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The actual answer you’re…

The actual answer you’re looking for is Grosse Pointe. No longer the old money enclave it once was and has actually gotten quite progressive.

Incredible public schools, beautiful parks right on Lake St Clair, huge coastal culture.

 

10 min access to downtown Detroit and all it has to offer. 

Yep, which is objectively…

Yep, which is objectively cool! It's also cool that, on paper, Michigan should blow OSU out of the water. Having a win with that record will be even nicer for Sherrone, I bet!

I was never partial to their…

I was never partial to their food. Much preferred Benny's and Fleetwood. I recall the potatoes being particularly awful.

With that said, they're known for the raisin toast, but I will also put in a shoutout for their orange juice. I can't remember the exact details, but they do something absurd like fly them fresh up from Florida weekly. It's fresh squeezed and I remember, as a college kid that was not accustomed to such things, being absolutely blown away by it. Back in the early 2010s, it was like, $8 for basically a sippy cup, so I'm sure it's even more expensive now. But it really was delicious.

Just popping in to say…

Just popping in to say congrats on the upcoming wedding. Being married rules!

Hey Brian, you'll likely not…

Hey Brian, you'll likely not read this, but I just want to say that this reads like you're in a substantially better place than you were in prior stories and I'm super happy for you. Thanks for your work!

Train smart, train hard, and…

Train smart, train hard, and have fun!

This is ass, my dude

This is ass, my dude

4) We've had good success…

4) We've had good success with seeds from Nature and Nurture in Ann Arbor. Pricy, but organic and a heavy emphasis on foods that actually are native to or thrive in SE Michigan. We tend to do huge crops of tomatoes, hot peppers, raspberries, apples, lettuce, melons, herbs, and cucumbers. Tons of flowers too. 

We've got a tiny suburban lot and have had to get very creative with our bed placement. My wife and I would love to buy some acreage Up North one day and at minimum spend our summers and falls up there with a hobby farm set up. 

Haven't listened to the…

Haven't listened to the episode yet, but just here to say that I like the show and think Dan and Ty do good work! I heartily endorse it for other college football sickos. 

Excellent for doing the dishes!

PEACOCK?!?

PEACOCK?!?

I scan the WSJ, NYT, Detnews…

I scan the WSJ, NYT, Detnews, and Freep and that's pretty good for me. Plus MGoBlog...

1) Married Up North,…

1) Married Up North, honeymoon in Italy

2) Don't bury frustrations or arguments. Talk about them. That was one of the biggest adjustments for me. And when you have an argument or fight, remember that it's not you vs. her, it's the two of you vs. the problem. 

I drive a VW GLI and…

I drive a VW GLI and absolutely love it. However, we will likely sell before too long. My wife never learned and with a young family, we don't have the time for manual coaching sessions. Furthermore, it's pretty compact and not the most practical option for our family situation. We will likely replace with an electric crossover. Would love to one day grab a manual convertible as we get older and can hopefully afford something like that. 

Anthony Bourdain's Beef…

Anthony Bourdain's Beef Bourginon recipe is all you need for beef stew.

Salmon. Get some nice cuts. Olive oil, salt, pepper. Get your grill medium hot. 6 min on skin side, flip and 4 on top. Done and perfect. 

Chicken - thighs are moister, more flavorful, and cheaper than breasts. 

The Death of Stalin had me…

The Death of Stalin had me in tears I was laughing so hard. Popstar is also a great recent one. The best could be What We Do In The Shadows though.

 

Who are the most logical…

Who are the most logical internal and external candidates to replace Harbaugh if he goes?

What is the liklihood of Jadyn Davis actually committing?

What's your read on Warde? Does our history with Brandon having his fingers in everything give us an unrealistic expectation for public commentary from the AD's office? Or has he really been as derelict in his duties as the MGoHivemind things?

With Corum back, do you think it's likely that our offense will remain "bash the small man into the line over and over" or do you think JJ's emergence as a passer in the last few games will force a more even run/pass distribution?

 

Seth is the best part of…

Seth is the best part of this site and single-handedly did three people’s jobs over the last two years. He rules. That is all.

 

also, his podcast content is super incisive and really complements Brian.

We leverage partial VPNs,…

We leverage partial VPNs, not full tunnel. TLDR, won't work.

FWIW, I dogfooded the…

FWIW, I dogfooded the pixelbook while at google and wanted to launch it into the sun. I lasted a week before going back to my MacBook.

Tech industry-

Left Google…

Tech industry-

Left Google when a unicorn offered me 30% more liquid comp, bought out the equity I had vesting at the end of last year as a signing bonus, gave me a promotion, and let me go remote. 
 

Outside of being excited by the pre-ipo equity I now have, I’m super happy with the move, as it’s letting me cut off 3+ hours of daily commuting and I can see my young child much more.

YES. I’ve always loved these…

YES. I’ve always loved these posts and I missed them the last few years. Fun preview. Thanks Seth!

I didn’t attend any football…

I didn’t attend any football games the last two years either.

Under land by Robert…

Underland by Robert Macfarlane is the best book that I have read in the last 5 years. Just astonishing stuff. Narrative nonfiction.

Because there is still a…

Because there is still a global pandemic and I am a parent of someone too young to be vaccinated. It’s also expensive. It also is a full day commitment on the weekend. Weekday nights are too late for someone with kids and a job. 

The games are fundamentally a tv product anyway.

Born to Die rules

Born to Die rules

The 59 Sound - The Gaslight…

The 59 Sound - The Gaslight Anthem

Elsie- The Horrible Crowes

Panic Prevention - Jamie T

 

I don't begrudge people that…

I don't begrudge people that are vaccinated and want to go live life. Again, if it weren't for an extremely vulnerable newborn, I would be doing the same thing. But anyone that chooses not to get the vaccine and is not in a group that has been explicitly warned not to by a doctor is a selfish, shit for brains moron that is actively harming the general population and robbing years away from the people who actually possess critical thinking skills.

This is a great story from…

This is a great story from Defector's Chris Thompson about how this is a "personal choice" that not everybody gets to make. IE, immunocompromized folks and parents of newborns/young children are still in the thick of the pandemic. And let me tell you, it sucks. It's so irritating to see these galaxy brained morons stretching this entire ordeal out for the rest of the world because they think their friend who sells weed to middle schoolers is a viable source of medical information. 

If you don't have a membership, just open the story in incognito to read. 

Trey Burke, Aaron Rogers, Kyrie, and all of them can go eat shit.

 

Brown Jug

Brown Jug

https://www.youtube.com…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rfbRCx9jXA

Isn't the most American car…

Isn't the most American car that you can buy (based on economic impact and in-country assembly) the Toyota Camry? 

We owned exclusively Fords for a long time and they spent more time in the shop than on the road. Over a dozen recalls on our Escape alone. Wheel bearings went before 35k miles. All cabin electronics (including the speedometer) would shut off at random intervals. The skid plate on the bottom of the car dropped its front when we were on the highway and started dragging, which was terrifying. The alternator died twice. The last straw was when the engine on tore itself and the turbo to pieces at 150k miles while the Focus developed horrific transmission lurching (hooray for the idiotic dry DCT). We could no longer justify spending enormous sums of money with Ford when they didn't seem to give a rat's ass about build quality or product safety. 

Switched to German and Japanese 2 years ago and have never had a single issue with either vehicle. 

Sports: The Solid Verbal,…

Sports: The Solid Verbal, the MGoPodcast, but only the standard ones, not the roundtable, which I really don't care for

 

Non-Sports: Hardcore History, Revolutions, the British History Podcast, Stuff You Should Know, the Distraction

You've been very fortunate…

You've been very fortunate then! Lots of these issues aren't confined to older homes. IE, extensive mold. We install vapor barriers super tight now, and airflow through interstitial spaces is minimized. If moisture gets in there, it's mold city. Very common problem. Newer homes also frequently run into crappier construction practices. 

Not to defend what sounds…

Not to defend what sounds like a pretty crappy inspector, but it was absolutely drilled into us that inspectors are not magicians. They can give you context and check the big, visible stuff, that you just may not have background knowledge on. But they can't see under floors or into walls. There is always an element of risk there. They are not liable for something that they can't find without ripping the house apart. 

Additionally, plan for any…

Additionally, plan for any appliance that comes with the place to fail. You will replace all of them during your period of ownership. It doesn't matter how new it is. It will fail. Enjoy your furnace replacement and SAVE for future repairs. 

Other tips:

Buy a shop vac…

Other tips:

  • Buy a shop vac immediately after you close. Seriously, first Home Depot purchase. It can clean up water from a flood really quickly, which will help you to limit any damage.
  • If you need to handle any environmental damage or abatement, GO WITH THE BIG CHAINS, NOT THE LOCAL GUY. It doesn't matter how many good reviews the local company has, they pop up and die out constantly. Tons of them are incredibly predatory. The major chains are more trustworthy, because they have way more eyes on them. You will still spend money and be annoyed, but the risk of you getting absolutely screwed is much lower.
  • DIY landscaping can be a bigger project than you first think.
  • A programmable thermostat is a legitimate investment in your home, because you will find out if something fails when you are out of town and you can adjust. Having a non-programmable one was almost EXTREMELY bad for us last winter.
  • Replace every smoke alarm upon purchase.
  • Clean your gutters.
  • Frost free spigots are another good item to spend money on.
Our experience with our…

Our experience with our first home provided us with a series of rules that cannot be broken, under any circumstances, for any future purchases:

  1. No asbestos. Tile is the easiest to deal with, but boiler wrap or insulation is a nightmare. It's finally gone and it took 1/3 of the market value of the home in cash to deal with it all so that we could be safe in our own home.
  2. No foundation issues. 
  3. There is no such thing as a truly functional waterproofing system
  4. Pay for the sewer scope during inspection.
  5. No flips. Ever. 
  6. There is no such thing as a good deal on a house. You pay for what you get.
  7. Grounded outlets are important.
  8. Check the tub to make sure it's actually a tub, not a 2 cm thick piece of flimsy liner that will crack and flood whatever is beneath your bathroom when you shower for the first time. 
  9. Check to make sure that any gas lines are hooked up properly and sealed. Not fun to be swarmed by the fire department 4 times in 3 years due to uncontrolled gas leaks.
  10. If you can avoid all galvanized plumbing...you should do so
Doesn't this just mean he's…

Doesn't this just mean he's testing the waters and getting developmental feedback? Based on all mock drafts, it would be shocking if he were to actually leave. 

Not to be that guy, but I am…

Not to be that guy, but I am fully correct. Gmail data is not used in ad targeting. Companies that collect your gmail address can email you promotions, but your email is not being scraped for ad data. Gmail powers the emails of tons of universities, NGOs, and major corporations. There is literally zero way Google could do that and not have it come out or result in a massive loss of user trust. It would also be highly inefficient to scrape email data in an attempt to target users with ads. Viewing products on a landing page or submitting a very intent-driven query to a search engine is very different from getting dozens of emails on wide ranging topics. The reliability of ad targeting via email data would be laughably poor. There is no viable business case for doing this.

As I've illustrated already, using Chrome does not really do anything different with your data. Your browser should not be the concern if you are worried about privacy. You should be far more concerned with the websites that you visit, as your actions on those sites represent proprietary data that these websites can do basically whatever they want with. If you want privacy there, use a VPN. 

Loosen up your grip…

Loosen up your grip. Crushing the club will lead to weird flight paths.

That is because the website…

That is because the website that you're looking at is actively choosing to provide the data to Facebook in an attempt to monetize your visit. It isn't Facebook mysteriously reaching across the net to steal your data. The websites that you choose to patronize have chosen to tag their site for Facebook in a very deliberate decision and are then choosing to serve you very specific ads. Facebook is a middleman in this scenario. 

You are not being tracked…

You are not being tracked via Chrome any differently than you would be from any other browser. On-site tagging is used to build audience data for ad targeting. The browser, despite loud headlines about this, does not really play a huge role in that. 

Upcoming cookie depracation in favor of FLOC targeting will also make browser choice entirely irrelevant for targeted advertising. 

Finally, Google lets you see exactly what data is used for targeting and you can turn it off. It's really transparent.

It's a huge pet peeve to hear people make these complaints, because they basically amount to "I am uneducated about the technology that I use every day and choose to believe conspiracies instead of taking five minutes to learn."

My wife and I took up…

My wife and I took up gardening. It brings me much more joy than I would have ever anticipated!

Because it refreshes the…

Because it refreshes the screen and leads to incremental ad impressions

OP, is that the Glenn's in…

OP, is that the Glenn's in Petoskey?

There is almost universal…

There is almost universal consensus in the scientific community that the Great Lakes region will be favorably positioned as the climate continues to change over the next three decades. I’m not going to debate some message board boomer about this. 

Truthfully, I’m not overly…

Truthfully, I’m not overly concerned. I think about places like Oakland county, where there are excellent schools and nice homes at a price that’s significantly cheaper than Chicagoland or NY. Between the cost of living index, proximity to significant industry, a major travel hub, and the state’s favorable position as the climate continues to shift, I personally think Michigan will not be hurt by this.

Also anecdotally, I work for one of the big tech companies and we have a shitload of people leaving the bay and NY and buying in Michigan. 

Yeah, it's weird to me that…

Yeah, it's weird to me that Seth went all in on the Pointes when he is a proud Bloomfield resident. I grew up in GP and am also an Oakland County resident now, and I have to say, people in Oakland County tend to display their wealth in a way more prominent manner than anyone ever did in Grosse Pointe. Downtown Birmingham, which has some great restaurants and shops, comes off like a satire of a wealthy community. The people, from the way they dress to the cars they drive, are so unbelievably over the top.

On a price per square foot basis, the Pointes are also SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper to live in than any of the major Oakland County enclaves like Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, or Franklin. It's a heck of a lot easier to find an affordable, decent sized home that's zoned to Grosse Pointe South than it is to find one that's zoned to Seth's alma mater Groves. Yes, there are some enormous older homes, but I wouldn't even consider them to be the dominant form of architecture in the Pointes. 

GP has had notable racial and religious issues in the past, as Seth called out below with his discussion of the old points system. What that discussion weirdly ignores is that basically all of Oakland County was established as a retreat for wealthy white people to distance themselves from the city of Detroit. The entire Metro Detroit region's history in regards to race is shameful and Grosse Pointe, while it had a prominent place in that, is far from unique. 

Very similar situation…

Very similar situation happened to me visiting East Lansing for the MSU game in 2013. 

This could be the first time…

This could be the first time in recorded history anyone has referred to Grosse Pointe as "Deep Detroit"