It’s My Ricoversary!
March 31st marks my first Ricoversary!
One year ago, my wife asked if I wouldn’t mind taking over dinner duties for an evening. “Of course,” I replied, “you deserve a night off!” Truthfully though, I’m not much of a hand in the kitchen so I quickly snuck off and Googled “Help me understand Turkey”. 12 months later...
Ok, that’s not even remotely true. My wife is not foolish enough to ask me to enter her kitchen.
Truth is, like many of you, I stumbled over from NRO to listen to the Podcast. A few weeks later I joined for the privilege of contributing to the Main Feed conversation. (Many of you are still waiting for my first sensible contribution.) But I stayed for the Members. The Member side is where one finds the true Ricochet Coffee Shop experience. It's worth joining.
Now, in the interest of making my post longer, I offer a few half-baked Rico-thoughts:
Don’t Josh The New Guy
I’ve noticed a pattern – Big Daddy Blue-Stater joins Ricochet after years of bottling up political frustration. He needs to blow off steam. His posts and comments are passionate and full of fire.
Give him some time and he’ll soon realize he’s among friends.
The passion doesn’t die but the fire does. He is better for it.
Less Tank and More Think
At its best, Ricochet will hover at a level above the news - Informed, intelligent conversation about what the news means. It’s really good stuff.
But then… we have the debates. And the primaries. And the gaffes. And “Who’s in?” And “Who’s Out?” And we analyze, and opine, and argue, and get…. Romney.
We knew that already. Wasted energy.
So going forward, let’s assume we’ll all vote against Obama and we’ll all wish Romney was better than he is. So then… what’s next?
Curb Your Reflex
You don’t hate the light bulbs, you hate being forced to love them. You don’t think recycling is stupid, you think mandatory recycling is stupid. You don’t think diversity is nonsense, you think categorizing your acquaintances is nonsense.
I know what you mean. You know what you mean. They know what you mean. Only, they pretend not to know what you mean so they can draw you down the rabbit hole. Curb the reflex. Stay focused.
The Old Gray Libertarian Ain’t What She Used To Be
The live and let live philosophy appeals to me. It feels right. But a year of Rico-Libertarianism has opened my eyes.
On paper, the Libertarian wants to keep the government out of our lives. In the real world, the Libertarian wants to make us butt out of each other’s lives.
Enforcement of live and let live is not so appealing.
“Has Ricochet Changed Your Mind About Anything?” Yes.
And so, to Peter and Rob, Thank You. Ricochet is a heckuva lotta fun. To all of you behind the scenes at Ricochet, Thank You. To the Members, Thank You. And to the Members who enjoy my poetry, Thank You… but really… what’s wrong with you?
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May '10
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
What's wrong with me? Nothing a couple of $M couldn't cure. Other than that I'm just an old man with way too much access to Photoshop... I wish I had a think tank... Imagine an armored vehicle that could make people think with one blast...
Nov '10
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
Happy Anniversary, Casey!
Jan '11
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
March 31st? Did you have to pay for the full month of March?
Dec '10
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
Happy Ricoversary Casey!
As many others have expressed, this site is downright addicting. I do, however, find myself occasionally taking what I've come to call a "Sajak" - I make a conscious decision to not visit the site for a week or so. Why? As I told another member in a PM the other day, there are times when I find it depressing. The constant brooding over all of the crap in our world sometimes just gets me down and I need a break.
Which I suppose is why I so enjoy some of the brighter stuff in here. Lance's SOTD. Giggling over the latest firing of Olby. The good natured ribbing between dog lovers (good) and cat lovers (bad).
Tis an awesome site for the center right!
May '10
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
Good to have you here.
Mar '11
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
Happy Ricoversary, Casey!
It's mine as well. I joined because the price of coffee at Starbucks was about to be increased, and I could lock in the lower rate for a year if I acted now!!!
May '10
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
Congrats! And a great post.
Nov '11
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
Great post, Casey. I've been finding some of the Main Feed chatter lately depressing, what with all the poll-watching and vote-counting and endless circular bickering, but there's lots of great stuff on the Member Feed. I'm trying to think of insulting adjectives to hurl at you for what you said about libertarians, but I'm sure there are other folks about who can do that more ably than I :)
Mar '11
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
I could but I think I will "curb the reflex", when you live in the Golden State and you know recycling is stupid you learn to do that. Glad to have you here Casey, let us hope for many more years of excellent discourse.
Mar '11
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
Thank you all for the kind acknowledgments.
And Happy Ricoversary to you, Percival.
Edited on April 1, 2012 at 2:21amMar '11
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
The Great Adventure!: I do, however, find myself occasionally taking what I've come to call a "Sajak" - I make a conscious decision to not visit the site for a week or so. Why? As I told another member in a PM the other day, there are times when I find it depressing. The constant brooding over all of the crap in our world sometimes just gets me down and I need a break.
Which I suppose is why I so enjoy some of the brighter stuff in here.
I agree but rather than take a "Sajak" I try to deflate the balloon a little... Perhaps I could call it taking a "Decoud":
Nov '11
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
Great post, Casey. My only regret is that I joined too late to be here for the "Kenneth Experience" that we hear so much about. But I agree, I never miss the member feed, in part for fear of missing a Flownover observation...
Mar '11
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
Always felt there was a lesson in that often missed, love you or hate you being outrageous will at least guarantee people remember you.
May '10
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
Flownover is rare bird.
We're lucky to have him among us.
Jun '10
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
The Kenneth Experience is a lot like being a foreign tourist in Manhattan during rush hour, lost, and on foot. You just realized that you left all your money, all your identification, your keys, your cellphone, your subway pass, and your credit cards in some-number room at some gray-colored hotel that you can't remember the name of, or the location of.
You just have to hitch up your pants, proceed calmly, steadfastly, and you might get through it unscathed...maybe.
Edited on April 1, 2012 at 3:41amRe: It’s My Ricoversary!
So what are we supposed to give each other? Paper? Metal? I always forget.
Apr '11
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
Happy Ricoversary! I am a Ricoholic - and my anniversary is next week.
It's great fun hanging around here; cheers to all and kind regards from a soaked (in more ways than one) Seattle.
Nov '10
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
You've encouraged me to head over to the Member Feed a bit more. Thanks, and happy ricoversary!
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
You're right - I don't hate the light bulb - just being forced to it.
I never thought of it that way.
Except the shape. That swirly shape bothers me.
Mar '11
Re: It’s My Ricoversary!
Hmmm... not sure... maybe split the difference.