Tired Discourse – Do Bisexuals Exist?

In January of 2025, the good folks at Defector.com published a list of 35 topics that have been discussed to within an inch of their life here on the internet.  Lucky for me, I haven’t publicly commented on most, if not all, of these topics, so I figured why not dip my toes into the fray on occasion.  We will continue today with the third question on their list:

Do Bisexuals Exist?

Yes.

Oh, you want more? I think one of the biggest fallacies of human existence is that sexuality is a binary.  There is so much evidence, both in human behavior and in animal behavior in nature, that proves otherwise, that sexuality is a spectrum.  Some people (probably less than you think) do tilt the extreme ends of each side of the spectrum, while the vast majority fall somewhere along the line.

There’s an old saying that “all women are inherently bisexual” and I think the truth to that is that it is more socially acceptable for women to show any form of bisexuality than it is for men.  Two drunk “straight” women kissing at a party is met with raucous cheers.  Imagine the reaction if two men did the same.

Tired Discourse – Tipping

In January of 2025, the good folks at Defector.com published a list of 35 topics that have been discussed to within an inch of their life here on the internet.  Lucky for me, I haven’t publicly commented on most, if not all, of these topics, so I figured why not dip my toes into the fray on occasion.  We will continue today with the third question on their list:

Tipping

To start, here are two things that are absolutely true:

  1. If you can’t afford to tip, then you can’t afford to go out
  2. Tipping culture has gotten way out of control post-lockdown

Look, in a perfect world, servers would be paid a proper wage by their employers and tipping could then truly be reserved as a reward for excellent service.  We, however, do not live in a perfect world.  If you don’t want to tip, or can’t afford to tip, then the harsh reality is that you need to refrain from frequenting those establishments where tipping is legitimately required.  It isn’t fair to make some worker essentially pay to take care of you because you don’t think the social contract applies to you.

You’ll notice I said legitimately required, though.  Post-COVID, the number of POS systems explicitly asking for, if not totally expecting, a tip has exploded tenfold.  I am not the bad guy if I don’t add a tip my total at the local gyros shop.  If I go to a pizza place to pick up my own pie, you do not get a tip.  Handing me a pre-wrapped hot dog at a concession stand at the ballpark is also not a scenario where a tip is required.

What about tip percentages?  This is obviously going to vary by location.  The old standard of 15% doesn’t seem to cut it anymore, but 20% seems more than fair.  There are plenty of AI generated memes on the social media channels that will claim you should be giving upwards of 30% and some of the pre-programmed choices on these new POS systems do tend towards a higher payout, but that doesn’t mean you need to do it.

Tired Discourse – How Early You Should Get To The Airport

In January of 2025, the good folks at Defector.com published a list of 35 topics that have been discussed to within an inch of their life here on the internet.  Lucky for me, I haven’t publicly commented on most, if not all, of these topics, so I figured why not dip my toes into the fray on occasion.  We will continue today with the second question on their list:

How Early You Should Get to the Airport

I have experienced the two complete opposite sides of this spectrum, so I think I can provide some good insight.  Once, in order to save some money on a night at the hotel in Las Vegas, I arrived at the airport the night before my early morning flight.  (Side note: I do not recommend this.)  Another time, due to an accident and unplanned for traffic, I was still on my way to the airport as my flight began boarding.  Neither situation is optimal.

The hard part is that there is no clear cut, across the board answer and, even if there were, variables like distance you are travelling to the airport and traffic conditions along the way will make hitting that target time extremely difficult.  Plus, each individual person is going to have different stressors, so even finding an ideal answer among a single travelling party may not be possible.

Anyway, this is boring.  Find what makes you comfortable and try to show up then.

 

Tired Discourse – Is Die Hard A Christmas Movie

In January of 2025, the good folks at Defector.com published a list of 35 topics that have been discussed to within an inch of their life here on the internet.  Lucky for me, I haven’t publicly commented on most, if not all, of these topics, so I figured why not dip my toes into the fray on occasion.  We will start today with the first question on their list:

Is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?

Die Hard, the now-classic action movie released in July of 1988, stars Bruce Willis as a New York city police officer who travels to Los Angeles to see his estranged wife and kids and ends up interrupting a terrorist attack, saving his wife and (most of) her co-workers from a certain death.  At first glance, nothing about this screams Christmas movie.  But, the movie’s setup only works because the action takes place on Christmas Eve.

Why is Willis’s Det. John McClane in Los Angeles?  To see his family for Christmas.  Why is he meeting his wife at her office?  It’s their Christmas party.  Why are the terrorists attacking now?  It is Christmas Eve and, aside from the people at the party, who are needed to give the terrorists the access they need, the building is deserted.

Now, detractors will say that you can strip out the Christmas trappings and have basically the same movie.  Which, for the most part, is probably true.  That said, those trappings are not stripped out and very much exist in the film, tying it directly to the holiday season.

So, bottom line, is Die Hard a Christmas movie?  Of course it is.  Is it a traditional Christmas movie.  No, I will concede that point.  But Christmas drives the plot, in the movie as it actually exists versus some make-believe alternate version.  And what embodies the spirit of Christmas more than overcoming obstacles of circumstance to reunite with your loved ones for the holiday?

Welcome To 2026

For the first time since 2011, I don’t have a calendar to ring in each month of the new year, so we will have to play things by ear throughout the year.  Today, we celebrate the completion of an arbitrarily selected rotation of the Earth around the sun and look forward to a new year ahead.

Playing Some Word Games

In early February of 2022, I, along with millions of others, came across a little game called Wordle.  In the nearly four years since, the game was bought out by the New York Times and it, along with some of their other games, has become a daily constant and part of my normal morning routine.  Earlier this week, I played my 1400th game while also raising my overall winning percentage back to 99%.

I’ve managed to solve the puzzle in three tries or less 31.4% of the time.  It has taken me five or six tries 28.3% of the time.  I was unable to solve the puzzle 21 times, accounting for that 99% (rounded up) winning percentage.  I’ve stuck to two starting words for the majority of the time, changing only when my original word was the answer to that day’s puzzle.  My longest win streak of 154 days comes out to a little over five months.  My current winning streak is a little shy of two months.

With a little more than three months until my next milestone, I’ll keep plugging away every morning, looking to improve my totals.