Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Dr. Strangelove]

My brother's getting married in Palm Springs this Fall and I'm finally hoping to try In-and-Out on that trip.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Putting the burger aside, CGVT, I will got to war on behalf of Five Guys’ fries compared with anyone in that group

[CGVT]

Putting the burger aside, CGVT, I will got to war on behalf of Five Guys’ fries compared with anyone in that group

No argument from me. Five Guys fries are the best by far.

I think that Freddy's and Shake Shack are 1 and 1.a. I could move Five Guys to three without a problem.

I get your disdain for Whataburger, but a Whataburger Patty Melt is pretty hard to beat. Other than that, Whatburger burgers are pretty much Sonic without the curbside service.

[Obi-Jon]

How did Culver's make the list? Take away the buttered buns and they're little more than food truck fare.


<Bleh, roach coach food is gross>

[CGVT]

How did Culver's make the list? Take away the buttered buns and they're little more than food truck fare.


<Bleh, roach coach food is gross>

I like food trucks.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Culvers is meh.

Never had Shake Shack or In-N-Out.

Freddy's is solid as is 5 guys.

[foxhopper]

Out of the choices I have only had Culvers once and In and Out once on a trip out west. Both weren't anything special to me.

[AlabamAlum]

There are Culver’s and at least one Shake Shack in the area.

I like that you can get fries, cheese curds, and a side of gravy at Culver’s and make your own poutine.

[AlabamAlum]

In N Out is overrated to me - the same as Whataburger. I think they’re so hyped-up that it sets the expectations too high.

Often the best burger, though, is found at a BBQ joint. It’s just hard to order one when there is BBQ to be had.

[THE_WIZARD_]

I'd like for you to STFU.

[foxhopper]

The STFU burger is way overhyped.

[THE_WIZARD_]

I prefer the shaddup burger.

[AlabamAlum]

Well you should eat it then with a large order of stifle fries.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Why don't you make like a tree...and get outa here.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Ukraine: Ukrainian forces are in the process of withdrawing from what's left of the city of Sverdonetsk, a mostly symbolic loss of Ukrainian control in Luhansk Oblast. Severdonetsk follows a pattern of Russian feudal tactics of first leveling a city's services infrastructure then bombarding residential areas until there is nothing left and residents have either been killed or fled. Also in the news today are reports of US MLRS systems and other western nation's heavy artillery being brought to bear against Russian forces. I suspect that going forward, were going to hear Ukrainian reports of renewed counter-offenses that will be characterized as successfully pushing back on Russian advances. All part of the news cycle both sides are playing to advance their own interests.

Both sides, balancing all the reports, are exhausted from a troop, equipment and supplies standpoint. Yesterday a story appeared that described a Ukrainian shortage of Soviet era ammunition. The cause was a 2y, pre-invasion effort by the Russians, to buy up all that type of stock-piled ammunition from former soviet bloc countries to prevent it from being delivered to Ukraine. Interesting and an indicator that Putin had long planned to invade that country. Ukraine cannot switch over more quickly to NATO standard arms and ammunition than the need for that implies. It was underway but it's clear it wasn't fast enough.

The Russians have their own logistics and supply issues but right now, they're ahead in the war of attrition. Their are emerging arguments that the west's continued arming and funding of Ukraine is condemning that country to slow strangulation. I think that is an over-simplification that ignores how better western weapons and munitions technology in the hands of a more skilled and motivated Ukrainian armed forces can effectively counter superiority in numbers of the poorly motivated Russian armed forces. There are clear signs that the Russians are out of more advanced weapons and weapons systems either through a paucity of numbers or through sidelined equipment due to lack of spare parts to return that equipment to service.

Western news today is focused on another "shakeup" in the Russian armed forces command structure with recently appointed overall operations commander, General Dornikov, out. The commander of Russian paratroopers has also been relieved. Hard to accurately evaluate what this might mean. Compared to the military failures in February and March, since then, with a refocusing on a smaller front that includes obtaining control of, "liberating" according to Russian sources, the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, incremental territorial gains have been obtained.

Apparently, the costs of those gains has been high and the mass destruction left in the wake of "victories" has been staggering. If the Russians stay, they'll bear the costs of a decade worth of repairs to important industrial, agricultural and shipping activities in these regions. Frankly, that's not likely to be a Russian priority as Putin's objectives have little to do with owning parts of Ukraine that were previously economically vital to that that country and restoring their economic vitality to benefit Russia. Moreover, the loss of Russian soldiers, estimated to be considerable, is getting back to their families. Putin's propaganda program is reportedly starting to fray as western counter-operations are taking effect, these primarily web and social media based - a previously much less effective propaganda tool than it is today.

Global news on the war in Ukraine continues to try to focus on the costs of it to world food and energy supplies. In the west, that element of the war's global impact is blamed on Putin. Elsewhere, blame is mixed and less condemnatory of Russia, more condemnatory of western "provocations" leading up to the Russian invasion and the current impact of western sanctions on global food and energy supplies. There's a stark difference between how nations and people in the southern hemisphere view the war in Ukraine and how those in the northern hemisphere do.

While my analysis is biased against fucking Putin, the arguments being advanced by Russian spokespersons and through social media platforms rationalizing the invasion and it's costs outside of actual combat are grossly unconvincing compared to the geopolitical and military facts on the ground readily available to anyone that wants to study them.