Chowderhead

The season has been a nice surprise and fingers crossed they will stay in the hunt. It’s frustrating to hear that the front office might be in selling mode - when did we become a small market, budget conscious team?

As a baseball parent, I can relate to those long baseball weekends and road-trips.

Will not be able recall details like @MediumMouthBass has, but a quick look/reflection of the vehicles I've had (or had in the family as my son's were getting vehicles that I helped towards): 1973 Chevy Nova (Hatchback) loved having this as my first car. So much fun to drive, tinker with, etc... Would love to have this one back now. 1979 Honda CVCC -- beat up hand-me down, but surprisingly fun to drive. Ford Tempo (1st car married life...) Suzuki Swift (fun car again - wife driving Tempo) 1997 Ford Taurus (better married life car -- pretty fun, had decent look (at the time) 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan (yes, fully embraced the married life/kids on the way) 2011 Ford Expedition EL (family much larger and kids much bigger) - barely fit into our garage BMW X5 (so much power and fun...when it wasn't broken down and in the shop. This was a complete money pit that I should have rid myself of much quicker than I did) BMW (BringMyWallet) Chevy S-10 (dependable) - the Bass Raider 10e fits nicely into the bed. Nissan Sentra (very good mpg and used for college kid) 2023 Toyota Venza Limited (love the hybrid, comfort/luxury boarding on Lexus, but better price. My wife loves it) Next up... I'm thinking maybe a 2024 Venza for me or an all-electric (Toyota BZX4 or Rivian)

Congrats on the Raider — you may want to look here:

Cashews, snicker doodle cookies, and a fun BBQ with my sons and wife. A great, relaxing day with the people I love!

Got hooked on DT several years ago and wear them all the time. Up to 17 pair (just counted) and between my wife and sons, likely have another 15-20 for them. Warranty is legit and they wear and feel great.

Nice job, always good to get the season going. Got my 1st of the season from a small pond in West O on Friday afternoon.

Shingles is miserable! I had it just before Christmas a few years ago - knocked me out for most of the holidays.

https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1878dmil.html Skeletal human remains found.

Yep, same here -- small profile spinnerbait always gets me something.

Come from a family of farmers, construction workers, and truck drivers. Did rather poorly in high school with my grades, so my early jobs were retail sales (clothing and shoes), fast food deli, and roofing (not ideal job when living in Southwest Arizona). Further education was not in the mix for me. Made some personal life changes and a mentor gave me a chance and helped initially fund me to attend college. Took a while and I was a non-traditional college student (married, 3 children) when I graduated with my undergrad (history major, poli-sci minor) degree. Moved out of state to attend law school (now with 5 children at graduation), passed the state bar exam, and have been with my employer going on 17 years. Looking back, I clearly "outkicked my coverage", but am incredibly thankful for how things have turned out. If I can make it another 10-13 years, the pension, retirement benefits for my industry, and the overall compensation perks from my employer should hopefully set my wife and I up to be able to enjoy our latter-years and still provide for our children's inheritance.

I’m excited to attend my first NHL game tomorrow night when the Jets play the Sabers. In Buffalo for a few days and could not pass up the opportunity.

Love Booyah Pond Magic spinnerbaits

Seeing MPG drop as well. I don’t track the efficiency for each trip, but the overall MPG since we picked it up has dropped from a high of 43.6 down to a current low of 41.9 MPG. Have crossed the 10,000 mile mark, and I’m sure MPG will continue to drop for another few months until we get to Spring. Still love the car and believe this was a good decision for our family needs.

@gimruis That is great - looks awesome! We’re still loving our Venza and now up to 43.5 MPG after 9,000+miles.

I’m sure it was sad to experience, but your compassion is inspiring — thank you for sharing.

@Dan N Very nice gesture!

@gimruis that is great it is finally headed your way and upside getting the 2024. We’ve loved the Venza and getting 43.3 mpg after 6,700 miles. Not sure I’m ready for full electric but sure loving hybrids.

@gimruisPicked up the Venza this morning, then had a long drive home (275 miles) from the dealer (could not find one locally). Driving 75+ mph got us 36.5 mpg. Once we got home, had a local 35 mile trip that was good for 45.0 mpg. I think as we get use to the car, we will learn how to maximize the hybrid benefits.

Never had a cup of coffee in my life and not a soda drinker, but I am hooked on the caffeine powder flavor packets that I add to water. I’m drinking far too much each day and know I need to cut back.

Love seeing this -- acts of kindness and service!

Not yet, the dealer has been good to share the Toyota tracking details with us. We watched it progress from factory build in Japan, sail across the Pacific, travel by train to KC auto yards, and now hopefully on a truck for delivery to dealer. It’s looking like sometime in the next week or two.

This is great - good luck. I was in the same boat and did not have my bachelor’s degree until my mid 30’s and my graduate degree until almost 40. You can do it!

We have a 2023 Toyota Venza (hybrid) on order since November. The MPG will fall in the cold weather. I will love getting 40+ mpg in warm months, and have fingers crossed we get 30+ mpg in winter.

Nebraska checking in - yep, we could use some moisture for sure.