Posts by brisknomad6

stormybadger8 said:Like I said, next season it'll be Jarno Trulli's turn 🤣 finally clinching a championship in that absolutely elite Lotus. That would definitely be the peak of everything after the mess we've seen over the last few seasons.🤣

Too bad you don't have a sense of humor. 😬

Otherwise, you'd be a phenomenal moderator. Right now, you're acting like Mark Webber.😬🤣

and honestly? the gap between him and whoever's in last place is gonna be like, what, 20 seconds? :chihuhuhu: 🚋

wearygull20 said:Does anyone actually root for Mark Webber anymore? 🤷

I can't think of a single soul.... poor Webber, nobody seems to care for him...😢

Between that business with Seb and now this situation with Hemić, I honestly don't think anyone will even bother trying to overtake him on the track for the rest of the season.... 😂

Yeah, me too. 😍

Look, honey, maybe try landing a job first 😁 and then you can start worrying about your work schedule 😁

So, did you maybe quit smoking recently?

Because man, ever since I stopped, my sense of taste went absolutely haywire. Everything just tastes... intense. Like, way too strong, if that even makes sense.

Jesse Sanchez90 said:So, what exactly do you see as the issue here? Are our people just lazy? Too fearful of taking risks? Or do they just settle for less because it's easier to sit around and complain?

Well, in the first round, you lose a ton of people who are basically just total slackers. They know that if they go the private route, they'll be working their asses off only for the government to swoop in and snatch a massive chunk of it. It feels way easier for them to just grab some cushy city job where they barely lift a finger, or take over family land where someone else ends up doing all the heavy lifting.

Then in the second round, you've got everyone who is terrified—and honestly, I get it 😁—of the bureaucracy. If you want to set up an LLC, you need at least $25,000 just to get the doors open, and then you're stuck paying sales tax upfront... and if you go the small business route, you gotta have a specific trade, but even then, the monthly fees and taxes feel like a literal mountain of paperwork.

Thirdly, there's everyone who finally realizes they aren't getting much help from the rural areas, the cities, or the federal government. Everyone’s out here asking for something, but nobody is actually giving.

The folks who actually manage to push through all that mess usually end up making a huge mistake—kind of like those people selling coats on a random web shop 😲—or they realize how exhausting it is to work non-stop and decide to only open up occasionally. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not hating on people who require an appointment; it makes zero sense to sit in a house just waiting for guests to show up. But working only two or three days a week? That's 😲. Or, they just jack up their prices so high that it’s not even worth the trip for anyone anymore.

And yeah, that’s just a bunch of the problems right there.

Charles Ramos7 said:Maybe look at it this way:

http://www.villabornstein.com/

But just because something is agritourism doesn't mean it's automatically a farm stay.

I think we might be talking past each other regarding the terminology. Agritourism can technically cover just about anything 🙏 (and sometimes it’s more of an information-based concept than a physical one), but there is a very specific legal definition for what constitutes a farm stay under the Hospitality Law, and you obviously can't have one without an actual farmer on site. 🙂

Man, this is the kind of place I’d totally splurge on if it actually fit my budget. 🙂

amberskipper3 said:It could also look like this:

Or maybe like this:

http://www.paintball-chicago.com/

Or even this:

Every single one of these types of Agritourism setups attracts its own specific crowd.

1. Like, $370 for a night in an apartment that comes with an eighties-style closet, while their online store is out here selling a whole damn Coat.😲

🤣

Harold Jackson32, seriously, don't ever try to open a tourism business like that. 😁

2. This isn't really what the thread is about anyway, I guess. 😁

3. Man, now that would be a place I'd actually love to visit! 😍

Harold Jackson32 said:You actually made me laugh with that menu—and I don't mean that in a bad way. Honestly, I cook a lot of that stuff at home myself. I’m living out in Suburban City, USA, and part of me just wants to give you a call and whip up everything you mentioned. Even without the whole agritourism vibe, I’m always making tomato sauce and eating nothing else, foraging for mushrooms (though these days it's mostly chanterelles), and spending my time making jams, ajvar, and pinđur. I also make these savory turnovers—kind of like a savory strudel with cheese, cherries, walnuts, or potatoes—and my own homemade pasta... Plus, since I live a bit outside the city limits, it’s pretty peaceful out here. All I need now is to buy a lounge chair for the pool, and then I’m officially inviting you over for a weekend :-) We could even take a quick trip out to the Hilly Region; the scenery alone makes the drive worth it. And don't even get me started on that thinly sliced smoked meat, onions, and farm-fresh eggs with cheese and cream, or some traditional egg porridge...
Anyway, thanks a million for the reply and all the ideas. If anything else pops into your head, please reach out! I’m seriously considering jumping into this business full-time. If I actually pull it off, you’ll be my very first guest. :-))

Oh, thanks for the invite! 😍
I eat most of this old-school stuff at home anyway (my folks have a garden back in the Hilly Region, my dad makes killer noodles, and my uncle picks mushrooms and feeds the girls...) — we had porcini with eggs last week (my darling and I were laughing because that was basically a 100% homemade feast, from the bread in the wood-fired oven and flour from the mill to the eggs and mushrooms, all the way down to the pickles and beets from the pantry 😍 ) and now I'm getting ready to make some homemade sausage this week... but that is definitely something I'd love to eat when I head out to the country for the weekend (especially considering our main goal is just to relax and chase after wild beasts through the woods and mountains without any hunters or cars around 🙂))

Good luck! 🙂

Harold Jackson32

I mean, an hour or an hour and a half drive is pushing it, right? Like, I'm right on the edge of whether it's actually worth the trip or not. But, okay, let me tell you what my dream scenario would look like—if you're actually serious about opening this place up, please, tag me and my friends for a weekend getaway once you launch 🙂!

Look, at my job, I work like a dog. No way am I picking grapes, digging dirt, or hauling hay... but, hey, I bet there are people out there who'd actually find harvesting fun. So maybe offer that right away! And, you know, for the folks who want a little more action (maybe a smaller group, so don't dump it all on them later 😁), they could stomp grapes with their feet, run the press... distill some moonshine... pick plums and clean them, then just chill out with some homemade cake or plum dumplings. That’s the pitch! Tell them they can take those plums home as dumplings... or come back in two weeks for some jam, or even have you mail them the jam (for a little extra fee, obviously)... Oh, and mushroom hunting with a pro who gives a mini-lesson on what's edible and what isn't! Or harvesting chestnuts or corn, and then roasting corn on the fire while listening to local legends from your neck of the woods... In the winter, maybe an open fireplace where guests can sip on some mulled wine and do what our grandparents used to do—shucking corn, prepping veggies, knitting—all while swapping stories and legends... ... ...

Me? Honestly, I just need peace. Just a little comfy chair on the porch in the shade, and maybe a forest or a meadow for long walks with the local wildlife. A bed, a shower, and a TV so I have something to zone out to before I drift off. And good heating in the winter. That's it.

Breakfast—porcini mushrooms with eggs (okay, you totally had me at that part), boiled eggs with homemade sausage, eggs with local ham, cheese and cream, homemade dried cheese, fresh bread straight from the oven, and local milk 😍. Maybe some sweet cornmeal porridge with homemade jam, or some thinly sliced prosciutto... ... ...

Lunch or Dinner—porcini soup, homemade tomato soup, veggie soups, clear broths—we cook that stuff ourselves, but you should definitely offer it. Sauerkraut, pickled turnips, bean and cabbage stew, stuffed cabbage rolls, stuffed peppers, turkey with traditional flatbread strips 😁, potato rolls, dumplings, savory pastries, meatloaf, strudels, pies, walnut cake, poppy seed cake, cheese or poppy seed bread, or maybe some hearty cornmeal mush 😍... or just some homemade pasta in a chicken gravy... ... ...

cosmicviper10 said:Well, I’m not talking about door-to-door visits or anything like that... but what would you think about an organized town hall meeting over at the local municipality in Small Town, USA? You know, where someone actually shows up to sit down with the farmers and walk them through how they might realistically pull in an extra $2k, $5k, or even $10k...

It’s kind of like when a farmer just plants wheat or turnips because, well, it’s the easiest thing to do, right? But then at the end of the season, they’re basically broke because nobody wants to buy their stuff since everyone else is selling the exact same thing... so, if someone could just point out that maybe, just maybe, they could make a much better profit off a different type of crop... that's more along the lines of what I'm getting at...

Why? Honestly, I'm gonna be a little selfish here, if you don't mind me saying.

Who gave me an entrepreneurship course eight years ago? Who gave me any kind of break on my taxes or social security contributions back then? Who bought me equipment for my business or handed me a grant eight years ago?

Nobody. 🙄

So why on earth should we be handing out funds or teaching them all about tax obligations when we don't do that for any other private business owner out there? 😉

But, okay, looking at it from the heart... I'm definitely all for the government helping EVERYONE who starts a private business—people who might one day be the ones driving production and filling up the state treasury.

Like, show an entrepreneur how to file their sales tax, or have the government handle the paperwork for them until they finally hit enough revenue to afford their own accountant.

Maybe waive those payroll taxes for the first month or so.

Or subsidize equipment costs for the first year or two (for example, if you buy software, maybe skip the sales tax or customs fees).

And don't go chasing down sales tax that a small firm hasn't even collected yet.

Keep those social security contributions at a minimum for small contractors.

And give them a reward if they stay on top of their payments to the government.

But it has to be for EVERYONE, not just hand-picked favorites, because honestly, playing favorites just isn't fair. 🙂

Charles Ramos7 said:Someone already started a similar thread (whereabouts in the Midwest are you from? 🙂)but honestly, I don't think anyone here is picking up on the most critical point—who we're actually talking about attracting as guests here.

Like brisknomad6 mentioned, they’d be aiming for a long weekend crowd. That specific demographic dictates everything: the location, the menu, the marketing strategy, all of it...

So, how many people are actually interested?🤔 Personally, there's no way I'm making that trip when I can get to London faster and cheaper. 🙂 Actually, thinking about it, I could fly to a completely different continent in the same amount of time it takes to get there.😁

So, yeah😁...

We basically have one shared day off a week, and if we actually manage to get it free,
plus we've got our beast—our four-legged friend—and even then, London feels out of reach

But man, we work like horses, and we seriously need a break from Washington, D.C.

But not a trip where we spend 5 or 6 hours just sitting in a car for a two-day getaway

So, here's the deal: somewhere near the suburbs of D.C., a decent place to sleep (bed, shower, TV), good food, and some nice spot (maybe a forest or a field without hunters lurking around) to walk the beast

Target crowd? Families (prices should probably go up slightly just to cover kids' costs—$333 though for a full weekend, it might be too steep for most), working folks with limited free time who just want some peace, quiet, and some home-cooked meals😳

Jesse Sanchez90 said:Exactly...😂

Still spot on—you don't need any fancy bells and whistles, but man, come on, you've gotta dream up something more than just the usual Washington, D.C. fare, some turkey with noodles, and whatever kind of wild mushroom sauté we've already had a million times!🙄

And you know, cuckolds don't exactly fare that well around here, whereas in Austria—which has such a strong Catholic vibe on that particular day—they go all out!😛

If we had more of them, and if people realized they could stay year-round—just like you see happening in France—we’d really be getting somewhere.
But here in the States, if you don't turn a massive profit on a luxury car within three months, everyone acts like you've completely failed at the business!😲🙄

Hey... what's up? Just hanging out. 😁 Alright, well... I guess it's back to the grind then. Time to get to work. 😁

I totally get where they're coming from, you know? I mean, when you've got the whole agritourism setup going, plus all the livestock and your own land to look after... it's a lot. I guess I just completely understand why people feel that way.

Well, I guess if we're going that route, we might as well just scrap the whole tourism thing entirely. Honestly, maybe it’s better that way? Just... forget about it.

I mean, we aren't exactly running a full-blown tourism operation or anything, but we are open Friday through Sunday from 2 PM to 10 PM. Just a heads up though—we're totally closed on holidays and during the summer, so don't make the trip if you show up then! 😁
So, we’re looking at offering maybe two or three different dishes—you know, one of them would be made to order, totally custom and stuff—plus some sleeping arrangements for... $83 Maybe we could add some extra stuff too... like a little personal touch, you know? I was thinking maybe adding a walk through the orchards just to give people something more to do. Just an extra bit of flavor for the trip!

So, let's just say there's two people—plus a dog—who are basically itching to ditch the city for a quick weekend getaway. Just get outta town, you know? Grab the keys, pack a bag, and just... go.

I guess I'm just gonna be straight with you—I'm not doing any overnight stays. No way. $167 No dog, huh? Man, that’s tough. I guess life just feels a little quieter without them around, right? Maybe a bit too quiet, honestly. It's kind of a bummer, if you ask me.

I mean, I’d probably drop like $250 for the three of us—that would cover the night stay plus a homemade breakfast. And honestly? I’d totally end up staying for dinner too, sipping on some local wine... maybe another $250 just for that.

So, I was thinking about the math on this... if you count the hotel breakfast at $3 per person—and let's say we're actually looking at a $5 cost per head—that would be... $25I mean, even if local food is cheaper or whatever, let's just say we went through a massive amount of bedding and burned through quite a bit of electricity... and, I don't know, maybe the dinner costs were also... $33 Man, I mean, we’ve already blown through half the budget—there's still some left for them, I guess. $83

If they’ve got any sense at all, they’ll just sell me ten eggs, a loaf of bread straight out of the oven, a couple bottles of wine, and a bag of frozen porcini mushrooms. That's basically the dream, I guess. 😉 So, like, maybe I could actually pull in another couple hundred bucks from this? I mean, who knows, right? Maybe. It's probably worth a shot, I guess.

So, if we're actually happy with how things are turning out, I guess we might head out for a couple of weekends with some friends... or, hey, maybe we just send the old folks off for a weekend getaway and boom—there's our little side hustle right there. Not like a massive payday or anything, obviously, but you know, it works!

I mean, honestly, they don't even have any... $83

Yeah, I totally get it. I know some people are gonna jump in now and start whining that it’s too small or that it just isn't worth the hassle... but honestly, I gotta ask—how exactly is it supposed to be "worth it" to them if they're just sitting there staring at empty rooms?

Sam Murphy said:There just isn't any real interest from guests when it comes to agritourism, so it’s impossible to make it a primary business... because of that, it’s mostly just retirees getting involved, and I know quite a few of them who are basically just collecting massive government grants. I actually submitted a project to the Ministry of Grants myself, hoping to get some support, but they turned me down flat; meanwhile, those same funds are being handed out to those retirees simply because they belong to certain political circles, whereas I don't hold any party affiliation at all. So, we are stuck facing two major hurdles: everyone is heading straight to the coast instead, and the subsidies are essentially being used as rewards for party loyalists to keep them in line... how on earth are we supposed to move forward from here?

That's just not true. 😁

There ARE interested guests, 😉 they just don't want overpriced pork and noodles served during hours that only work for the owners. 😁

Like, a few weeks back, my friends and I wanted to go play in the snow and find somewhere decent to eat.

Out of the 10 farmstays I called, five didn't even pick up. Four told us they were closed because, you know, it was a holiday, and one said dogs were fine, but they had to stay in the yard outside.

In the end, we just drove over to a spot near the suburbs for lunch (should I even mention that the place was absolutely packed 😳 even though it was a holiday? 😁)

We actually thought about escaping the city for a bit—not even a weekend, just a quick trip into nature—but the prices for a room and breakfast were so insane that we just gave up on the idea.

Agritourism really needs to be encouraged and grown, but it has to actually work for the average working person, you know? Like, reasonable prices and an actual decent menu.
Only then does a little farmhouse with home-cooked food and some woods nearby actually make sense as a tourist destination.

Right now, I’ve got everything shut tight except for the balcony

Seriously, even the slightest hint of a draft—like, stuff I can't even physically feel—triggers a massive headache or sinus pressure for me

And honestly, I’m starting to get a little annoyed with people who don't care about drafts... they just look at me like I'm crazy or roll their eyes when I try to move away from a breeze or turn down the AC in their car because the vents are blasting right at my face (we usually keep ours pointed strictly at our feet)

shadowpilot8 said:Try asking over here; I have no idea.

You could also look through this:

Taylor Swift, I am aware of that chart. In fact, I recently noted on a gold thread that it looks like a bubble. However, people with more expertise than us dismissed my claim, insisting that gold is undervalued. 🤷

Thanks so much 🙂

shadowpilot8 said:It is difficult to determine the most logical way to save when global inflation is being forecasted everywhere, especially since governments keep intervening by printing money constantly. At this stage, whether you hold dollars or euros doesn't matter much because our exchange rate remains steady, though the euro has dropped significantly against the dollar and is incredibly volatile right now; there is even chatter about the potential collapse of the EU and the end of the euro.

I mentioned stocks mostly as an aside, because you truly can never be certain you will protect your principal investment, let alone 😉. However, you don't need a massive amount of capital since brokers have largely eliminated minimum deposit requirements, charging only a commission of 0.25% to 0.5% per trade.

What is your take on this http://www.jpmorganchase.com/Default.aspx?sec=1443. Buy a gold or silver coin every month and put it in a piggy bank? I am serious; their value won't drop 🙂—and it doesn't lock you in for years like a life insurance policy does
.

I didn't really know about that, and honestly, I'm not so sure about it... I don't know

but, uh, that actually gave me another idea

gold bullion 😳

can you buy those? and where?

catch some bats, mix their tails with skunk sweat and some gunpowder

heat that whole mess up in a wooden bucket, wrap it all in palm leaves, strap it to your back, and then just go lie down head-first, facing north-to-south

or, I guess, you could just hit up a doctor instead

Tyler Ross86 said:So I just found out today that mods can actually peek at people's private messages on the forum. It didn't even cross my mind, honestly... I mean, I have zero clue why they'd even need that kind of power... if anything, the role should be called PAMM—Private And Mod Message, I guess.

🤣

Yeah, yeah, and it’s not just the PMs either. 🙄
They get everything—your registered email, heck, they probably read your postcards too... Supermods can even intercept physical mail as long as it isn't in an official US envelope (those are a pain to reseal once you rip 'em open), and admins? Man, they probably know your exact bank balance too. :conspiracy:

maybe 🙂

I think I saw a segment on your show about some guy who had chest surgery

Go ahead and Google it, there’s actually a specific term for it... gynecomastia, I guess?

Anyway, good luck 🙂

amberraven16 said:I'm having such a hard time finding stuff online about where adults can actually hang out in Washington, D.C. I mean, for people a bit further along in life... maybe a debate club, playing bridge, joining a choir, or just something else like that?

just throw out whatever comes to mind, seriously

THANKS!

welcome 🙂