Re: We are all Slave now.
 

It's kind of funny that you put soldiers in one category and engineers in another. Since West Point is basically an engineering school with live ammo, I'm not quite sure how to distinguish the two much of the time.

I love hanging out with folks in academic medicine and with engineers. Both are problem solvers.

I think soldiers are overrated as drinking companions, but journalists have lived up to expectation.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

One of my drinking habits is that I seldom drink where I can't walk home, or to my hotel. I can walk to four neighborhood clubs and belong to three of them. This permits me to be overserved without very serious consequences.

The MDs I have as neighbors are, for some reason, mostly orthopedists and dentists. At least seven of 'em. They are brilliant at what they do but not particularly socially adept. And god, at least half of them are invested in crap that will almost certainly crater. I wish I had something to sell them.

My experience with soldiers, whether it is at a platoon reunion, or with my neighbors, is that I find myself with a minority viewpoint on a goodly number of issues a good percentage of the time. I find that sharpens my perspective.

My son was an engineer before he became a lawyer. I enjoy drinking with him because he's smarter than I am and can translate his generation for me fairly easily. So I cut him some slack on the engineering thing.

The other thing I have a surplus of is political neighbors. I never drink with them. The good news is that the one under indictment had to move because of his financial and marital problems. You know his name.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

This is absolutely false. There are exceptions, but drinking with lawyers is fucking miserable. They cannot and will not talk about anything other than work--whether they're complaining about it or are desperate to discuss something they think is interesting that is surely not.

Brokers are the worst fucking people in the world. And I will leave a bar at which they congregate in numbers superior to 2. They are dumb as rocks, think they run shit, order to impress instead of to enjoy, talk at the top of their lungs, and are almost always douchey white dudes with slicked back hair. The worst.

Tech people don't bother me as they are very easily tuned out.

Blue collars are okay until the subject turns to politics at which point I almost always need to beat a quick exit.

Bar industry and service workers are the second best group to drink with--they know what they want and can hold their liquor unless they have decided it's going to be a blackout night and even then they're pretty fun.

But the number one group of workers to drink with, by far, is teachers. Those motherfuckers let loose. They are funny, uninhibited, and (often) smart.

TM

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

We disagree on lawyers.

I couldn't agree more about brokers. Awful.

I tend to tune out techies as well. I put them in my "Engineer" bucket.

I don't drink with too many blue collar folks, or food and drink service people so I have no opinion.

We are in absolute agreement on teachers. My description was "hilarious." Their stories are either beer-comes-out-your-nose laugh out loud funny, tragic, or both at the same time.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

I think his point was having a drink with opposing counsel makes them behave better. I disagree. The worst ones seem to be looking to get some concession, thinking I'm compromised. The ones who can be herded into behaving, can be herded by talking and by example of me behaving.

The worst group I've ever been around is:

While in DC, we had a friend, whose sister worked in the CIA. The wife and I got invited to a CIA party. We knew nobody, but were always up to meet new people (back then).

Work parties seemed to follow a pattern. Early on people try to be fresh and talk about movies or music or whatever. Then, a few drinks in, talk to turns to their current file, or asshole boss. But the CIA peeps? They cannot talk about work; especially around us.

They put on a movie.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

Actually, he was quite clearly talking about drinking with lawyers in general and that they are the group he most enjoyed drinking with. If you want to jump off into a conversation about drinking with opposing counsel, wouldn't it have made more sense to quote that part of his post in your response?

TM

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

Upon rereading, I suppose you are right. I skimmed his post before posting mine. But assuming i had been right, I should not have quoted that part of his post, as it would insult my readers' reading comprehension abilities.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

You're right. I was talking about lawyers in general. I make it a rule never to drink with opposing counsel.

I suppose I like drinking with lawyers because I find that a high percentage of them seem to be good with language and reasonably quick witted.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

Note to Thurgreed:

A thread or so ago I asked your opinion on college quotas for Asians. You asked for my take first; I gave it. Do you care to weigh in or pass?

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

I don't find this at all. I find that a lot of them are people who were completely focused on grades, went straight through from college to law school, have no real life experience, have an "I want to please people in exchange for positive reinforcement" attitude, and only talk about the law or about how much more room they have in the suburbs.

Obviously, based on the makeup of this board, there are exceptions. But the only value I get from conversations with attorneys is the shock on their faces when they find out that their superior attitude isn't warranted after they hear that I also do the shit they do and think it's mostly stupid.

TM

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

Well, that kills any post I had on this subject.

2. As to every single syllable.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

I used to like the mental games element of the arguments, but honestly, I like arguing with Ty here much more than that. The subject matter is usually way more interesting, and neither of us is going to try to say the other's sur-reply is barred under the rules, collateral estoppel, or in excess of characters allowed.

Being a procedural ninny is fun when you're immature. To the extent I use those tricks to help someone, I feel good about it. But more often than not, I'm working for evil.

It's gotten old -- the whole tearing things down bit.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

2. Always selling. And the most superficial of all humans. (Including r/e agents.)

I like both. I leave the conversation having learned something.

Hit or really, really miss. Service people are frequently well read, as it's a side gig for many. Blue collar folks can provide really good info on where the economy is going. But if you find yourself talking to a really uninformed version of either, it's painful. As painful as talking to an uninformed or myopic upper middle class person.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

I don't drink with a lot of bar industry people, but do hang out with a lot of food service people. It's an incredible group, well-traveled but often in rural out of the way places.

I'd also put music industry people on the list. It is an industry where there are great people and there are total scum in equal numbers and they mix regularly.

The blue color types I hang I know from church, politics or family. They are a wide mix, hard to put in one category when it comes to drinking. I mean, I got Trumpster family members I have to give a wide berth to, folks who mostly want to talk about community events and charities, and old friends who were on staff with unions who can compare what it's like to get arrested in 20 different states and cities.

Re: We are all Slave now.
 

Also very strong drinking companions: Nurses.