[Sloth] The Time of the Hammer is Upon Us.

[Sloth the Enduring]

On 4/3/2018 at 10:25 AM, Raxie said:

 

Why the assumption that because there *is* sauce it *needs* sauce? Can't something be delicious and amazing on its own but also sauce is so freakin' good (like sometimes I'll just eat veggies with bbq sauce because yes.) so why not add some to the already perfect meat?! Hahahah

 

(I've been having this argument with some friends of mine for years #bbqtriggered XD)

 

Yes.  All the yes.

 

On 4/3/2018 at 11:30 AM, The Most Loathed said:

The same reason you put gravy on potatoes and frosting on cake, each is good but together they are better. Also, without sauce we call it "grilling". Still awesome but not the same thing. 

 

Even more all tbe yes. 

 

This is was my third time in Texas and I still haven’t had its BBQ. which is weird ‘cause I always look for it when I’m in the warm states. 

 

On 4/3/2018 at 1:58 PM, LadyShello said:

I actually just made plans for a roadtrip to Austin this fall.  Looks like I have my meals sorted..  

 

I’ve always wanted to go there. I kind of regret not moving there when I had the chance. 

 

On 4/3/2018 at 3:06 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

I'm close enough to Austin to make it worth driving up there to meet a Ranger.

 

I was gonna suggest meeting halfway, but Mrs. Sloth wasn’t up for another drive or being alone with the kids. I’ll be back. 

 

On 4/3/2018 at 8:39 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE!?!?! My HEB has everything Shiner has for Sale. Port Arthur must really be in sad shape if the HEB doesn't have Shiner.

 

Port Arthur had block after block of boarded up and burnt out businesses. This HEB was pretty small, without a lot of variety; no high-end goods. Is HEB a do-gooder company?  I was wondering if they moved in because Port Arthur was a food desert. It was nothing like their other stores. 

[Sloth the Enduring]

On 4/4/2018 at 2:25 PM, shaar said:

 

THE LIZARD KING BECKONS

 

He was beckoning to eat me. 

 

On 4/4/2018 at 2:44 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Have fun getting crabs.

 

While not as much fun as the first time I got crabs, it was still a good time. This time you tie a chicken neck to a piece of string and slowly pull it in. When the crab clamped on to the chicken neck gets close you scoop it up with a net. When the gator comes to see what you’re up to you move to a different part of the marsh. 

 

On 4/4/2018 at 3:48 PM, DJtrippyT said:

 

 

hahahahah

 

yeah I had no idea my life would involve this much moisturizer. Don't get the botox though, you won't be able to furrow your brow when you want to express concern. You'll just have to tip your head to one side, like a parrakeet.

 

Also, with all this doughnut talk, I have to point out that you're all missing out on Krispy Kreme by not living in the south, which is the world's best form of doughnut-based diabetes.

 

I don’t mind being wrinkled and leathery, but if I knew how hard cataracts was going to make everything I’d have worn sunglasses a lot more often. 

 

On 4/5/2018 at 7:10 AM, The Most Loathed said:

Krispy Kreme made a norther assault about 15 years ago. I don't recall if we have any in Minnesota but Iowa still has them. The quality seems to have dropped off up here in the last 10 years. We also are experiencing a push from Dunkin to the East and Tim Hortons to the North. 

 

I loved Krispy Kreme when they first got here, but they went downhill fast. There are enough boutique doughnut shops and old fashioned bakeries around that you shouldn’t have to put up with a sub-par doughnut. 

 

On 4/5/2018 at 10:21 AM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

I'm jumping in on the don't-see-the-point-of-the-hype-of-Krispy-Kreme train.

 

I’m surprised you didn’t advocate for Happy Donut or Donut Palace. There was one or the other every few miles. They’re not open in the afternoon so I didn’t get to try them. 

[Sloth the Enduring]

On 4/5/2018 at 7:18 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

Ya'll need to check out Fredericksburg some time if you are interested in Germans in Texas. Enchanted Rock State Natural area is close by and has RV hookups if I'm not mistaken.

 

I’m not.  It’s just that whenever we go anywhere we meet actual Germans driving and camping across the US. Mrs Sloth always makes friends with them. Her baby daddy was German, maybe she has a thing for them...

 

On 4/5/2018 at 9:08 PM, Xena said:

Sloth! That picture and the one Bearlee posted were great. You look really happy.

 

 

 

 

I have a completely irrational dislike of Krispy Kreme. I grew up in a Dunkin town. Krispy Kreme moved in to much fanfare while I was in high school. But they set up shop in the rich suburb near us (I was from the other side of the tracks). So in my mind Dunkin is the "working man's doughnut" and Krispy Kreme is for high-maintenance yuppie foodies. I know it doesn't make any sense, but it's ingrained in me.

 

Thanks.  BBQ and gators, and BBQed gator makes me happy. The meds are helping too. I have an anti-chain thing with donuts. Which is weird because I’ll happily eat gas station donuts. 

 

On 4/5/2018 at 9:43 PM, NeverThatBored said:

Oh no, are we about to have another food war??  But you're all wrong because donuts are gross no matter who makes them.

 

Hahahahaha. 

 

On 4/5/2018 at 11:14 PM, Jakkals said:

A doughnut war? Talk about first world problems.

 

Here in South Africa there are a few Krispy Kreme doughnut outlets, and that is it. And it is expensive. 

 

 

 

 

 

Very much first world problems. I acknowledge I live a blessed life. 

 

On 4/6/2018 at 1:10 AM, LouCarJo said:

Sounds like a really relaxing, get away from it all, kind of holiday.  Glad you’re having a nice time (despite all the scary wildlife).

 

It was great. I loved the scary wildlife. We’re a little bummed we never saw the otters and armadillos though. 

[Sloth the Enduring]

On 4/6/2018 at 5:05 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

I'm glad that boar ran away. A piece of firewood wasn't going to do much of anything even if it was on fire.

 

Flippant answer: most things get reasonable when you put a piece of oak in its face. 

 

Real answer: me too.  It could have gotten real ugly. But it was charging my dog and I wasn’t about to let it maul him. 

 

On 4/6/2018 at 8:01 PM, Chris-Tien Jinn said:

 

Something I never even considered searching for ..... anywhere.  But then, no one will ever make better donuts than my grandma .....

 

@Sloth the Enduring, I hope the rest of the trip is less interesting.  Unfortunately, we are still in the grip of winter, and more snow is on the way.  

 

 

I was real disappointed to see snow when we hit Iowa.  I thought it’d be green when we got back. 

 

15 hours ago, elizevdmerwe said:

Ok, had to look up that word.

Wow, hat's off to you! This is something (tornadoes) that we never have to take into consideration, but storms and fog we have more than enough of. Hope you have a more relaxed, uneventful further trip home. And sorry to hear about Slothboy.

 

The tornadoes were scary. We kept hearing the warnings on the radio, but we didn’t know where we were. And we were in a desolate area with no where to shelter. Luckily they were in the county south of us and heading further south.

 

48 minutes ago, jstanlick said:

It sent you to Oklahoma to get away from tornadoes!?!? That just doesn't compute.

 

Hah. We were in Tex-Arkana and they were in Texas and SW Arkansas. Luckily that took us around the worst of the thunderstorms. 

 

24 minutes ago, Chris-Tien Jinn said:

 

This lovely debate leads to wonderful, annual competitions.  

 

Hah. I’d like to judge that. So far the only place that would compete in MN is Ted Cook’s 19th Hole in South Minneapolis. 

 

 

———

 

i’m Tired. I’ll update tomorrow. 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

1 hour ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

 

 

 

The water was real gritty.  I’m not sure what that was about. Passing mile after mile of refinery on the way in didn’t convince me that the water was to be trusted. 

I just looked it up. Apparently it's all the sediment from the Mississippi river that gets blown west by the wind. While the refineries and drilling don't help, it's the sediment that's the main culprit. Every single first page google result said basically the same thing in their summaries.

52 minutes ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

 

Port Arthur had block after block of boarded up and burnt out businesses. This HEB was pretty small, without a lot of variety; no high-end goods. Is HEB a do-gooder company?  I was wondering if they moved in because Port Arthur was a food desert. It was nothing like their other stores. 

It is a do-gooder company. They keep many marginally profitable stores open in poorer neighborhoods when it would be cheaper to shut them down. It's one of the many reasons I'm happy do to business there. On top of that, they give away TONS of money to local charities, as well as having campgrounds they let organizations use for free.

43 minutes ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

 

 

I’m surprised you didn’t advocate for Happy Donut or Donut Palace. There was one or the other every few miles. They’re not open in the afternoon so I didn’t get to try them. 

Neither of those are as common in San Antonio. Believe it or not, HEB has a lot of good pastries.

28 minutes ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

 

Flippant answer: most things get reasonable when you put a piece of oak in its face. 

 

Real answer: me too.  It could have gotten real ugly. But it was charging my dog and I wasn’t about to let it maul him. 

 

Rangers gonna Ranger.

[PettyMort]

4 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

 

Sorry, I didn’t post much about Texas.  It’s an interesting place, worth your time to visit. 

 

I know. My fiance is Texan. We spend every summer there between contracts. I absolutely love it. If you get a chance to go through DFW again, Rodeo Goat has the most amazing burgers I've ever had. Here's a link to their website. I had the Olivia Darling but all their burgers are delicious. 

 

 

[Mrs Van]

Lol, just received the update on your thread and I read "Sloth the Endearing". Thought to myself... Oh he changed his name. It fits, nice. Then I did a double take and see nope, it is still Enduring.

Glad you are home safe.

[EricMN]

On 4/7/2018 at 9:06 PM, Sloth the Enduring said:

The BBQ was good, but I bet there’s a few hole-in-the-wall places in KC that are even better. 

*cough* Danny Edwards *cough*

[shaar]

HOORAY WELCOME HOME glad you didn't get mauled by the Lizard King or crabs or tornadoes!!!!

[Sloth the Enduring]

On April 7, 2018 at 10:11 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

I just looked it up. Apparently it's all the sediment from the Mississippi river that gets blown west by the wind. While the refineries and drilling don't help, it's the sediment that's the main culprit. Every single first page google result said basically the same thing in their summaries.

It is a do-gooder company. They keep many marginally profitable stores open in poorer neighborhoods when it would be cheaper to shut them down. It's one of the many reasons I'm happy do to business there. On top of that, they give away TONS of money to local charities, as well as having campgrounds they let organizations use for free.

Neither of those are as common in San Antonio. Believe it or not, HEB has a lot of good pastries.

Rangers gonna Ranger.

 

I'm glad to hear that that wasn't all pollution rubbing against my skin.

 

HEB seems like a good store, even from a rare visitor.

 

I've had HEB pastry, not bad if I recall.  But, I'll tell you what, next time I'm in Texas I'm getting a Happy Donut.

 

On April 8, 2018 at 1:08 AM, PettyMort said:

 

I know. My fiance is Texan. We spend every summer there between contracts. I absolutely love it. If you get a chance to go through DFW again, Rodeo Goat has the most amazing burgers I've ever had. Here's a link to their website. I had the Olivia Darling but all their burgers are delicious. 

 

 

 

It'd be hard to get the missus to drive to DFW again.  That was some bad traffic.  The burgers do look good though.

 

On April 8, 2018 at 1:53 AM, elizevdmerwe said:

Lol, just received the update on your thread and I read "Sloth the Endearing". Thought to myself... Oh he changed his name. It fits, nice. Then I did a double take and see nope, it is still Enduring.

Glad you are home safe.

 

 Only people online think I'm endearing.

 

8 hours ago, shaar said:

HOORAY WELCOME HOME glad you didn't get mauled by the Lizard King or crabs or tornadoes!!!!

 

Thanks.  The crabs were surprisingly feisty and the gators were surprisingly timid.

[Sloth the Enduring]

Where'd I leave off...  Since Slothboy was feverish and listless (he traveled really well that way, didn't bug his sister or require endless snacks) we wanted to head home as fast as possible.  We originally talked about driving straight through the night.  However, somewhere in Missouri the rain turned to sleet and the roads got rathe slippery, that paired with my not being able to see the road (cataracts) convinced us to sleep in Joplin.  We couldn't find a motel that would take the dog, so we bedded down at a Love's truck stop.  It was below freezing, but our camper is small and four bodies heat it up.  We all put on a thick hoody and warm socks.  I slept in the bed with the kids and my back to the cold wall, Slothboy in the middle and Mrs. Sloth took the couch and the dog.  She was cold in the morning, but the rest of us were fine.

 

Saturday was an uneventful drive, except for an unexpected foray into a rugged part of Kansas City.

 

Sunday, I slept.  I got about 8 hours of sleep, let the dog out, and got another 6 hours of sleep on the couch.  That's like three days worth for me.  I also went to bed at 8 and slept solid all night, getting another two days worth.  I was still exhausted though.  Step-Sloth and his new girlfriend were in town for an anime con.  We met them for lunch.  She seems nice enough and nerdy enough.

 

Monday - I made it though work.  After dinner I'm going to do a little shovlglove and go for a jog to see how my knees are going to hold up for the Hammer Race.  I sure wish it was warmer out.

 

Whew, I'm finally caught up.  Back to our regular schedule tomorrow.

[Xena]

1 hour ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

 Only people online think I'm endearing.

 

That doesn't mean we're wrong.

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

2 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

 

 

 Only people online think I'm endearing.

 

I met you IRL and was well and truly endeared.

[Mrs Van]

3 hours ago, Xena said:

 

That doesn't mean we're wrong.

 

2 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

I met you IRL and was well and truly endeared.

I think a name change is on the books.

 

Glad you caught up on sleep. I'm truly impressed with how you managed to drive that distance! Good luck for the regular schedule.

[Sloth the Enduring]

4/10/18 Tuesday

 

I just did a 1 1/4 mile (2 km) dog trot in ~13 minutes while slowing to allow the dog to pee on every phone pole. I declare myself hammer race ready.  Now I just need to taper into the weekend.  

 

New foster dog.  Major aka Goofus.  Big and slobbery.  About three times as big as any other dog we’ve fostered. We should have him 8 weeks until his heart worm clears up.

 

[EricMN]

48 minutes ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

New foster dog.  Major aka Goofus.  Big and slobbery.  About three times as big as any other dog we’ve fostered. We should have him 8 weeks until his heart worm clears up.

 

 

Spoiler

 

Cannot allow the GF to see him. The wants will begin. She would not be wrong.

[Bearlee]

2 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

I just did a 1 1/4 mile (2 km) dog trot in ~13 minutes while slowing to allow the dog to pee on every phone pole. I declare myself hammer race ready.  Now I just need to taper into the weekend.  

 

Is this what it takes to be hammer race ready? If so I might be ready sooner than I thought for the fall. Which part of KC was the rough part? Probably on the Missouri side.

 

On 4/8/2018 at 7:45 AM, EricMN said:

*cough* Danny Edwards *cough*

 

I’ve never tried there. I’ll have to put it on my list of places to go.

[Mrs Van]

3 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

4/10/18 Tuesday

 

I just did a 1 1/4 mile (2 km) dog trot in ~13 minutes while slowing to allow the dog to pee on every phone pole. I declare myself hammer race ready.  Now I just need to taper into the weekend.  

 

New foster dog.  Major aka Goofus.  Big and slobbery.  About three times as big as any other dog we’ve fostered. We should have him 8 weeks until his heart worm clears up.

 

Aw he looks so adorable! Glad he took you for a run, and you both enjoyed it

[Bearlee]

You look pretty endearing here. And like a hippie, get a hair cut (sorry saw the comment on Facebook).

[The Most Loathed]

That' a cute dog. You won't have him long once he's adoptable. 

[deftona]

6 hours ago, Bearlee said:

You look pretty endearing here. And like a hippie, get a hair cut (sorry saw the comment on Facebook).

 

Well I think you both look super endearing so there will have to be an Endear-Off to see who is crowned the winner. 

[Sloth the Enduring]

15 hours ago, EricMN said:

Cannot allow the GF to see him. The wants will begin. She would not be wrong.

 

If she really wants a dog, this would be a good choice and I can go into detail into how awesome he is.  You can have dibs.

 

13 hours ago, Bearlee said:

 

Is this what it takes to be hammer race ready? If so I might be ready sooner than I thought for the fall. Which part of KC was the rough part? Probably on the Missouri side.

 

 

I’ve never tried there. I’ll have to put it on my list of places to go.

 

That post was flippant, but yes, I think if you can do a ten minute mile, even if it's only one, you can do the Hammer Race and probably all other entry-level OCRs.  I don't know about the strength standards, but I'm only average strong and I can manage.

 

Yes, the Missouri side.  We had to leave the highway in a desperate quest for gas.  The gas station was more of a head shop and we roamed around for a while before we got back on the interstate.

 

13 hours ago, elizevdmerwe said:

Aw he looks so adorable! Glad he took you for a run, and you both enjoyed it

 

Thanks.  He was stray, likely dumped, in a southern state, but that shelter contacts foster organization for the cream of the crop.

 

12 hours ago, Bearlee said:

You look pretty endearing here. And like a hippie, get a hair cut (sorry saw the comment on Facebook).

 

Thanks.  You look totes adorbs yourself.  I like my hair high and tight.  If you see me shaggy or bearded I'm not taking care of myself; I'm either sleep deprived or dealing with a broken brain.

 

7 hours ago, The Most Loathed said:

That' a cute dog. You won't have him long once he's adoptable. 

 

He's a good boy too.  He tore up the house when he first got here looking for edibles, but once he realized he was on a regular food schedule he's been great.

 

6 hours ago, deftona said:

 

Well I think you both look super endearing so there will have to be an Endear-Off to see who is crowned the winner. 

 

I'd have to give it to @BearLee , IRL I haven't completely given up my jerk tendencies.

[The Most Loathed]

3 minutes ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

He tore up the house when he first got here looking for edibles

A born, if over eager, police dog.

I showed him to Laura and was a little surprised she didn't tell me to call you right now. 

[Sloth the Enduring]

A born, if over eager, police dog. I showed him to Laura and was a little surprised she didn't tell me to call you right now. 

 

 

It took me a minute and then I loled.

 

You were right, the weather looks brutal. 26F and 10” of snow - I am so going to kick your ass.

 

 

ETA: The wrong Zumbro, it’s not going to be quite as brutal. I’m still going to kick your ass.

 

 

[The Most Loathed]

5 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

I’m still going to kick your ass.

 

Are you sure that you want to keep this going. You can lose fingers and toes, not just the race.