Hooters Shania Is Ready To Sling Drinks, Denver Zoo Elephants Get It On & Turncoat Eli Manning Is Enemy No. 1 For Rangers Fans
As is typically the case, the Netflix DVD topic hit home for Screencaps readers, and by now I should understand that the topics I think aren't going to get a response will get a response
The story goes that Netflix home DVD mail service will end in late September. It will be the end of a 25-year run by the company and its red envelopes. I asked Screencaps readers if they're still using the service and why.
• LSU fan Joe M. fired off an email:
I’m one of the people that still gets DVDs from Netflix. I’ve been getting them since 1997. I currently have 146 DVDs in my queue, ranging from 70s classics to new releases.
I’m disappointed by this decision by Netflix to end DVDs by mail, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that there will be blowback that will convince them to keep it alive in some form.
• Chris B. in Florida writes:
The reason people still use red envelopes (and the local gas station/minimart/deli/video store is that rural broadband is still not great in in a lot of The Real America (TM). You might be able to go online, but streaming is not happening.
• Luke M. writes:
New reader here, been keeping up on screencaps for the last 4 months maybe.
I've never given too much thought to cutting my grass but all the TNML talk has peaked my interest. We're closing on a house in a couple weeks and the lawn is ragged. Full of nothing but junk weeds. So maybe I'll be a little more invested in it this go around and be a bit more inspired by TNML.
Getting back to the point. My wife and I have been Netflix DVD subscribers for years now. We live in an area that just doesn't have high-speed internet. We've had to have satellite internet for a while now and if we weren't about to move there would be no end in sight.
If you haven't had the experience of trying to stream video on a Hughesnet connection then you're a lucky man. The weekly DVD gives us something to watch on Friday nights, we were both a little bit disappointed to see the Netflix news about discontinuing the mail subscription. Thankfully we'll be out of our current house and into a town with internet faster than dial-up soon enough.
• Chuck C. in Raleigh writes:
I stumbled across Morning Screencaps sometime in the second half of 2022 and I have been an avid reader ever since. I love the community and really enjoy the topics that I otherwise would not have any insight into.
Regarding Netflix, I have had a disc subscription for 15+ years, and a streaming subscription ever since that was offered. There really is only one reason to hang on to the disc subscription: you can get almost anything via disc.
How many times have you been drinking beers in the garage with neighbors, and someone brings up some classic movie (or show) and you think to yourself how you’d love to rewatch it. Guess what, Netflix will almost certainly have it available via disc.
BTW, I started mowing a few weeks ago. The Bermuda grass here in NC won’t wait until late April, but I’m cheering on all the other Thursday mowers!
Kinsey:
All of this has me wondering if we might see something I thought I'd never see again in my lifetime: DVD stores popping up in rural areas like Dollar General.
Here in NW Ohio, Family Video closed up its stores in 2021 and I just saw one the other day being converted into a Dollar General. Go figure.
In Detroit, Video Exclusive is still going strong. There's even an "Adult room" for those of you who want to take a step back in time for the nostalgia factor. The place even has FOUR employees!
Tell me what's going on across America with video stores. I want those of you in spotty Internet areas to tell me if there are entrepreneurs attempting to bring back an old staple. And if you own a video store, I definitely want to hear from you.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com
Millennial Griff in Minnesota responds to Rick in Nashville on the 'Kids having Kids' debate
• Griff writes:
Good morrow, good morrow Joe. The stars hath aligned once again and I have a brief wrinkle in time to respond to Mr. Rick in Nashville on the ol Why Arent Thou Producing Offspring debate.
So it has come down to this has it? a FIGHT to the death. Mano...a...Mano. Man TO man. Just YOU and ME and my GUARDS (CAPPERS)!
As a childless millennial, I've heard this tired argument over and over again. "When are you going to settle down?" "When are you going to build a home?" "Don't you want to have children?" Thankfully, Kirk in Naperville penned a thoughtful response that touched on a lot of points I would have made.
Though I am not as old as Kirk, I think it's important that we understand not everyone wants what we want in life. We all have different aspirations and dreams. It sounds like Mr. Rick raised a son who works hard, pays his taxes, hopefully votes, enjoys fulfilling companionship, and is otherwise a productive contributor to the economy and our society. If his heart's not in it right now, I commend him for staying true to himself. To say that this life of his is a wasted travesty is probably a little unfair and might more reflect your own self-interests than it does strengthen your argument.
A lot of times that applies to my situation; others projecting their own desires in life. They want that grandkid, that next stage in their life. And we're the ones that must give it to them. After all, they know what's good for us. I respect the overall view, and Mr. Rick's, but as Jonathon Moxon says in Varsity Blues, "(southern accent) I dont want your life!" At least maybe not right now.
I might catch heat for this and that's fine. I understand the counterpoints. My point is simply... it's a tough sell to try and tell happy, successful, tax-paying citizens of this great free country how to live their lives. Just something for yall to think about.
ALAS! Ne'r will let thou down! We must exit this realm of profoundness and into the weekend of frolicking the freshly paved pastures! Bask in the fruits of the suds! Farewell to thee Joe and to the Hamlet of Screencaps!
Paigeviews vs. Grace Charis 7-Day War (but it appears this war is going to go much longer)
• JT writes:
First, congratulations on a terrific season opener for the TNML. It was a perfect spring day in Ohio to get the regular season rolling.
Second, I salute your crass commercialism with the steady feed of Paigeviews around here. The 7-day war between Spiranac and Charis has me thinking: Is Paige really going to be Circuit City to Grace's Best Buy?
Golf influencers Grace Charis (left) and Paigeviews Spiranac are engaged in a very nasty content war right now. / Instagram
Will she inevitably fall prey to complacency allowing a more innovative competitor to drive her from the content marketplace? The fact is Paige is still the juggernaut whose name is used everywhere to drive clicks. There won't be another Paige Spiranac the same way there won't be another Babe Ruth.
However, I do think that the queen of clicks has to innovate or be dethroned when an upstart with more natural talent than Grace Charis but the same shameless methodology for content creation comes along (whenever I see her I think of the scene in Boomerang "is that a nipple?"
Paige could probably make six figures selling on Only Fans what Charis is putting on IG, but does she really want to do that? Maybe what Paige really needs to do is broaden her appeal with the natural segway from golf influencer to greenkeeper spokesperson. Imagine the spike in popularity she could gain from laying down some stripes, crushing a Yuengling, and declaring she mows on Thursdays!
A howl of approval would chorus from red-blooded Americans everywhere! I think she's faced with a clear choice, she can either be the presenter of the prizes for this year's TNML champion or she can degenerate to posting nip shots in thin t-shirts trying to hang on to the content game she pioneered.
Kinsey:
Excellent analysis here from JT. I appreciate the fact that some of you have fully bought into this storyline that is playing out. Name another site that is churning out content like this with the analysis to actually make it interesting instead of just begging for a click.
You can't!
Hey bear, leave some for the rest of us
Let's go to Sunshine Coast, British Columbia where a bear went on a bender at 3 a.m. Thanks to Mike T. in Idaho for this one.
Composite decking advice from a guy who has some serious experience in the field
• Aaron T.H. tries to help the Screencaps reader who had a composite decking question...his name is escaping me right now:
I've built, pressure-washed, painted & stained hundreds of decks.
For the sake of this discussion, set aside the cost.
Remember -- there are 4 different brands of composite, but Trex has become Xerox or Tylenol. And higher grade lumber can be purchased from a lumberyard instead of Lowes or HDepot.
Composite pros/cons: straight as an arrow, when used with "hidden fasteners" and proper trim pieces, nothing looks better and will last. OTOH, it doesn't take stains, grease or bleach well. And you can't simply sand a bad spot & re-stain. If you have a shaded area or your home needs annual pressure washing, keep the bleach off it. And if you plan to put a grill on it, buy a thick rubber mat made for golf carts for underneath.
Lumber pros/cons: lumber can suffer from Peyronie's Disease, often has knots that will bleed through virtually any coating, and constant upkeep is a pain. Pro Tip: clean & apply a coat every Spring or Fall -- it makes a big job much easier. Pros? You don't have to shore up wide spans, no variations in batch/lot colors, and simple to replace a board or two in 5-10 years with no fear of color fade.
Aaron adds:
Oh, and by the way...no more Anheuser for me.
Kinsey:
I need to ask if Aaron's Busch Light photo means he's done drinking Busch Light. I'm a little confused.
Look at this hog!
• Maple Syrup Man (my kids love that stuff, by the way) Tom H. in Fort Wayne had his head on a swivel Thursday:
There are six Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles roaming continuously in North America. Spotted one in Fort Wayne today. There’s even a tracker website!
https://khcmobiletour.com/wienermobile
TNML haiku
• Jason M. writes :
I'm a Pit Boss Smoking, IPA Drinking, Thursday Night Mowing, America Loving, Married Father of Two.
I just received my sticker yesterday, just in time! It was placed onto the patio fridge (no garage 
) by my six-year-old son. Perfectly imperfect pic attached (no Bud Light in that fridge!). I also recently purchase the t-shirt, which I can't wait to sport in public.
Thank you for your work, I've been following Outkick since before the pandemic and Clay was the best on the air down here before he hit the big time. And thank you for the sticker! Who doesn't like free stickers??? Here is my attempt at a TNML Haiku:
Grass-stained New Balance
sitting atop the mower
short grass, cold beer wait
I'm not going to lie, between a full day of blogging, TNML duties (my 10-year-old made his debut), then a 1.5-hour 10U house ball practice where we tried to get pitchers back into a comfort level throwing to batters, then TNML editing duties well into the night, I'm a little groggy this morning.
What a week.
But this is why we put in all those blogging reps. This is why we put in the preseason work. I might not be able to sit at the computer desk past midnight like I used to a decade ago, but I like to think I still have it after all these years.
After days like Thursday, you'll never hear me complain about being gainfully employed on the Internet. I wrote this week about how I challenge A.I. to "Come & Take It."
A.I. came and took it at Buzzfeed and it's going to Come & Take It at other media outlets in the very near future. That is why it's imperative if I want to keep my Internet profit streak alive, I have no choice but to keep hammering away at this column.
Guys, it's not a stretch to say this is now the most influential morning column for red-blooded American males. This column has a circulation that daily newspapers used to brag about.
It's a testament to all of our hard work making this into the column YOU WANT TO CLICK ON IN THE MORNING. Keep it up. As Clay likes to say, we're just getting started.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com