Fuck windshield visors.

In rural areas (specifically dirt roads in Montana, but I've noticed it in Oregon as well if I'm far enough from the city), we often raise a few fingers off the steering wheel in greeting when passing in opposite directions. I'm not sure why, because I've never discussed it with anyone and no one taught me to do it,…

I had that experience going thru extremely bad weather in a caravan of strangers. I felt like we should have pulled over for a hug and a beer after surviving, but we just peeled off in our various directions and went on our ways.

Sounds like a worse version of the time my college cafeteria served us Hindu Beef...

Good to hear they're plowing better these days! The campus was always the worst, but the highways were generally pretty good.

We totally should make everyone take a class on dealing with things like poor traction, how to turn into a skid, how not to panic, etc before getting licensed. Of course, it doesn't help much if you don't practice. I've been living in a more temperate state for a couple years now, and when I went home to visit my…

They'd need more of a winter driving skills course. Defensive driving alone isn't good enough when there's ice and snow.

Oh man, God Bless America is one of my favorites. MENTAL HIGH FIVE.

Dude. I think she's my roommate's neighbor.

Holy shit, my roommate has a house at Rockaway. I don't want to be a creeper, but if I ever do run into Patti Smith on a beach trip, my life will be set.

It comes and goes, but it does get less acute over time. It's gotten worse since I moved here (I used to live several states away, but I moved to Portland and coincidentally got a job in the same tech park), but the intense "wave of grief" feeling has settled down a bit. It flares up a bit like an old injury, usually…

I'm so sorry for your loss. My sister was killed in similar circumstances (21 year old chose to run a red light, t-boned her car, the paramedics couldn't keep her alive long enough to be airlifted to the trauma hospital). She would have turned 38 two weeks ago - last week in therapy was rough.

Same with my hometown in Montana. I don't get why the bathroom issue is such an issue. Do they really think pedophiles are going to dress like women and touch kids in bathrooms? Scare mongering bullshit.

In Montana, they can also revoke your license for being delinquent on your student loans. Considering most of the state lacks usable public transit, and both weather and poorly laid out towns make it hard to bike or walk anywhere. In the immortal words of Niki Lauda, total bullshit.

I'm adopted. Grew up 2 hours from where I was born, then went back there for college.

I was stalked briefly in college by a guy whose thought process was a slightly more subtle version of this. Sadly, I was introduced by his girlfriend, who I worked with at the time, after she noticed her boyfriend and I lived in the same wing and had a lot in common. I eventually got an email from her saying, "I read…

Alternatively, be born into a family of food/gadget nerds and enthusiastically receive all of their hand-me-downs when they invariably upgrade. This is how I ended up with a beefy Osterizer blender (with the ice crushing attachment, in glorious avocado), a fully featured Cuisinart, several sets of good pots and pans…

This is like the Gallery of Regrettable Food, minus that site's author's regrettable politics!

Apparently Portland is the place Montanans go when we get fed up with Montana. JOIN US.

When I was in MMA, I walked around with a fair number of bruises, fat lips, limps, bandages, and braces. If I was wearing my fight team hoodie, no one batted an eye (except for the occasional, "I hope the other girl looks worse" comment from strangers), but in civilian clothes, people trended toward quiet pity. No one…