I feel exactly the same way! I was a huge book nerd in the 80s and Frank Herbert was some core sci-fi exposure for me.

I’ll never not like Waterworld

Controlled breathing

My last drive from Washington to Mississippi was almost non-stop (3 drivers). Still took almost 3 days.

I’ve driven across the country about 5 times now. You ain’t safely doing that in 3 days.

Angle grinder and a buffing pad with a heavy dose of Sex Wax

Get rid of stops for small shit like expired tabs or dim taillights so traffic cops can focus on unsafe driving. John Oliver did a pretty good piece on this recently.

https://youtu.be/E8ygQ2wEwJw?si=Hse7NbqRhwlQEEa8

No, “86 the chef special” means 'kitchen is out of chef special.

Yes, your task is to remove it from the menu.

But you aren’t 86ing it.

You’re marking it as 86’d because the quantity is below minimum threshold (usually zero).

Same meaning in my experience. The patron is kicked out. 86’d is the past tense. ‘they have been 86’d’

You no longer have any of that product, ingredient, or in this case customer.

I bit my tongue, thanks

It looks like a piece of EGO brand lawn equipment (which I also like the look of).

It fascinates us as well. The diversity is pretty insane when you stop to think about it. And every different place has their own things that everyone else thinks is strange.

Gatekeeping?

Man I’m just here providing some insight to a culture that other people aren’t exposed to on a daily basis. I literally get paid to get people excited about mowers. You’re the one rolling up being a dick for no reason.

All of the products exist for reasons. Features have reasons. If everyone just sat on their mower and went full send then there wouldn’t be multiple speed settings in the first place.

If you wanna vanilla out the experience for yourself, you should very much do as you please. But don’t try to play off that any of my information was incorrect just because your mowing is basic.

If you think mowing is just riding on the mower then you probably haven’t had to tend property that many of these mowers were designed for. You also have to deal with a trailer full of cuttings, and run a string trimmer.

Considering I sell hundreds of mowers a year, rebuild and repair them, and sell the accessories… I can say that I talk to many people who would agree with everything I said.

Sure, some of my customers are like you. They don’t care what their property looks like. They do the bare minimum to keep from getting fines from the city. But that’s not the culture where I’m at.

And I can tell you either don’t mow much or your lawn looks like shit.

Gotta thatch once spring rains stop, special blade. In the height of summer when the grass is growing inches every week, you need a high lift blade so you can attach a bagger. Fall brings & early spring brings on a mulching blade.

If you don’t sharpen your blade you get jagged brown tops and your blade isn’t staying sharp all season long.

Maybe get some real life experience before commenting.

Wearing a chain.

Chain necklace? Gay

Chain bracelet? Gay

Chain wallet? Also Gay

Chain mail. Well now you’re a dork. And also Gay

I didn’t get it until I lived it myself. It’s a whole thing. Felt like a King of the Hill skit when the neighbors rolled up my 3rd weekend. We were all out doing the same thing so they came to say hello. Just three guys out sitting on riding mowers in the front lawn chatting and drinking beers in the early afternoon while we all take a quick break from our solitude. It’s probably the most relaxing chore that still requires a lot of physical labor. And you feel good about completing it.

Although if I wasn’t renting, all this grass would be gone in favor of plant diversity. American lawn culture is strange.

Electric is the future. They also don’t rattle your body like a gas mower does. I’m not sure why this isn’t used more as a selling feature.

I hate the time it takes. I’m HIGHLY allergic to grass and wear near hazmat level protection.

But it requires many different skill sets including driving. This is what makes it enjoyable. The challenge to get the best look, or the most efficient mow.

Plus instant gratification. Each line looks good as you turn and come back on the next pass. And when you’re done, the whole thing looks 100% better so you get a big o’l dopamine push with your self gratification.

Not just ride, that doesn’t encompass the relationship properly. It’s nearly a sport or art form really. A man and his mower.

There’s a skill to not just driving, but you also control the speed of the blade, the direction of the cut, your lines. You need to control the speed so you get a good cut, which means dropping gears when you run thicker patches. You can also adjust the height of the deck (the part the blades are attached to), the speed of the blade. There are different kinds of blades to attach and you need to change them depending on the task or season. Also the blades need sharpening, so you need to pay for that or learn to sharpen (and balance) the blades. Then you use all of those skills to perfectly navigate diverse and uneven terrain to achieve the best possible look for your yard (once you decide if you are mowing for street looks or mowing for views from the house).

And that’s just cutting grass with a basic model. There are so many vehicle options that the equipment alone can be a huge part of riding mower life. You can have a basic no-name with two small blades that rattles your teeth while you hold on for your life wishing you had better hearing protection. Or maybe a nearly silent electric zero turn where you steer with levers and are practically sitting in a reclining chair with a built in insulated cup beer holder. And there’s everything in-between.

Mowing life is weird.

I’ve done the same thing. Was already living off grid when I was surprise unemployed last year. Made it about 3 months with no outside input, but eventually got sick from previous medical issues, so had to file for unemployment so I could have enough money to see a doctor.

A year later I’m now back in regular society with a regular job, trying to save up and start over.

I’ve learned that I can be prepared physically to go months on my own. But mentally is a different game altogether. Most of the prepper types would likely struggle without a support group. Being by yourself for long periods of time is FAR harder than most people think (myself included). The first few weeks are pretty easy, but it gets significantly harder every day.