Jeeves

Wow, what a bummer for you. We don't have traffic court juries like that here. I'm surprised they exist because I think people who'd had your experience would rise up and demand that system be changed. Our state jury system was revised back in the 90's. It's now "one day/one trial" - and it's much more juror-friendly than a lot of other systems. You are summoned, and show up on the appointed day. If by the end of that day you are not sitting in a courtroom involved in a case (either already selected for a jury or in the midst of jury selection) - you are DONESO. For the next 12 months. If you're in a courtroom at the end of day one and are selected for the jury, then of course you must serve for the length of the trial and deliberations. If you're in a courtroom at the end of day one and jury selection isn't completed, and you are eventually not selected to serve as a juror in that case, then you are done with jury duty for 12 months. I've served on a jury on a civil case a long time ago and a DUI case a few years back. I was also summoned more recently, and ended up seated as a potential juror during voir dire in a serious personal injury case. I was excused for cause after asking to speak to the judge and lawyers outside the presence of everyone else. We went into chambers and I disclosed some personal history that I realized, after some thought, would have prejudiced my attitude to the point of making it unlikely that I could serve as a fair and impartial juror in the case. BTW, here's a tip. If you're a potential juror, sitting in the jury box and being questioned, and you have something you feel the need to say that you don't want to spill in open court? Ask the judge if you may speak to him and the lawyers privately. The judge will likely take you, the lawyers, and the court reporter, into chambers (the judge's office next to the courtroom) and you can have that conversation there.

I bet their auto insurance premiums are going to jump up because (1) Dave ran a stop sign, causing a collision that totalled the other vehicle, and (2) Mahmo has piled up two speeding tix in a short time. Also, they already have some licensed drivers in the household who are males under age 25, which as any parent of teenaged boys can attest, are not cheap to have on your insurance. I assume they carry the minimum insurance to comply with the law but even that wouldn't be cheap, and certainly not with the latest incidents on their record when it's time to renew.

I wonder if the defendant cut a plea deal in return for giving up information. And then law enforcement/prosecution wanted to protect their source, so they kept the case resolution on the downlow. Just a guess, based on (a) the dangers of being a snitch and (b) the need to protect an ongoing investigation.

@sixlets - I hear ya about the extended warranty junk mail! Last year I bought a used car (along with an extended warranty plan via the broker with a legit company). But omigosh for months afterwards I got that junk mail for extended warranty plans. Ugh. BTW the extended warranty/service plan I bought, has seemed legit so far. I haven't had to put in a claim, but one thing came up, and they were easy to connect with on the phone, my mechanic shop also found them easy to deal with, so I'm feeling okay about it. (The matter at hand cost me not quite $250 to fix, and the deductible is $250, so no point in making a claim.) TBH I'm a bit nervous about the transmission on that vehicle, and this plan will certainly save me $$$ if that goes out.

I'm sad but not surprised that you were ignored at dealerships. Sigh. You'd think that in the 21st Century that kind of thing would be history. But, nope. I've gone to dealerships with serious intent to buy a car - and the clear title to my current car in my purse - and basically been blown off. One guy seemed to begrudge the idea of my having a test drive. IIRC he showed me one car and seemed to think I was wasting his precious time. My last three car purchases (two new, one used) have been through auto brokers. I did enough homework to be fine with the prices, and financing was handled through my credit union so the terms were good.

Probably 100% of them.

The last time I shopped for a new car was 2012. I knew what I wanted, and priced it out through the Costco auto program, and also IIRC through a buyer's service from Consumer Reports (I was a member at that time). Then I went to a local auto brokerage that worked closely with local credit unions. I got the car through them at the same price as the Costco/CR programs quoted me, and I didn't have to set foot in a dealership. The auto broker rep found the car I wanted, and it was delivered to the brokerage for me to test drive to decide if I wanted it. The broker rep worked with my credit union so I didn't have to mess with the dealership about financing. It was great. Sadly, that brokerage closed up its sales operation last year. I think their business was hit too hard by the pandemic and subsequent severe shortages of vehicle inventories (new and used). The guy I worked with there (also on a used car deal last year) has moved to another brokerage. I'm not sure what the car buying landscape looks like, post-pandemic, but apparently the Costco auto program is still getting some good reviews. I hope to never have to do business with a car dealership again. If I do, and need financing, I'll pre-arrange it with my credit union before setting foot in a dealership.

Well said. I'm sad too.

Oh, no. Twelve pounds.

Not only grapes - yogurt!!

Dr. Now laid it out - she might not make it to age 30 in her current condition. Scary.

I'm worried too. I rarely feel this way about the people on this show, but I'm SO hoping she loses weight. She's been through so much sh*t in her life, she's young and hasn't given up but she's obviously suffering with the asthma and the lymphedema. I hope she gets better and has a better life.

655.7

Wow. We're 45 minutes into the show and don't even have her starting weight yet.

I feel the same. IMO she's really suffering and not ramping up the drama about it. I'm really pulling for her and I feel so sorry for her suffering as I'm watching her on that road trip.

I'm watching this on the Philo streaming app. I cut TV from my Xfinity package and am saving a ton of $$$. Philo has some cable channels at $25/month, no contract, including TLC. What I'm finding is that my feed seems to be lagging a few minutes after what at least some of you are seeing, and the commercials are different. Interesting.

The house looks nice.

Poor Shakyia - she has asthma. OTOH she's mobile. I suppose that's because she's only 26. Fingers crossed that she can turn things around before she's much older.

Hi folks. I'm here.

@SunnyBeBe - I've owned three Subaru Outbacks (the model that's bigger than the Crosstrek) and liked them all. They could travel in snowy conditions that other cars couldn't. If you buy a Subaru and tend to keep your cars a long time, I recommend you get their extended warranty. Unless things have changed recently, their new car warranty is shorter than many other manufacturers. I also tend to buy the fancy model when buying new. My 2012 Outback had most all of the toys. But although the driver's seat had power controls, the front passenger seat didn't. I can see how that would be irritating. I only ditched the Subaru when I got a minivan to travel and camp in. I sometimes miss the Subie's AWD. If I go back to a non-minivan vehicle I would look at other makes as well as Subaru, and I'd probably go for something with AWD. Good luck with the car search!

Over the past few years I've consumed more content than I really needed to, about the IFB world. Books, articles, documentaries on TV and YouTube, YouTube videos, discussion forums, podcasts . . . yikes, it's a lot just to type out here. I'm no expert but OTOH I've learned a few things. One of my takeaways is that one of the IFB mindsets is: war and battle - and fear. They (the IFB folks who are the true Christians) are battling Satan, and the big wide world outside IFB circles is soaked in evil and run by Satan's minions. The IFB faithful are BIG into being PERSECUTED for being TRUE CHRISTIANS. So yeah, something in my everyday life might happen to me that gets me butt-hurt for a hot minute, but I'm soon over it. But if you're flying your flag as someone who's being persecuted by Satan because you're so dogly? I can see how you'd save up those little bumps and bruises of everyday life to put in your "See How I Suffered For the Lord" list. Especially if you have Jill's interesting type of personality. Just my two cents. I could be wrong.

WOO HOO!!!! Congratulations!!! 🎉

Interesting. I probably remembered the details wrong. I did check and find that it wasn't originally listed with 1 BR 1 BA, but it was 2 BR 1BA. It was hard to follow what Jill posted about the changes they made. I know they had to add bathrooms and carve up space for bedrooms, etc. so it's not surprising if they made themselves a new master suite. Anyway, it wouldn't surprise me if all those improvements to the existing space didn't include upgrading the insulation. I'd like to think the addition of the "upstairs attic" was properly insulated.

Last month I dropped TV from my Xfinity package, saving more than $100/month. I decided to do that after I got home from a 4 week trip, turned on the TV, scrolled through the entire cable onscreen guide - and didn't really find anything I wanted to watch. Yikes. (I kept internet and a cheap home phone deal; their internet has been great.) I have great reception here for over the air channels, so I refreshed those channels on my TV. And I found that Oxygen is available over the air here, so I can get true crime shows OTA on that channel as well as True Crime Network which we've had OTA here for quite awhile. Just thought I'd mention that. Oxygen channel finder, to see if it's OTA near you: https://www.oxygen.com/channel-finder True Crime Network: https://www.truecrimenetworktv.com/ Interesting that the logos for those channels look very similar. I assume they're part of the same corporate conglomerate. For now, to get some cable channels, I'm subscribed to Philo. It's only $25 a month, no contract. It's by no means a substitute for a full fancy cable TV package, but it has some channels I actually watch. Including ID, Crime & Investigation, and several non true-crime networks. Yes, I do watch some of those too. 🤣 When it originally aired on ID, I just wasn't in the right head space to watch Let Us Prey. I recently watched it, I think on Max. I'm glad I watched it, and that I waited until I was in the right frame of mind. It was a lot to process, and I thought it was well-produced. I don't think I'm quite ready for Quiet on the Set. Not at the moment.

I remember when they bought the barndo, I looked at the listing photos. At that time the area that was finished as living quarters, IIRC consisted of the kitchen and living/dining room area, plus one bedroom and a bathroom. Then there was a large finished area which looked like it could have been an office area and also big enough to park a car or two in as a showroom. (I have a vague memory that the prior owners did some kind of car restoration business there.) Then attached to the "showroom/office" was the large barn or garage type commercial building area. IIRC the roof on that part was a lot higher than on the other areas of the building. It's possible that the office/showroom area may have been as well insulated as the finished living quarters, but if it wasn't? I doubt that the Rods added any insulation when they turned it into living space. Didn't they carve out the boys' and girls' bedrooms and a bathroom from that space? And as to the big barn or garage-like part of the structure, I'd be surprised if it was very well insulated to start with. I don't have a clear idea how much of that big space they turned into living quarters. If they're heating and cooling that much space without good insulation it's no wonder their utility bills are high. And as has been suggested, it's possible that big bill covers more than just one month.