On Wed, 1 Jan 2025, rbowman wrote:

> On Wed, 1 Jan 2025 12:58:28 +0100, D wrote:
>
>> I think this has been tried in sweden as well. Sweden also started to
>> charge a minimum fee of around 20 EUR or so to get rid of old people who
>> just went to the doctor to socialize when it was free.
>
> But you meet the nicest people. When I checked in for last year's exam the
> receptionist led me to an exam room which sort of surprised me since
> there's usually a short wait. When I walked in my doctor and the woman in
> the room were rather surprised too.
>
> It turned out the receptionist had been told her husband was going to pick
> her up and the first old fart through the door would do as her husband.

Brilliant! And you are now happily living together I assume? ;)

On Thu, 2 Jan 2025 12:16:20 +0100, D wrote:

> This is the truth! In the past 10 years or so there has been a crisis
> within traditional chinese martial arts. It turned out, when
> MMA/Boxer/Wrestlers started to challenge the old masters, that they were
> more or less worthless at fighting.

That's what happens when martial arts turn into an art form. Some people
who were very proud of rank in the dojo found out the hard way it doesn't
work like that in a barroom brawl. 'Monkey Shakes Fist At Sky' might be
graceful but it doesn't match 'Boot In The Balls'.

On Thu, 2 Jan 2025 12:17:18 +0100, D wrote:

> On Wed, 1 Jan 2025, rbowman wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 1 Jan 2025 12:58:28 +0100, D wrote:
>>
>>> I think this has been tried in sweden as well. Sweden also started to
>>> charge a minimum fee of around 20 EUR or so to get rid of old people
>>> who just went to the doctor to socialize when it was free.
>>
>> But you meet the nicest people. When I checked in for last year's exam
>> the receptionist led me to an exam room which sort of surprised me
>> since there's usually a short wait. When I walked in my doctor and the
>> woman in the room were rather surprised too.
>>
>> It turned out the receptionist had been told her husband was going to
>> pick her up and the first old fart through the door would do as her
>> husband.
>
> Brilliant! And you are now happily living together I assume? ;)

I get along well with my ex on the phone. She's about 2000 miles away and
it's better that way. It may say something about our personalities that
neither of us remarried.

A few years after his wife died my brother remarried. I think that was
something he needed.

On 2025-01-02, rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
>> Brilliant! And you are now happily living together I assume? ;)

> I get along well with my ex on the phone. She's about 2000 miles away and
> it's better that way. It may say something about our personalities that
> neither of us remarried.

> A few years after his wife died my brother remarried. I think that was
> something he needed.

I am on my third wife.
The first one was a nuclear physicist divorced single mother. I was 22,
she was 30. We had a lot of sex. In the end, after 7 years, she decided
I was too stable and boring, kicked me outand went back to the abusive
bigamist that had cased her divorce years earlier.

The second one was a very good match. She had spent three years in the
USSR, and married the artist (MFA icon painter from Moscow University)
son of an orthodox priest. When I met her, she was maniging the ERP
system group at the tech company where we both worked. After our
daughter was born, she first demoted herself to tech support for
Engineer disktops in order to go part time, then became RE coordinator
for our (UU) church, and then became a cancer nurse. She divorced me
because she wanted to become a Buddhist num, got an MA in Divinity
(Buddhist hospice chaplain target) and got accepted into the Thich Nhat
Hanh order of Interbeing. She spent a few years managing an 11 bed
hospice house in Iowa, before retiring. We are still good friends, and
my new wife likes her a lot.

My current wife was a surgical nurse, but retired shortly after we
married. There are times when I think our best shot at staying married
is to live separately, but she would rather kill either me or herself
than agree to that.

On Fri, 3 Jan 2025 02:02:45 -0000 (UTC), Lars Poulsen wrote:

> My current wife was a surgical nurse, but retired shortly after we
> married. There are times when I think our best shot at staying married
> is to live separately, but she would rather kill either me or herself
> than agree to that.

For a couple years of our marriage she was going to graduate school in
Boston. I was working in Springfield but was spending a lot of time
setting up systems at customer sites. She would fly to Chicago, Toronto,
or wherever I was and we would have a fun filled weekend. Then she
graduated, got a job in the Springfield area, and I was spending more time
in the office. Domestic bliss wasn't in the cards.

Part of it was she had her career, I had mine, and they weren't
geographically compatible. She wound up at Columbia and I wound up in the
Rockies. We talked about getting back together a couple of times but by
then she was rooted in NYC and no way was I going back east.

On 1/2/25 3:29 PM, rbowman wrote:
> On Thu, 2 Jan 2025 12:16:20 +0100, D wrote:
>
>> This is the truth! In the past 10 years or so there has been a crisis
>> within traditional chinese martial arts. It turned out, when
>> MMA/Boxer/Wrestlers started to challenge the old masters, that they were
>> more or less worthless at fighting.
>
> That's what happens when martial arts turn into an art form. Some people
> who were very proud of rank in the dojo found out the hard way it doesn't
> work like that in a barroom brawl. 'Monkey Shakes Fist At Sky' might be
> graceful but it doesn't match 'Boot In The Balls'.

What eastern martial arts have devolved into - closer
to 'dance' than real-world fighting. LOOKS good though ...

You might want to look at "Kajukenbo" - that's much
more commando.

On Fri, 3 Jan 2025 00:58:31 -0500, 186282@ud0s4.net wrote:

> You might want to look at "Kajukenbo" - that's much more commando.

I'm too old for that stuff. You know that Harrison Ford movie where some
guy goes through a bunch of flourishes before Ford draws his revolver and
shoots him? That's more like it.

On Thu, 2 Jan 2025, rbowman wrote:

> On Thu, 2 Jan 2025 12:16:20 +0100, D wrote:
>
>> This is the truth! In the past 10 years or so there has been a crisis
>> within traditional chinese martial arts. It turned out, when
>> MMA/Boxer/Wrestlers started to challenge the old masters, that they were
>> more or less worthless at fighting.
>
> That's what happens when martial arts turn into an art form. Some people
> who were very proud of rank in the dojo found out the hard way it doesn't
> work like that in a barroom brawl. 'Monkey Shakes Fist At Sky' might be

I will shamelessly steal Monkey Shakes Fist At Sky!

> graceful but it doesn't match 'Boot In The Balls'.

Have you been in many bar fights? I've only been involved in one serious
fight in my life, and my boxing skills served me well in an unexpected
way. I was punched in the face, and the guy and his friends were very
suprised when I did not shut up or pass out. Instead I got ready to
retaliate, and when that happened the friend of the "fighter" aborted the
fight fight.

Apparently they were so used to people either collapsing or begging
forgiveness when being punched in the face, that the fact that I raised my
guard and got ready to play really confused them.

Psychology is very important in fighting, and it seems to me that naughty
people always love to attack when they are in superior numbers. Only once
have I experienced a naughty boy trying to do something while one on one,
but it didn't come to blows, and he didn't dare to accept my challenge.

On Thu, 2 Jan 2025, rbowman wrote:

> On Thu, 2 Jan 2025 12:17:18 +0100, D wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 1 Jan 2025, rbowman wrote:
>>
>>> On Wed, 1 Jan 2025 12:58:28 +0100, D wrote:
>>>
>>>> I think this has been tried in sweden as well. Sweden also started to
>>>> charge a minimum fee of around 20 EUR or so to get rid of old people
>>>> who just went to the doctor to socialize when it was free.
>>>
>>> But you meet the nicest people. When I checked in for last year's exam
>>> the receptionist led me to an exam room which sort of surprised me
>>> since there's usually a short wait. When I walked in my doctor and the
>>> woman in the room were rather surprised too.
>>>
>>> It turned out the receptionist had been told her husband was going to
>>> pick her up and the first old fart through the door would do as her
>>> husband.
>>
>> Brilliant! And you are now happily living together I assume? ;)
>
> I get along well with my ex on the phone. She's about 2000 miles away and
> it's better that way. It may say something about our personalities that
> neither of us remarried.
>
> A few years after his wife died my brother remarried. I think that was
> something he needed.
>

Horses for courses! My brother and his partner went their separate ways
and it has led to a complete change in his political ideas. With her, he
was annoyingly woke, and without her, all of a sudden he has turned
conservative with a pinch or two of racism. Very strange.

On Fri, 3 Jan 2025, Lars Poulsen wrote:

> On 2025-01-02, rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
>>> Brilliant! And you are now happily living together I assume? ;)
>
>> I get along well with my ex on the phone. She's about 2000 miles away and
>> it's better that way. It may say something about our personalities that
>> neither of us remarried.
>
>> A few years after his wife died my brother remarried. I think that was
>> something he needed.
>
> I am on my third wife.
> The first one was a nuclear physicist divorced single mother. I was 22,
> she was 30. We had a lot of sex. In the end, after 7 years, she decided
> I was too stable and boring, kicked me outand went back to the abusive
> bigamist that had cased her divorce years earlier.
>
> The second one was a very good match. She had spent three years in the
> USSR, and married the artist (MFA icon painter from Moscow University)
> son of an orthodox priest. When I met her, she was maniging the ERP
> system group at the tech company where we both worked. After our
> daughter was born, she first demoted herself to tech support for
> Engineer disktops in order to go part time, then became RE coordinator
> for our (UU) church, and then became a cancer nurse. She divorced me
> because she wanted to become a Buddhist num, got an MA in Divinity
> (Buddhist hospice chaplain target) and got accepted into the Thich Nhat
> Hanh order of Interbeing. She spent a few years managing an 11 bed
> hospice house in Iowa, before retiring. We are still good friends, and
> my new wife likes her a lot.
>
> My current wife was a surgical nurse, but retired shortly after we
> married. There are times when I think our best shot at staying married
> is to live separately, but she would rather kill either me or herself
> than agree to that.
>

Wow! You are quite a player Lars! =D

On Fri, 3 Jan 2025 12:23:39 +0100, D wrote:

> Have you been in many bar fights? I've only been involved in one serious
> fight in my life, and my boxing skills served me well in an unexpected
> way. I was punched in the face, and the guy and his friends were very
> suprised when I did not shut up or pass out. Instead I got ready to
> retaliate, and when that happened the friend of the "fighter" aborted
> the fight fight.

A couple but I tried to avoid them. There was a strip in town with several
bars mostly frequented by college kids. It was summer with a lot of
overflow in the street. At the time the cops all went back to the station
house at midnight. The next shift was there but were doing their briefings
so there was a gap. We were minding our business when some nut decided to
pick on my friend and had him backed up against the car. The friend was
the definition of out of touch PHd so I jumped in. That started the whole
melee. The nut was out of action so we left rapidly.

The old wisdom is true. You're quietly sitting there having a beer and
it's always some runt that wants to interrupt you.

On 2025-01-03, D <nospam@example.net> wrote:
> Wow! You are quite a player Lars! =D

Not really. Last time I was single, I spent lots of energy on match.com
and the like, but I could never get a second date. Very frustrating.

But the ones I did land, I was very lucky with.

On Fri, 3 Jan 2025 12:25:38 +0100, D wrote:

> Horses for courses! My brother and his partner went their separate ways
> and it has led to a complete change in his political ideas. With her, he
> was annoyingly woke, and without her, all of a sudden he has turned
> conservative with a pinch or two of racism. Very strange.

I think my ex is a bit to my right. I never listened to his show but she
may have been one of Rush Limbaugh's three fans in NYC.

I wouldn't call myself a conservative. To paraphrase the late Sam Francis
"Conserve? There's nothing left to conserve!"

On Sat, 3 Jan 2025, rbowman wrote:

> On Fri, 3 Jan 2025 12:23:39 +0100, D wrote:
>
>> Have you been in many bar fights? I've only been involved in one serious
>> fight in my life, and my boxing skills served me well in an unexpected
>> way. I was punched in the face, and the guy and his friends were very
>> suprised when I did not shut up or pass out. Instead I got ready to
>> retaliate, and when that happened the friend of the "fighter" aborted
>> the fight fight.
>
> A couple but I tried to avoid them. There was a strip in town with several
> bars mostly frequented by college kids. It was summer with a lot of
> overflow in the street. At the time the cops all went back to the station
> house at midnight. The next shift was there but were doing their briefings
> so there was a gap. We were minding our business when some nut decided to
> pick on my friend and had him backed up against the car. The friend was
> the definition of out of touch PHd so I jumped in. That started the whole
> melee. The nut was out of action so we left rapidly.
>
> The old wisdom is true. You're quietly sitting there having a beer and
> it's always some runt that wants to interrupt you.

Maybe you have a victim look? ;) Fortunately for me, the times, except the
above, people have tried to rob me or assault me, I always was able to
verbally de-escalate the situation without having to hand over any
property.

I have no idea how I always managed to do that, but perhaps adrenalin also
increases the power of your tongue! ;)

On Fri, 3 Jan 2025, Lars Poulsen wrote:

> On 2025-01-03, D <nospam@example.net> wrote:
>> Wow! You are quite a player Lars! =D
>
> Not really. Last time I was single, I spent lots of energy on match.com
> and the like, but I could never get a second date. Very frustrating.
>
> But the ones I did land, I was very lucky with.
>

You are smart Lars! I go for quality over quantity every single time!
Even though it might take a long time, in the end I am very happy with
the result! =)

On Sat, 3 Jan 2025, rbowman wrote:

> On Fri, 3 Jan 2025 12:25:38 +0100, D wrote:
>
>> Horses for courses! My brother and his partner went their separate ways
>> and it has led to a complete change in his political ideas. With her, he
>> was annoyingly woke, and without her, all of a sudden he has turned
>> conservative with a pinch or two of racism. Very strange.
>
> I think my ex is a bit to my right. I never listened to his show but she
> may have been one of Rush Limbaugh's three fans in NYC.
>
> I wouldn't call myself a conservative. To paraphrase the late Sam Francis
> "Conserve? There's nothing left to conserve!"
>

Maybe you are a conservative libertarian? Or a libertarian nationalist? It
is very fun to mix up isms! It always confuses people! ;)

On Sat, 4 Jan 2025 01:53:41 +0100, D wrote:

> Maybe you have a victim look? Fortunately for me, the times, except the
> above, people have tried to rob me or assault me, I always was able to
> verbally de-escalate the situation without having to hand over any
> property.

In my prime I had the cop look. It runs in the family. A couple of my
cousins really were cops.

On Sat, 4 Jan 2025 01:55:25 +0100, D wrote:

> Maybe you are a conservative libertarian? Or a libertarian nationalist?
> It is very fun to mix up isms! It always confuses people!

Revolutionary nationalist? Libertarian socialist?

On 2025-01-04, rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:

> On Sat, 4 Jan 2025 01:55:25 +0100, D wrote:
>
>> Maybe you are a conservative libertarian? Or a libertarian nationalist?
>> It is very fun to mix up isms! It always confuses people!
>
> Revolutionary nationalist? Libertarian socialist?

I call myself a radical moderate.

--
/~\ Charlie Gibbs | Growth for the sake of
\ / <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> | growth is the ideology
X I'm really at ac.dekanfrus | of the cancer cell.
/ \ if you read it the right way. | -- Edward Abbey

On Sat, 4 Jan 2025, rbowman wrote:

> On Sat, 4 Jan 2025 01:53:41 +0100, D wrote:
>
>> Maybe you have a victim look? Fortunately for me, the times, except the
>> above, people have tried to rob me or assault me, I always was able to
>> verbally de-escalate the situation without having to hand over any
>> property.
>
> In my prime I had the cop look. It runs in the family. A couple of my
> cousins really were cops.
>

Hmm... maybe there is a happy medium? Too little cop look, bad, too much
of a cop look (by yourself) bad. Average amount of cop look, good!

On Sat, 4 Jan 2025, Charlie Gibbs wrote:

> On 2025-01-04, rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 4 Jan 2025 01:55:25 +0100, D wrote:
>>
>>> Maybe you are a conservative libertarian? Or a libertarian nationalist?
>>> It is very fun to mix up isms! It always confuses people!
>>
>> Revolutionary nationalist? Libertarian socialist?
>
> I call myself a radical moderate.

Beautiful! Keep the poetry coming! =)