

      Is there a Zoom?
      Why did I bother to wax my balls ?

      • Ownbestenemy

        There was but its done. I can start one up if there are late nighters

      • The Hyperbole

        What will the topics of discussion be?

      • Ownbestenemy

        What stale slap stick jokes will we get from Tres

      • MikeS

        I can’t make it, so please present this on my behalf:

        Interviewer: Can you explain these four jobless years in your resume?
        Applicant: That’s when I went to Yale.
        Interviewer: Impressive! You are hired!
        Applicant: Thanks, I really need this yob.

      • pistoffnick

        What are the benefits of waxing over just shaving?

        /asking for a friend

  22. Gustave Lytton

    Dear idiot Chevy designers, DRLs are not turn signals and just because color changing LEDs exist doesn’t mean you should use them for automotive lighting.

    Also, rear turn signals go up with the taillight cluster, not down on the bumper. WTF jackases?

    • Ownbestenemy

      Really messed that up.. Zoom link

  23. Gustave Lytton

    R C Dean on May 18, 2022 at 11:19 am
    I wonder when the last person who actually remembered being a slave died?

    I wonder how many generations the average black person has to go back before they have an ancestor who was a slave?

    No answer, but did get me wondering.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda_McCrear

    Last living survivor of the transatlantic slave trade, born in Africa, died in 1940

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliza_Moore

    One of the last living proven freed slaves, died in 1948

    • Gustave Lytton

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_%22Teen%22_Blackburn

      Another, died in 1951. There’s been claimants who died later but their records are more muddled.

      Quite amazing to realize that on the eve of the civil right era, there were Americans who had been enslaved, freed, then lived much of their lives under nearly the entire span of Jim Crow.

      • Chafed

        That is eye opening.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Reminds me of in Dandelion Wine when the boys discover a time machine. I think I first read that story in an abridged version in Boy’s Life.

    • C. Anacreon

      What about the one played by Cicely Tyson, who waa a slave as a child but lived long enough to drink from the whits only drinking fountain in the 1960s? Oh, I guess that was just a fictional tv show.

  24. creech

    Great news that the U.S. Women’s Soccer team has embraced the Labor Theory of Value. That must mean that my granddaughter’s mud pies, on which she expends hours, will now be selling for the same price as the town’s award-winning baker. Now that equity has replaced quality, America will soar as never before.

    • Ownbestenemy

      The individual must die and be reborn as the collective. Except them over there…we didn’t mean them.

    • Brochettaward

      Why did the men’s union agree to this nonsense?

      • Chafed

        Because they are stupid?

  25. Brochettaward

    I don’t think the gravity of what could have happened today has fully set in. The First That Will Change Everything could have died. And people are talking about Quordle and soccer.

  26. one true athena

    oh thanks for reminding me

    Daily Quordle 114
    4️⃣5️⃣
    9️⃣7️⃣

    • pistoffnick

      4 5
      6 7

      I FINALLY got one!

      /feels slightly less stupid

    • Rat on a train

      Daily Quordle 115
      6️⃣4️⃣
      8️⃣5️⃣

  27. Trigger Hippie

    *checks in*

    The site is still alive and kicking, thank god.

    Is it sad that the thought of this place disappearing gave me a massive anxiety attack?

    • Ownbestenemy

      You and 5 others…how things going Trigger?

      • Ownbestenemy

        Good to hear!

      • Trigger Hippie

        Sorry for the vapid, lowbrow response. It’s just a hair past midnight in my neck of the woods and my already middling mind is barely going through the motions at this point. I need to go to sleep.

      • Trigger Hippie

        P.S.

        I hope the good people who donated to my GFM don’t mind if I reinvest a few bucks towards a donation to the site. Killing squirrels takes all of us.

      • pistoffnick

        Killing squirrels…

        My deer hunting buddy keeps a loaded .410 shotgun by the door of the deer hunting cabin. He HATES red squirrels. If we see a red squirrel, we are supposed to shoot it.

        Even dredged in Tony Chacheries-enhanced flour and fried in bacon grease, red squirrel is…not good.

      • Trigger Hippie

        Grey squirrels rule the roost around here. I personally don’t mind them. They don’t cause me any harm and are mildly amusing when nature watching. As far as the taste…my early twentieth century born, Arkansas hillbilly Grandpa died nearly twenty years so I can’t exactly remember what squirrel stew tastes like…I seem to recall it being a bit gamey.

  28. dbleagle

    I enjoy cruising as the skipper or a crew member on a sailboat. I have had some wonderful times. Being on a huge petri dish rushing from place to palce with people I would never choose to spend time with? Sorry, I’ll nope right out. But for people who enjoy them, more power at ya.

    • l0b0t

      I grew up on a 32′ blow-boat, bouncing between Coconut Grove, Marathon, and Charlotte Harbor, FL. I always found the idea of cruise ships to be anathema and roundly mocked those who desired to be in a floating hotel from which one can’t leave. Then, for MiL’s 65th birthday, I got dragged onto a cruise to the Caribbean. Wifey and I and our 2 kids, and 17 in-laws (15 of whom are Orthodox Hassidic Jews)… I’ll be damned, it wasn’t horrible. The food in the included galleys was of Morrison’s/Piccadilly Café quality, but it was plentiful and available round the clock. The pay restaurants were amazing (the Wagyu sliders were the best burgers I’ve ever tasted) and the boat was large enough that it was easy to find solitude and respite from the hoards. There was small swimming pool/hot-tub setup right up on the bow that went largely unused after dark, so the kids and I pretty much camped out there. I won a pretty penny on my 1st and only try at roulette (I’ve always heeded my grandfather’s warning that gambling is just a trap for those who are bad at math), and one of the singers in a lounge took a shine to my kids and would drag them up on stage to sing and dance with her every time she saw us. I don’t think I would want to cruise again, but I was wrong to completely disregard the concept.

  29. Sean

    Mornin peeps.

  30. Sean

    It’s Thursday, and PA still doesn’t know who it elected for Senate. ?

    • Stinky Wizzleteats

      If they can send forty billion to the Ukraine with virtually no questions asked a temporary gas tax holiday should be easy to enact. Apparently the only way to get some relief from these twats is to be a foreigner.

      • Stinky Wizzleteats

        And a quick search shows the federal tax to be 18.4 cents per gallon…not a whole lot but better than nothing.

  31. Tulip

    Daily Quordle 115
    8️⃣5️⃣
    4️⃣7️⃣
    quordle.com

    • The Hyperbole

      Daily Quordle 115
      5️⃣4️⃣
      2️⃣6️⃣

      A good time for my seed words to pay off, and a lucky flyer in the upper right.

    • Not Adahn

      Daily Quordle 115
      7️⃣6️⃣
      3️⃣5️⃣
      quordle.com
      ⬜?⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜?⬜⬜⬜ ⬜??⬜?
      ⬜⬜?⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜?⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜?⬜⬜
      ⬜?⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜?⬜ ?????
      ????? ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

      ??⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜?
      ?⬜⬜?⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ????? ?⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ⬜?⬜??
      ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ?????

    • Grumbletarian

      Daily Quordle 115
      6️⃣7️⃣
      5️⃣3️⃣

      21 is okay.

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      So close to a “gold standard” 3456! 50/50 shot on the last word and I went with the wrong one. Oh well, any day in the teens is a good day.

      Daily Quordle 115
      5️⃣7️⃣
      3️⃣4️⃣
      quordle.com

    • Sean

      Daily Quordle 115
      7️⃣8️⃣
      6️⃣3️⃣
      quordle.com
      ⬜⬜?⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜?⬜
      ⬜⬜?⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜?⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜??⬜⬜ ⬜?⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜?⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜?⬜⬜ ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ????? ⬜⬜⬜?⬜
      ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛ ?????

      ?⬜?⬜⬜ ?⬜⬜⬜?
      ?⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜???
      ⬜⬜?⬜⬜ ?????
      ?⬜??⬜ ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
      ?⬜??? ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛
      ????? ⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛

    • db

      7 5
      8 3

  32. Tulip

    Hype, are you tracking the words from Quordle? If not, I may start in order to do some statistical analysis on letter frequency to see if it differs from the average.

    • Swiss Servator

      If not hype, maybe talk with whiz?

      • Swiss Servator

        Not that I see an article out of you on this…no, I would never be so…transparent!

      • Tulip

        I just want to improve my score

      • Tulip

        Whiz’s article gave me the idea.

    • The Hyperbole

      I am not keeping track of the words, only a nerd would do that. I merely keep track of how many letters are shared by two or more words or repeated in a word for each days solution, as any normal person would.

    • db

      Tulip, I found a list of English words on github the other day and am playing around with that. If you want, I can find the link again.

  33. Gender Traitor

    Good morning, Tulip, Stinky, & Sean!

    Being excessively fair of skin, I suspect I would not reap the full benefit of a tropical cruise. However, I’ve long felt a river cruise – even here in the U.S., especially down the Mississippi – could be delightful. I also understand at least one of the big cruise lines has started service on Lake Superior (and maybe others of the Great Lakes?) which I could imagine could likewise be delightful (as long as the ship isn’t named “Edmund Fitzgerald.”) I also understand some Yoopers aren’t necessarily keen on the idea of having such ships come to dock in their ports.

    • rhywun

      The Lake Erie to Lake Ontario cruise is scenic but gets a little rough in spots.

      • Gender Traitor

        Been out on my SIL’s/BIL’s big sailboat on Erie. In October. Yeah… Erie can be…choppy.

      • UnCivilServant

        I think Rhywun is worried about the tourist traps between the lakes.

      • Gender Traitor

        How literal is the “trap” part?? ?

      • UnCivilServant

        Thousands of people Fall for it every day.

      • rhywun

        They are barreled over by the scenic wonders.

      • Gender Traitor

        Then they should definitely put up guardrails!

      • Tulip

        A great lakes cruise would be cool

    • Grosspatzer

      Mornin’, GT.

      “Being excessively fair of skin, I suspect I would not reap the full benefit of a tropical cruise. ”

      Yeah, the sun will do a number on you. Mrs. Patzer and I took a cruise for our honeymoon. There was another honeymooning couple on the cruise, the bride was excessively fair of skin and excessively deficient in common sense. She ignored the repeated warnings to wear long sleeves shirts and long pants on the Costa Rican rainforest tour and got her legs shredded by the foliage therein. At the next port of call she (and presumably the groom) stayed on the ship to soak up some sun, after which her skin tone was a perfect match for her lovely red hair.

      • Gender Traitor

        ::shudders at the thought of legs both shredded AND burnt::

  34. Grosspatzer

    Mornin’, reprobates.

    Holy shit. I’m sitting on my front porch and a fox scoots across the lawn about 5 feet in front of me, with a chipmunk in her jaws. Very cool, it’s gonna be a good day.

    • Gender Traitor

      Not for the chipmunk. ??

      • Gender Traitor

        Gonna be a GREAT day for me! ?

      • Grosspatzer

        Fox has kits to feed. Just saw an instant replay.
        Chipmunk nation is in trouble.

  35. UnCivilServant

    Morning, Glibs.

    Still haven’t fixed the application, but now it’s completely inaccessable from the user access point. My administrative access account needs a password reset, so I was wrapping up to go to sleep when my internet went out and said “You are DONE for the day”.

    So today I’m going to be working on the same problem again.

    • Gender Traitor

      Good luck! Starting today, I’m covering for Reliable Co-Worker, who’s taking a well-deserved vacation through Memorial Day. And I need to listen to (and write up the minutes for) the last third of Tuesday night’s Board meeting. Got through my boss’s financial report, so I’m hoping that means the worst is over.

  36. Grosspatzer

    Meh.

    Daily Quordle 115
    5️⃣4️⃣
    6️⃣8️⃣

  37. DEG

    Mornin’

    No gym this morning. I have to take my fun car into the shop. The timing with work won’t work out for a gym trip today.

  38. Stinky Wizzleteats

    Huh, latest article doesn’t show up until you sign in, otherwise you get yesterday’s evening links. At least I know the trick and can stop pulling my hair out now.

  39. DEG

    Eleven incumbents gone in PA primary

    Nearly a dozen incumbent lawmakers lost their re-election bids in Tuesday’s primary election including one, possibly two, long-time Republicans who hold top caucus leadership posts.

    Rep. Stan Saylor of York County and Sen. Pat Browne of Lehigh County, both Republicans, serve as the majority chairman of the powerful appropriations committee in their respective chambers. In those roles, they review all legislation to determine its fiscal impact on taxpayers and play a role in helping to shape the state budget.

    Saylor, who was first elected to the House in 1992, has served as the appropriations committee chairman since 2016. Prior to that, he served in two other leadership posts including whip and education committee chairman.

    Browne, meanwhile, served in the House from 1995 to 2005 when he moved over to Senate. He was first elected to serve as its appropriations committee chairman in 2014. Prior to that, he served as whip and chaired several committees.

    Saylor handily lost to political newcomer Wendy Fink for the Republican nomination in the 94th state House District seat. Fink captured 56% of the vote to Saylor’s 44%, according to the unofficial vote count with 99% of the votes counted. No Democratic candidate appeared on the ballot for that seat.

    In the 16th senatorial district contest, unofficial vote totals show Browne down by a mere 30 votes to a local school board member Jarrett Coleman. The winner of this tight race will face Democrat Mark Pinsley, the Lehigh County controller, in the fall.

    • db

      Rep. Sheryl Delozier, R-Cumberland County, was critical of Saylor’s opponent’s decision to use his tenure against him. She said Saylor demonstrated strong leadership for the House Republican Caucus and the south-central Pennsylvania region for a long time. Part of being a leader and serving as appropriations committee chairman sometimes required him to vote yes on legislation when voting against it a “may have been a much easier option,” she said.

      “This was simply another way he chose to lead and he will undoubtedly leave big shoes to fill,”

      I take that to mean that he has frequently abandoned his constituents’ wishes in favor of political get-alongism with the state Democrats.

      Delozier said. “I have the privilege of working with Stan through November and I know he will continue to fight for south-central Pennsylvania a spot on a cable news network during those coming months.”

  40. DEG

    More on Mastriano’s win

    While some Republicans were laying the blame for Mastriano’s win on the Pennsylvania Republican Party and Chairman Lawrence Tabas even before Tuesday, according to Politico, there was nothing but olive branches coming from the state GOP on Wednesday in the aftermath of Mastriano’s victory.

    “The PA GOP is filled with passionate individuals and, although we don’t always agree, we always come together,” Vonne Andring, a senior advisor for the PA GOP, told PennLive.com.

    Just admit it, you’re going to shank him, just like the RGA:

    Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts appeared on CNN on Sunday and would not commit to the Republican Governors Association spending money to get Mastriano elected in the fall, Politico reported in the same story.

    Ricketts said whoever would win the primary must be competitive and, if so, “the Republican Governors Association will be there to support Republican nominee.”

    Following Mastriano’s win, RGA Executive Director Dave Rexrode released a statement targeting Gov. Tom Wolf and Shapiro, but which danced around making a commitment to financially help Mastriano in the general election.

    • Lackadaisical

      whats wrong with Mastriano? Too maga?

      • Sean

        Ultramaga.

        I voted for him.

  41. LCDR_Fish

    Not sure what it is, but refreshed, closed tabs a couple times on my tablet and I can see nothing on glibs page newer than afternoon links – and 0 comments on that one even after refreshing. Seems to work ok on my phone. Using DDG for both devices.

    • Lackadaisical

      huh. I got the same on both my devices (0 comments and this article not showing).

      • LCDR_Fish

        Opened a new tab on phone just to check – seems to be working here. Even with early morning links.

      • db

        The only thing I can tell that’s not working is the comment numbers–they’re not showing up for me.