First They'll Take Manhattan

Pictures from the Hit-and-Runner meetup in Manhattan have been posted, and one of you looks unsettlingly like a hybrid of Nick Gillespie and myself.

Comments

[dhex]

thoreau's wife looks so bored she's shellshocked by it.

[Larry Edelstein]

We need one of these in San Francisco. All interested, please post here.

[panurge]

So who is who? Can someone provide us with captions?

[panurge]

So who is who? Can someone provide us with captions?

[Shem]

I need a program here. The only people I can even guess at are Thoreau's wife and Jennifer.

[Ken Layne]

... then we'll take Berlin.

Thank you, Julian, for a well-needed Leonard Cohen reference.

[Mr. Kahn]

Why is everyone white?

[Mr. Kahn]

Wait, I retract my statement... I will replace it with, why is no one smoking inside?

[Stevo Darkly]

I wish I coulda been there. It looks like a cool crowd. Thanks to those responsible for taking and posting these photos. But we could use a Who's Who description.

Say, who's the little redhead? 🙂

Why is everyone white?

Well, I'll take my best guess: Everyone in attendance is descended from northern Europeans, whose skin tends to be paler in order to admit more ultraviolet light, which is needed to stimulate the body's production of Vitamin D, deficiencies of which can lead to rickets and other bone diseases. 🙂

[David Rollins]

Where are the tinfoil hats?

[Solitudinarian]

Hmm, I'm guessing thoreau is picture no. 1 and kwais is picture no. 3. Other than those two and the hot redhead and Asian, all bets are off.

Looks as though a good time was had by all. Wish I'd been there.

[Phil]

Jennifer is clearly the long-haired redhead, and appears to be separated at birth from this actress>

[Doc]

>Why is everyone white?

How could you miss the diversity? There are people of Northern *and* Western European descent. 😉

(Disclosure: I'd also fit into the demographic.)

[Rich Ard]

I think #4 is probably Spider Robinson.

[Douglas Fletcher]

I guess it's good I didn't make it, I would have had to play the part of The Old Man, by the look of those faces.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

There are two redheads.. I'm assuming the girl in the latter pictures is the lovely Miss J.

The first picture is our man Dr. t.

Speaking of whom - we will definitely be pushing for a DC meet sometime in November or December. And there will be guns involved this time!

Work on those moon-tans, folks.

[Jennifer]

The pictures of me were a lot more attractive when they were still on JD's camera, and an inch square.

Jeff is the beret-wearer in the bottom picture.

[smacky]

Talk about a sausage party!

Wait, I'm confused...I see two redheads...who is the redhead with the straight hair, then? (I know the one with the wavy, long red hair is Jennifer)...

[smacky]

I vote for captions, too. I don't know who most people in the photos are. (Unless people wish to remain anonymous.)

[Warren]

Everyone is so young. And the women are far too attractive.

[thoreau]

My wife wasn't bored, just tired. We got up at 5:30 am to catch a bus to Manhattan and spent a good portion of the day walking around.

And there were at least 3 non-caucasians there, although 2 of them were my hosts in NYC and not posters on this forum.

It was a fun time. Thanks, Jennifer!

And remember, if you want to attend a DC area meetup between the end of October and mid-December, the email address is real (if you remove the part about spam).

[Jennifer]

I'll talk to Jeff about a trip to DC. It's been a decade since I've seen the Smithsonian, anyway.

I don't remember everybody who was there, but here's who I remember:

Top picture--Thoreau

Second picture--???

Third--Kwais, and part of my hair (I demanded JD crop me out of that one)

Fourth--JD

Fifth--whole bunch of people; David in the foreground wearing khaki

Sixth--Mr. and Mrs. Thoreau

Seventh--foreground--Thoreau on the left; Kwais and me on the right, dunno who the others are

Eighth--me looking for my cigarettes

Ninth--me and a lurker whose name, I think, was Dylan

Tenth--Rhywun

Eleventh--Rhywun, Dylan and me smoking outside the bar

Twelfth--left to right--Eric, Kwais, me, David

Thirteenth--Dylan and Native NYer

Fourteenth--Dhex and David

Fifteenth--me

Sixteenth--Eric

Seventeenth, Don't know, Jeff, Dhex

[smacky]

I would caption the one of Jennifer and the two guys standing outside in a quasi-circle as, "Puff, puff, give."

Also, I like the picture below it of Jennifer sitting in a sort-of line at the table with two guys on one side and one on the other. She looks positively contemptuous of the gentlemen near her. They, in turn, appear to be bowing their heads in capitulation to her.

Ok, that was my lame-o art critique moment of the day.

[David]

I'm on the far left in the 5th picture. As far as a caption.

"David throws out idiot theory # 563 about why people don't care about their civil liberties while onlookers humor him."

[Jeff P.]

It should be pointed out, here that not everybody got to meet everybody. By the time some of the early comers had left the bar was becoming very packed and very loud.
It should also be noted that while the male-female ration was skewed, it was off-set by the large numbers of women who came to the bar later in the evening. They had balloons and a cake.
As for the racial makeup of the table, I appeared to be the only one blessed with Scottish blood, and all lesser European species look the same to me...

[David]

Second picture, the guy in middle with thge hat was Chris. I didn't meet the other two.

[thoreau]

Jennifer-

It would be great if you and Jeff could come to DC!

[NaG]

We need to teach libertarians to smile more. And more honestly. Especially Jennifer.

[Eric II]

Alright, the only thing Northern European about me is my first name. Well, that, and the Cadbury cravings.

[Jennifer]

Funny, what Nag said about smiling--I sent the page to my boss, with the subject heading "When Libertarians Get Funky." He wrote back to say "Don't libertarians ever smile? You all look like liberals!" And I said, "You'd look grumpy too, if you spent the whole night getting drunk and saying things like 'There's no conceivable non-violent way to retard the development of the super-state!'"

And I don't photograph well. That one profile shot would have been semi-nice, if my eye makeup hadn't been all smudgy by then. Damn, it was a muggy night.

[Solitudinarian]

And I don't photograph well.

You look fine to me - I just think you should have been wearing a bandolier or two full of shotgun shells. Plus, I don't see this incipient babushka-ness you keep talking about.

[ralphus]

From the headline I was expecting pictures of Gonzo. Mrs. Piggy, Fozzie and Kermit. I was not disappointed. Just kidding. Looks like a lovely crowd and a good time. I'm curious about one thing; did all the attendees share a sun light allergy? You people are paler than front row of a Cure concert.

[Jennifer]

I don't see this incipient babushka-ness you keep talking about.

Jeff, since people now have a sort-of-accurate idea of what I look like, you can post a link to my babushka picture if you want. It'll help people understand why I'm so depressed about my future, and will also be a useful aid for any men contemplating a life of celibacy.

[Akira MacKenzie]

Looks like a good time had by all. Would any Midwest Reasonites be interested in a similar gathering in, say, Chicago?

[TJ]

There was a picture of me in a tinfoil hat, but it might have been taken on a camera phone.

[Jennifer]

Wasn't there a Chicago meet-up just last month?

[Ruthless]

"When the end of the world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati because it's always twenty years behind the times."

I'll be daid by the time we have a meet-up in Sinincincinnati.

[Akira MacKenzie]

Sigh... always a day late and dollar short. Oh well...

[Dylan]

Yup yup. Dylan the lurker, proving as usual that he's utterly incapable of keeping his eyes open in a photograph. His mouth, however ...

[Xavier]

I'll be in NYC next year. Hopefully you'll do this again sometime.

[Akria MacKenzie]

Sigh... always a day late and dollar short. Oh well...

Not to mention a "a" too. Maybe I should write for Yakov Smirnoff. There's a gig where you don't have to worry about proper grammar and diction.

"In your country, you like women to be naked. In my country, we wish women put on MORE clothes! What a country! HEEEH-HEEEH-HEEEH-HEEH..."

[Crushinator]

What? No Robots???
Worse yet, no bongs.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Jennifer/Jeff:

You guys definitely should come over for our DC thing. There's plenty to do for a fun weekend trip, and the subway system makes it easy to get to where you need to go.

[SR]

"I will replace it with, why is no one smoking inside?"

Because it's New York City, which has heavy restrictions on smoking indoors.

[Jason Ligon]

Ruthless, I think the Greater Cincinnati Regional Reasonoids consist of just the two of us. We can have a beer or something any time you like.

That's pretty good turnout in NYC. How groovy to see faces.

[Jason Ligon]

Nice Guy:

Are you planning another DC meetup?

[thoreau]

Stevo might, just might, be attending the DC thing. No promises from him at this point, but his date preferences have been duly noted.

Remember, if you want to attend, let me know the weekends that work best for you.

So far I have emails from about 10 people.

[Jose Ortega y Gasset]

What DC thing?

[Jennifer]

Thoreau--

Is this supposed to be in October, November or December?

Word of advice: do NOT make it on a holiday weekend. Usually it takes about five hours to get to DC from where we live, but a couple of years ago we went to South Carolina and had the damnfool idea of leaving on Good Friday. Traffic was so bad that traveling from our driveway in Connecticut to the southern outskirts of DC took thirteen hours.

[thoreau]

Senor Ortega y Gasset-

A DC event is in the works for a weekend between the end of October and mid-December. The email address shown for me is real if you remove the "nospamplease" part. Contact me with the weekends that work best for you in that time frame. In about a week, after all the emails are in, I'll announce the most popular weekend, and based on suggestions from prospective attendees Mr. Nice Guy and I will find a venue (I haven't lived here too long, so I'm not familiar with all the venues).

Mr. Nice Guy and I are also members of a shooting range in Rockville, and we can bring interested people to the range with us in the afternoon before the gathering.

So, if you're interested in attending, let me know which weekends work for you. Even if you aren't sure of your schedule but want to be kept in the loop, email me and I'll put you on the mailing list.

[thoreau]

Jennifer-

Any weekend from Oct. 29 to mid-December. I'm taking suggestions for weekends, and the most popular weekend wins.

I'm assuming Thanksgiving weekend won't win.

[David]

I might be able to persuade my girlfriend to take a long weekend in Baltimore sometime in November/early Dec. One night in D.C. would be possible in that case.

[thoreau]

David-

Could you email that to me as well? I have a folder for this, and having your email will make it easier for me.

[Rick Barton]

Hey, that fourth pic (JD, right?) really does look like a hybrid of Nick Gillespie and Julian. You don't suppose that Ron Bailey has figured out some way to...

[TheDumbFish]

Rick,

I think Julian was talking about the guy in the red shirt. Named Dylan, apparently.

[Mo]

Looks like it was a blast. I have no critique of the pictures for fear that the ones from the Chicago one will somehow surface.

[Jennifer]

Mo--

Smacky sent me copies of those pictures. So. . . . . how much is it worth to you, to keep your anonymity?

[Evan Williams]

Thoreau:

Don't be so sure. In-laws vs. libertarian-minded co-blog-commenters. Hmmm.

I wonder what unleaded will cost by that time. We've already cancelled a thanksgiving trip to NC because of the price of gas. Might have to take out a second mortgage if we were to drive down to Atlantic Beach for Thanksgiving AND X-mas.

[smacky]

Looks like it was a blast. I have no critique of the pictures for fear that the ones from the Chicago one will somehow surface.

Good point, Mo. I hadn't thought of that.
Everyone in NY looks impeccably beautiful!

[Jennifer]

Hmm. . . . considering gas prices, if Jeff and I go it might be cheaper to take the train. I sent him an e-mail asking hiim about it, and I'll e-mail you, Thoreau, as soon as I hear back from him. I know we have tickets for a Porcupine Tree concert some weekend in October, but other than that I think we're all free.

[Mo]

Crap....

Well nothing really, considering I've mentioned my real name on occasion and one could simply google me.

I'm just jealous I missed out on a trip to New York and a social event.

[smacky]

Jennifer,

No blackmailing the midwestern photographees! That agreement was implicit when I sent the pics to you. 🙂

[Rick Barton]

TheDumbFish,

Got it. JD looks more like 4 parts Julian and 1 part Nick anyway.

Hi Mo,

Let's have those Chicago pics! Paging drf!

[Rick Barton]

smacky,

Ahh, so you have em. Vee have our vays, smacky...

[Curmudgeon]

OMG, you're all children!

[poco]

So who's the first redhead? I assumed that that was Jennifer at first. And how did people's voices compare with expectations -- or could you not hear well enough to assess?

[NoStar]

Is that Gunnels lurking in the background?
(Look for the guy in the "Got Me?" Tee-shirt.)

[thoreau]

I recently went to the French embassy in DC. Some famous scientists were giving talks there (in English, fortunately), and it was open to scientists from around the DC area. They have a nice area for holding parties.

If there's a French military veteran on the forum, maybe he could arrange the venue for us?

:->

[NoStar]

Good idea, Thoreau.
Tell em it's a party in honor of Egality, Fraternity, and Frivolity.

Hey, Thoreau is a Frech name. Maybe you could set it up yourself.

[JD]

I've added captions to all.html so you know who's who - they're not quite complete yet, but I'm still adding to them. Oh, and someone pointed out that in p9170816.jpg, Rhywun appears to be shooting energy beams out of his nose. *g* I don't think I know what Julian looks like, but from seeing a picture of Nick Gillespie, I'm pretty sure it's me that's the hybrid.

Be sure to keep us all in the loop, DC folks. For a trip to a shooting range, I might even make it down there.

[Rick Barton]

thoreau,

Perhaps Jean Bart could provide a lead...

[M.J. Basial]

Looks like the DC event will be too late for me. I'll be in the vicinity for my sister's wedding the weekend of Oct. 9th (so I probably could have sneaked away on the 8th).

I also might be able to make it to a SF meetup (about 3.5 hours away) if momentum builds for that.

I think the first redhead looks like Wonkette.

[Jennifer]

Thoreau--

Hak's not French anymore, remember? He told us so on that thread where I commented on how Voltaire would weep in his grave to see a Frenchman incapable of understanding figurative language.

[Apostate Jew]

Jennifer is so not related to the co-religionists I am related to.

Must be the genes she got from her shiksa mother.

"Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised."

Yeah, yeah, yeah an apostate shouldn't be quoting the Tanach, but there you have it.

And I would have been lurking in the bar if I wasn't far away at the time.

[Ruthless]

thoreau,
Are you sayin' a bunch of Jacobins might get their partying subsidized by zee Freench government?

[Jennifer]

Apostate--

Actually, a few weeks ago I looked up my mother's maiden name in some name-history Website, and apparently, something like 90 percent of all people with her last name are Polish Jews. And my own last name is German-Jewish.

Take another look at those pictures of me. The profile shot. The schnozz.

[Larry Edelstein]

Mike B -

If you can send me your email address, I'll put you on a list for when I get my shit together regarding an SF event.

[Jennifer]

JD--

I think the final caption on your final picture is wrong--I'm about 95% sure the guy on the right in the last picture is Dhex, not Dave.

[Rick Barton]

JD,

Yeah, now it's my guess that it was you that Julian was talking about as a hybrid of Nick Gillespie and himself. Are you really the product of a Ron Bailey science experiment?

Here's Julian:

http://www.reason.com/sanchez/sanchezbio.shtml

[JD]

Jennifer - Yeah, you're right about the last caption; not sure what I was thinking, but it's fixed now. Incidentally, I'm half Jewish myself. But in NYC, everyone is culturally Jewish, whether they know it or not.

Rick Barton - Ssh! The world is not yet ready for that knowledge! But if people are curious/lazy, I put all three photos together.

[rob]

Hmmm... Now if only this was the secret society cabal in charge of running the world!

Y'know, you guys looked pretty much just as I'd have imagined. Particularly thoreau and kwais.

It looks like it was a good time - too bad I'm stuck out here Utah, or I'd have hoisted a pint with all of you. If there's ever an event in SLC, I'll be there.

(Aw, who'm I trying to kid, I'd go anywhere there's a cold pint to be hoisted.)

[Jeff P.]

I will post the shot of Jen and I in 1950's republican parent get-ups later tonight. Watch this space.

Curmudgeon: We are not all children. I found myself shocked at some of the lewd outfits worn by the women (not ladies, mind you) on the Bowery. It must be tit season, as they were in full display.
Damn kids.

[psycho]

It must be tit season, as they were in full display.

Maybe thoreau and Mr. Nice Guy should have the gun gathering on the Bowery instead of DC.

[Julian Sanchez]

Rick-
I was actually thinking of red-shirt-guy. Partly it's that my hair has typically been (and is now, come to think of it) longer than it is in my bio photo, albeit not quite that long for about 8 years.

[Rick Barton]

JD,

Remarkable! I'm thinking a Nobel Prize for Ron Bailey!

[Rick Barton]

Julian,

Ok, I can see that too. But I think that guy is really Bob Dylan's son. Easy to see where Dylan came up with his screen-name, huh?

[Lowdog]

Jennifer has a similar appearance to a good friend of mine here in Phoenix. Whaddaya know?

[Mr. Nice Guy]

psycho:
I have enough problems keeping my aim steady.

Jason L:
For simplicity's sake thoreau is gathering info on those interested in a Nov-Dec DC meeting. I'll be doing the best I can to provide useless suggestions.

Like maybe us heading over to Hooters after the shooting range. There IS one very close by...

[Rick Barton]

Jennifer, dear, please quit smoking. It's really bad for you, and we care about you.

Ok, I'll go back to minding my own business...for a few minuets anyway.

[Jennifer]

I quit smoking on Sunday, Rick. But where the hell did THAT come from?!?

[drf]

Rick -

cool.

Akira: yer email got booted back to me. take out "NOSPAM" and drop me a line - would love to have you at the next chicago meeting.

cheers and congrats to the NYC group.

drf

[Jennifer]

Like maybe us heading over to Hooters after the shooting range

Like I'm not depressed enough about getting old, without having a bunch of Hooters girls around for comparison. . . .

[smacky]

Cheer up, Jennifer. Most of those Hooters girls have to tape their boobs together to get a semblage of cleavage, anyway. ^_^

[Jeff P.]

I would like to say for the record:
I saw Steve Martin play a local civic center when I was 15.
I saw Sam Kinnison play a nightclub in Chicopee MA before his first album came out.
I saw Kids in the Hall live twice.
I've seen performances by Second City, Upright Citizen's Brigade, and Penn & Teller.

But watching Jennifer go through a mid-life crisis is the funniest goddamned thing I have ever seen in my life. It has brought me hours of side-splitting amusement.

[Mr. Nice Guy]

The only reason why I go to Hooters every blue moon is because of their excellent buffalo wings.

And because of the girls in tight shirts.

[mediageek]

Like I'm not depressed enough about getting old, without having a bunch of Hooters girls around for comparison. . . .

Assuming you can actually construct a sandwich properly, you have nothing to get depressed about.

(total shot in the dark)
Jennifer has a similar appearance to a good friend of mine here in Phoenix. Whaddaya know?

She doesn't happen to be a Purdue alumni, does she?
(/total shot in the dark)

[Jennifer]

I'm a pretty decent cook, Mediageek, but that's not what paid the bills in my younger days.

Sigh. . .

[Lowdog]

media - nope.

But people have mistaken her for being Jewish, which she's not.

And I don't know if Jennifer has a similar temperament and attitude as my friend here in Phx, but if so, all I can say is: "I'm sorry, Jeff."

🙂

[Sarcastic Bastard, Master of t]

Why is everyone white?

Hmm...a crapload of geeky white men. Never thought there'd be any of those at a Libertarian gathering.

[TheDumbFish]

Julian, I thought so.

I didn't see any resemblance between JD and any Reason personality. But he does look like Spider Robinson as someone posted.

The minute I saw red shirt guy I thought, "This looks like a guy who could work for Reason".

[Ruthless]

Not to plan your party itenerary, Nice Guy and thoreau, but:
1. Spend time in a bar.
2. Go to an armory.
3. Stop by Hooters for some "camp followers."
4. Finally, begin the Liberty Walk!

[Jeff P.]

Libertarians often recognize themselves in ohters. Like ferrets.

[Stevo Darkly]

I quit smoking on Sunday, Rick.

Good for you, Jennifer! I'm not at all evangelical about non-smoking -- a lot of my friends smoke, and it would only annoy them. But I've seen smoking-related diseases pretty much decimate my mom's side of the family (including my mom; 3:15 a.m., Nov. 29, 1997, RIP, and a bad thing to have to watch happening), so I'm always glad when a friend decides to quit that weed. And you look great, Jennifer. I would really hate to see you become the hottest bald girl in the hospital.

The NYC gathering looks pretty uniformly young. The Chicago get-together had a couple more, er, mature members. I can say that because I'm afraid I was one of them. Well, maybe "mature" is not the right word in my case ...

I do feel compelled to mention that our Chicago event, while having a male majority, also had its share of feminine babery. One of the surprises of the night was that the unassuming poster "linguist" (how many regulars even know that she's a she?) is in fact a striking assemblage of femme-flesh. (I hope linguist's hubby doesn't take offense at that comment, as he cuts a dashing bad-ass figure in his motorcycle gear and I'd hate to have to fight him.)

And smacky is a little cutie! Although somehow we already knew that, despite her self-deprecating posts. In that "smart-girl cute" way that I and many other guys have a soft spot for. (Wonkette also kinda has that sort of look. And Virginia Postrel has it.) She also has a very slight "hippie chick" thing going for her, although I might just be projecting that on her because of her eclectic knowledge of obscure musics.

(The rest of the women in our party were all spouses and lurkers, I believe. Howdy, Angel, if you're out there.)

I'd better shut up and go back to work now. Very busy day. I'll try to come back and make more borderline-inappropriate comments later.

[mediageek]

And smacky is a little cutie! Although somehow we already knew that, despite her self-deprecating posts. In that "smart-girl cute"

I think my heart just melted. If someone would care to put it on ice, I'd be much obliged.

[Dylan]

Rick -

No, my (first) name is actually Dylan.

Maybe I oughta claim I'm related to Bob -- I am a big fan (and that reminds me, I think that Scorsese documentary is out today).

Looking at Nick's and Julian's pics, I suppose I can see it.

But they're not the greatest pics of me -- no fault of the photographer, I just look ridiculous.

[Mac Daddy Hoon]

I think my heart just melted. If someone would care to put it on ice, I'd be much obliged.

I've heard ice is pretty cheap in Maine these days...

[Lowdog]

Oh yeah, my friend also made money like Jennifer did in her younger days. Wow.

[gtm]

Larry --
I'm a Bay Area dude. East bay.

[Lowdog]

I arrive in Oakland tomorrow at 5pm and staying in the city (SF) until Monday night.

[linguist]

Wasn't there a Chicago meet-up just last month?

Yes, and there are photos. But I've not been given permission to broadcast them.

[linguist]

And Stevo, thanks for that complimentary description!

[David]

Libertarians need no permission! 🙂

[Rick Barton]

Jennifer,

Kudos for quitting smoking! Forgive my earnestness. I'm a bit of a health nut.

[Rick Barton]

Dylan,

Well, that shoots that hypothesis but I think that you really do look like Bob.

[Xavier]

I'd definitely be interested in going to the DC event. I'm using my real email here with a couple of spams tossed in. Please put me down, thoreau.

[Jennifer]

Rick--

Don't be too impressed. I only quit tobacco, and even that's only for a relatively short time--until I meet a certain financial goal I've set. Once I do, I'm taking a day trip to a certain Indian reservation and buying a few tax-free cartons.

[thoreau]

Xavier-

It would be helpful if you sent me an email. I have a folder of mails related to the event. This way I'll have it all together. My address is real, with a nospam disclaimer tossed in. When you write to me, include any preferences that you might have for which weekend to meet.

Thanks!

[Stevo Darkly]

linguist -- Oops, you're back! You're welcome. Call 'em as I see 'em.

[Julian Sanchez]

If any of you ever tell me to quit smoking--much as I know you mean well--I will find you and beat you to death with your own shoes. Fair warning.

[Stevo Darkly]

You know, Julian, you really should quit that unhealthy habit of beating people to death with their own shoes.

[Rick Barton]

Jennifer,

I only meant smoking tobacco. But come on, if you have the will power to stop it for a little while, just don't ever start again and save oodles of money. The heavy evidence is that if you resume smoking, you will likely live a life with far more illness.

Julian,

Respecting your wishes/threat; I will just say to you as well, that if you keep smoking, you will likely live a life with far more illness. Consider when you're in your 40's 50's or 60's. It will be a lot harder reading, thinking, and writing about interesting things when you're pre-occupied with fighting one of the many debilitating and life threatening conditions that so often accompany smoking.

Full disclosure: I've never smoked tobacco.

Also, as for: I will find you and beat you to death with your own shoes. I was a "Spock child", as in Dr. Spock. My parents never once spanked or hit me in any manner, and never even yelled at me. So cool it Julian cuz you're freaking me out!

[Solitudinarian]

Don't be too impressed. I only quit tobacco, and even that's only for a relatively short time--until I meet a certain financial goal I've set.

Did you quit smoking to save for a coach gun?

[mediageek]

I had the same thought as well.

Go Jen!

Keep in mind that you should save above and beyond the cost of the gun; you're going to need a cleaning kit, hearing protection, several boxes of ammo, targets, and depending on where you go to shoot, possibly range fees. Apologies if you already knew this.

[mediageek]

Sorry about the raving gun nut business.
I can't turn it off. It just happens, I go into a weird trance and next thing I know, *BAM* I've typed up some gun-related essay.

*sigh*

[Jennifer]

Oh no, guys, I have enough money for dozens of guns already--I want to get a house. Once I'm paying a mortgage instead of rent, I'm going right back to cigarettes.

The only person I'd consider beating to death right now, shoes or otherwise, is Julian. Nothing personal--I'm sure he's a fine man and I don't actually wish to cause him harm, but he IS a smoker so I'd kill him solely for the opportunity suck the nicotine out from under his fingernails.

Mmmmmm.

[thoreau]

Jennifer-

Out of curiosity, how high would tobacco taxes have to go to make it cheaper to smoke interstate commerce?

[Jennifer]

Thoreau--

Well, it's hard to make a comparison, because interstate commerce isn't smoked the same way tobacco is. When I smoke tobacco I go through a pack a day, which in Connecticut means a daily expense of anywhere from four dollars to five-fifty, depending on which brand you buy (and my preferred brand usually has deals, either buy-one-get-one-free, or buy-two-get-one-free).

By comparison, an ounce of Canadian interstate commerce costs from $300 to $350, but that will last me a few months.

[thoreau]

Isn't it funny how I can say "interstate commerce" and everybody immediately understands that I'm talking about pot?

[Jennifer]

Well, Thoreau, what else could it be? Smoking an 18-wheeler would be tough even for me.

[Isaac Bartram]

...Canadian interstate commerce...

Isn't that international commerce?

I know they're right next door but it actually is a different country:)

[Isaac Bartram]

Oh no, wait, Candian pot would be inter-provincial commerce.

[Rick Barton]

There are words that tend to motivate smokers in their 20's and 30's to finally quit for good-words like: "You have a large build-up of arterial plaque for your age".

[Jennifer]

Rick, I don't give a damn. I quit smoking SOLELY for financial reasons, and if I found cigarettes for a buck a pack I'd rip this nicotine patch off my arm right now.

[Rick Barton]

Jennifer,

Ok, but don't forget that the medical problems caused by smoking are quite expensive-treatments, medicine, operations, lost income from missed work...

[Rick Barton]

Jennifer,

Ok, but don't forget that the medical problems caused by smoking are quite expensive-treatments, medicine, operations, lost income from missed work...

[Rick Barton]

Jennifer,

Ok, but don't forget that the medical problems caused by smoking are quite expensive-treatments, medicine, operations, lost income from missed work...