Comments Posted By John McCrarey
Displaying 361 To 390 Of 6,501 Comments
Kevin, yes, that version is much more entertaining.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 01/March/2026 @ 12:34 pm
Drain, yep, and they lost two loyal ones that night. I might still visit during Hash events, but no more popping in for a beer.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 01/March/2026 @ 2:51 pm
Kevin, yeah, that was a bad fuck-up, even by my low standards. Your third example captures my intent and is how I would rewrite it now.
I kept thinking that the bad spelling of jewler/watchs in the meme was intentional, but I didn’t get the joke.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 28/February/2026 @ 1:01 pm
Kevin, the line about writing my death song was just playing off the meme. Whatever time I have left, I’m going to do my best to enjoy. Beer and carbs bring me joy.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 27/February/2026 @ 3:21 pm
Kevin, if I ever knew my school’s Latin motto, I’ve long-ago forgotten it. I did check the WHS Wikipedia page, and it says the motto is “One Family, One Pride.”
I was shocked to see the current demographics, with only 5% of the student body being white. When I attended, I would estimate my classmates were 70% white, 25% Latino, and 5% other. My, how times have changed in my old hometown.
But isn’t a half-assed effort better than no effort at all?
» Posted By John McCrarey On 26/February/2026 @ 2:38 pm
Brian, yes, I have my favorites and also try to color-coordinate with my outfit.
No rules about hats here (even in the topless bars), but back in my days on the Army base, I respected the no-hats-indoors rule.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 26/February/2026 @ 2:30 pm
Kevin, damn it! Putting the apostrophe in “Harrietts” was stupid even by my low standards. In my defense, autocorrect did it, but I should have known better.
Love that AI rendering of the cow photo. And it is a cow, not a carabao, although I guess they are cousins. Credit where it is due, that’s one of Scott Paul’s photographs.
I have resisted getting on board the AI train, but damn, having an old poem turned into a song sounds really cool. I’d want it to be a ’70s tune. Karen and I are still Facebook friends.
I’ll blog it later, but practice did not make perfect.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 25/February/2026 @ 9:42 am
Kevin, I went and read Fletcher’s Wikipedia page…fascinating life story. Couldn’t find the balls-to-the-wall quote, but it sounds like something he would say.
What’s wrong with pleasing kids with candy?
I was a big House fan, so I’m sure I saw (and subsequently forgot) that episode.
I ordered the mini soft tacos, but alas, they were not available. The jumbo taco is fine, just too big to eat like a taco. Instead, we break it up and eat it like a taco salad.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 24/February/2026 @ 1:19 pm
Brian, haha! I hadn’t really thought about it, but yeah, I’m never outside without my ballcap. Indoors at home, I’m topless, though.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 24/February/2026 @ 1:08 pm
Ms. Jackson, sorry, not sorry, that I don’t meet your fashion standards.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 24/February/2026 @ 1:07 pm
Kevin, yes, he looked up and saw me just before I stopped videoing. I waved and gave him a thumbs-up, and he waved back.
Yes, I remember that now. Not knowing then cost me the already paid first month’s rent, around a hundred bucks.
I’m sure I mentioned it. I wake up stiff and sore, but I can usually walk it off. There’s only one cure for old age, and I don’t want it. Thank God I’m not in Canada!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 23/February/2026 @ 11:24 am
Thanks, Drain. I don’t taxi much, but the ones on SBMA are a mafia. I thought it was a screw the foreigner situation, but they tried to scam Swan as well. Anyway, I’ll be snapping photos of the taxi license number in the future. I doubt reporting will make a difference, but I have zero tolerance for being scammed!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 22/February/2026 @ 7:44 am
Kevin, glad to help!
» Posted By John McCrarey On 21/February/2026 @ 2:11 pm
Brian, yes, we agree. As long as both parties are honest about it and are getting what the need, it works.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 21/February/2026 @ 2:10 pm
Kevin, the cafe wasn’t open at the time, but it appeared to still be in business. Surprisingly, given its isolated location.
Yes, I strongly oppose drinking and driving (I used to keep a breathalyzer in my car back in the USA to make sure I was never over the limit when I got behind the wheel). I suppose the overpriced taxis on SBMA would be an option.
I agree the video didn’t feel like a real story from a 91-year-old veteran, but the tales it told were all too familiar and illustrate classic mistakes expats make when they move here. So, it serves as a fair warning, even if the main character is fictional. That said, I disagree with the advice to flee the country. Best advice, be aware and don’t be stupid.
Yeah, my new workaround is to have multiple do-over lives and see which one turns out the best. Hey, I’ve got an eternity, right?
» Posted By John McCrarey On 20/February/2026 @ 1:10 pm
Brian, I’ve used my driver a couple of times for hikes in the past, but that has to be pre-planned and limits the number of potential participants.
Regarding the video, yes, my sense is that it does not represent one man’s views as claimed, but rather a conglomeration of multiple stories. Regardless, the issues raised are true enough. Unwise choices lead to bad outcomes.
I don’t disagree with you regarding the transactional nature of many, if not most, relationships. From my earliest days here, I’ve known that what makes me attractive to a woman is the bulge in my pants (I’m talking about my wallet). Still, back home, women want young, fit, handsome guys. I find that attraction every bit as shallow, if not more so, than being attracted to financial security. In my elderly years now, I’m most attracted to a woman who can and will take care of me. Swan fulfills that desire, and in turn, I make sure she has what she needs to live a comfortable life.
Having been married four times and been on the losing end in countless other relationships, I agree with Bob Dylan’s song: love is just a four-letter word.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 20/February/2026 @ 12:59 pm
Kevin, well, at least you gave me some hints this time. I take it the issue with the first two examples involves hyphenation. In my defense, I originally tried to use “grocery-shopping,” but my spellcheck underlined it in red and suggested removing the hyphen, so I did.
In the other example, I did not need the comma after usual. Yeah, it seems I use commas when I shouldn’t and don’t use them when I should.
And finally, another hyphen-related problem. When in doubt, hyphenate!
I didn’t know that music was a whole-brain activity. Maybe I should sleep with my earbuds on to wake up those grammar braincells. Especially since I’m commatose.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 19/February/2026 @ 11:08 am
Aaron, those were costumes, not trannies. Why are you so obsessed with baklas?
» Posted By John McCrarey On 18/February/2026 @ 1:51 pm
Kevin, I didn’t even notice the error.
Yeah, maybe next year I’ll go dressed to kill!
Lucky or not, it’s my last chance at love, so hopefully I won’t fuck it up this time.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 18/February/2026 @ 1:50 pm
Brian, I agree with you regarding the vlogger. He’s doing things his way, and that’s fine for him. It doesn’t mean everyone who chooses a different lifestyle is doing it wrong. I like living in comfort, and bottled water is part of that for me. And having a bunch of kids that aren’t his living in his house puts him at risk in a way I try to avoid. Anyway, his life, his choice.
“Can a plan not go as intended if a person is 100% in control of that plan?”
Um, this is me we are talking about. Since when have I been in control? Plans change, and so did I. 🙂
» Posted By John McCrarey On 18/February/2026 @ 1:47 pm
Kevin, Swan’s home-cooked steaks are plenty good. I’ll share the recipe you linked with her; she likes a challenge.
Um, yeah, the red dresses at the Hash were a lot like those pics in your link. You’ll see in my post today.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 17/February/2026 @ 2:03 pm
Brian, yes, I’ve seen prices going up across the board, but especially on imported products. The peso exchange rate has been great lately (currently around 58 pesos to the dollar), and anything above 50 is fine by me. My pension does get an annual COLA, so I should be good unless the US goes bankrupt and stops paying me.
The only problem with the Hash bar crawl scene is having 40 or 50 people trying to order a beer at the same time. It worked out better than I thought it would yesterday, and I wound up having a good time. From what I remember, anyway.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 17/February/2026 @ 1:58 pm
Dr. Greg, nope, I hosed it out of the pants.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 16/February/2026 @ 1:37 pm
Who is Sydney?
» Posted By John McCrarey On 16/February/2026 @ 1:36 pm
Kevin, it looks like I have achieved a new low in the quality of my proofreading. I’ll have to archive this for future reference.
Most of my walking is done in the morning after a light breakfast. I’m not sure how I’d do after a big meal. I don’t think those two slices of pizza affected me… hey, wait a minute, that’s why I wimped out on the trail. Not my fault, I blame the pizza!
When I was a young man in the 70s, I’d go backpacking without a care in the world. Now, as an old man in his 70s, I need my creature comforts: a comfortable place to sleep and Wi-Fi. My, how the world has changed. Maybe for the better, maybe not. You don’t miss what you never had.
When the next meteor hits, the human race is doomed. Well, a handful of hardy folks living in the wilderness already might still be around.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 16/February/2026 @ 8:16 am
Kevin, I’ll write about the adventure soon, but yeah, it wasn’t so much rough as it was uncomfortable. Toilets you had to walk a long way to reach, including stairs. No seat, and they don’t flush; you use a bucket to do that.
That 29K hike has become a pipe-dream, I’m afraid.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 15/February/2026 @ 2:21 pm
Terry, not as tough as I used to be, and getting weaker every day, it seems. I didn’t technically camp, but it was still roughing it to me. I’ll post about the trip soon.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 15/February/2026 @ 2:17 pm
Drain, I was busy living my insulated American life back in ’92 and had no idea what was going on outside of my cocoon. When Asia became part of my life a decade later, and I read the history of the base closures, I was amazed at how the elected “leaders” of a nation could take an action so detrimental to the nation. Yeah, that monument doesn’t say what they hoped it would.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 16/February/2026 @ 8:21 am
Kevin, yeah, I didn’t know Dr. Jo was testing for prostate cancer until she told me I didn’t have cancer. A surprise and a relief at the same time!
No pun intended, just one more example of sloppy writing/proofreading.
I’m not taking the laptop because I don’t think the camping situation will be conducive to using it or to store it safely while I’m out Hashing.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 14/February/2026 @ 8:51 am
«« Back To Stats PageBrian, I loved my time in Seoul but the memories of those happy days were too painful for me to carry on. And yes, the expense was also a factor.
» Posted By John McCrarey On 14/February/2026 @ 8:46 am