Ready, Steady, Goat (July 2026 Scapegoat Blame Thread)
7July seems to have snuck up on me. Maybe you’re feeling the same, but who can blame us? Life mostly happens when you’re not looking.
Big thanks to @Pufferfishy, for handling all the heat in June like a champ. Unfortunately, it’s only going to get hotter, and it looks like @Aetherwizard will be the one catching all the heat in July.
Stay cool, Prepotente.
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BLAME: My plane is 38 minutes late and my half-caf cost $8.51 . I have a good mind to do … nothing about it because I don’t want to end up like Tom Hanks in The Terminal.
BLAME! A couple of years ago, I tried to help a couple of friends by selling them a vehicle I didn’t need, at a price they could afford, for less than what I had in it. They have continued to be in dire economic straits, and I’ve ended up doing multiple repairs on it since the sale, at my own expense, just to keep them employable and housed. Now it needs a radiator. The parts will arrive tomorrow, but not in time for me to do the job before one of them has to be at work, so I’ll end up driving to the other side of Houston to give them a ride, and then I’ll spend Saturday doing the repairs.
It’s not like I’m in the mood to be celebratory about a damn thing right at the moment, so having the “holiday” overwritten may actually be preferable to having to take notice of just how effing dismal everything is.
@werehatrack You are in no good deed mode indeed. You remind me of another overburdened friend of mine that deserves a break.
that things go as smoothly as they can under the circumstances.
@werehatrack Why else would you get to enjoy a trip under the not-so-pristine skies of H-town and inspire/ingest Saharan Dust? Don’t forget your N-95s. Take heart in knowing you’re doing good deeds and perhaps Karma might prevail somewhere, sometime. Hope bolts loosen and then tighten cooperatively and no adverse surprises occur.
@phendrick @werehatrack
Remember “No good deed goes unpunished”
@chienfou @phendrick @werehatrack
That’s right… No good deed goes unpunished! And those good karma points are stacking up!
Have you considered getting them an Uber to work instead of making the road trip? But then again, wouldn’t you need to go there anyway to install the radiator?
Hey, at least you have the goat to blame it on!
Errr… 
Now doesn’t that feel better…
@chienfou @Lynnerizer @phendrick Well, the deed is done and it went better than expected and FAR better than usual. It helped that I reviewed two how-to videos before laying a wrench on the vehicle, and I had all of the tools at hand. It also helped that the hubs loaned me his Ryobi cordless fan to reduce overheating while I wrenched on it.
So I guess I’m on the way back to being reasonably functional at last.
@chienfou @phendrick @werehatrack
That’s wonderful! Glad everything went well, and you stayed cool while doing it! I sure do hope your friend knows how lucky they are…!
Well, I sure don’t want to mess with a wizard who has hidden hands
I want to Blame @Aetherwizard for the Weather that would make the devil Happy!
@mycya4me the devil actually likes snow and fire. Whatever drives people mad.
Unblame-its amazing these days how fast things are delivered and for no cost if you have the right program-to wit ordered something from Walmart yesterday (a holiday) and it will arrive today (a Sunday). Have gotten quite a few orders from Sam’s club the same day I ordered them. Puts Amazon next day delivery on most items to shame although have gotten some overnight delivery on some health related items.
Doesn’t hurt to live near an Amazon warehouse or near several Walmart’s and Sam’s club where items are delivered by private car directly from the facility.
@Felton10 Am there, doing that. While I almost never opt for same-day deliveries, I’ve had a few. Mostly, I’m getting very used to the idea that it’s often cheaper overall when I order what I need and let it come to me. But I will continue to shop for groceries in person. Because.
Unblame, because it deserves one. I actually completed a significant but not terribly technical repair on a friend’s vehicle in in the parking lot of their apartment complex, and everything went pretty well. For once, I didn’t have to make six trips for materials and tools that I didn’t think about in advance, or discovered that I needed in mid repair. In my experience, this almost never happens.
@werehatrack
That’s the way most plumbing repairs seem to go as well…
More of an unblame, but goat-related:
, with much relief and thanks.
On Sunday afternoon, a goat wandered into our yard. Good-sized fellow, but friendly and obviously a pet. My kids kept goats for 4H when they were younger and we still have the pen, so I escorted our visitor in and he happily began eating the vegetation. (The pen is visible from the road so we hoped the owner would come looking and see him.)
Sure enough, some time later we got a knock at the door. Goat and owner were reunited
The end.
@macromeh You should arrange for the goat to come visit every few weeks to trim the grass.
@Kyeh When our children kept goats for 4H, I had visions of them clearing brush and weeds on our property. Turns out a couple of (pampered) pygmy goats don’t eat all that much brush.
@macromeh Oh.
But wasn’t this neighbor goat full size?
@Kyeh
Followup: A few days after the wayward goat reunion, we came home to find a box of delicious gourmet chocolate chip cookies with a note of thanks on our porch. (The goat’s owners run a local deli/bakery.)
@macromeh Wow, nice!
Blame: This thread has gotten buried again.
Unblame: I bought a beefsteak tomato at Trader Joe’s on Tuesday, and it tasted like a real tomato! Two delicious B&T sandwiches and a few nibbles of extra slice later, it is just a fond memory.
Blame: Unblame is not considered a real word by "Spelling Bee."
An assortment of blames and unblames surrounding an episode.
Wife & I took the grandkids to Colorado for 4 days with highlights being the Pike’s Peak drive, Garden of the Gods, Cripple Creek gold mining district, Denver Meow Wolf, and a concert at Red rocks being the highlights.
Flew home Saturday.
Due to car rental return times we ended up at the airport 4 hours before our expected departure. (Blame #1).
That departure was delayed by half an hour (Blame #2).
Flight to Nashville was uneventful and we picked up time. Arrived in the area at our originally slated arrival time. (Unblame #1)
Other than the mostly clear skies there was ONE cloud dumping rain directly over the airport. Pilot made two landing attempts which he had to abort due to wind shear. (Blame #3)
Pilot came on the intercom and announced he had enough fuel to make another circle around and landing attempt, but would not be able to go anywhere else if that was unsuccessful. Pilot then wisely announced he was flying to Birmingham to refuel (Unblame #2)
Plane landed safely in Birmingham and surprisingly was refueled without us having to deplane. Last time this happened to me I was diverted from Montgomery and they made us get off the plane while it was refueled, which was a huge time suck.(Unblame #3)
Made the short hop back to Nashville uneventfully and landed with no problem. Applause from the passengers. (Unblame #4)
Grandson’s luggage (Osprey backpack) was one of the last pieces onto the carousel. (Blame #4)
Daughter met us at baggage and we made it back to our car in time to (just barely) beat the one hour free parking cut off. (Unblame #5)
Drove home 3 hours later than anticipated and as we exited the interstate my 2008 RAV4 died. Power steering failed. Lights went off. Entire instrument cluster lit up. Decided it was probably the alternator. (Blame #5)
Pulled out my portable jump starter kit (thanks meh) and was able to jump start the vehicle and get it off the side of the road and into a gas station parking lot. (Unblame #6)
Got my SIL to come pick us up, (six of us plus luggage into a Prius… that’s why we were driving the RAV) and made it the 3 mi back to their house eventually. (Unblame #7)
Next day I got a ride back to the RAV and called a tow truck. 75 minute estimated wait time turned into 3+ hours (Blame #8)
Took the car to a shop my daughter had been wanting to start using which was about a mile from her house. The shop she has been using is constantly backed up, and she had heard very good things from her friends and neighbors about this place (Nashville Auto Care). Tow truck drove right past the shop due to a mix-up in addresses between Porter avenue and Porter Road …which intersect about three blocks from the shop (Blame #9)
Spoke with Jerry (the original owner’s son… business has been there for many years) and he told me he could get the alternator fixed in a couple of hours (current time about 2pm). On a Friday afternoon… with a lot that was covered in cars…(Huge Unblame #8)
Called my daughter to let her know I was at the shop and see if she could pick me up. She was shopping with my wife and granddaughter at Kohl’s… would be at least half an hour… (Blame #10)
Got a call from Jerry a little after 4:00 p.m. saying my car would be ready in a few minutes. Just as promised!! Got my daughter to give me a ride back up to the shop. Car was in fact ready (I even had them replace the almost 20 yr old serpentine belt since they had to take it off anyway. One less thing to have to worry about for the next 15 years.) (MAJOR Unblame #9)
Was able to get back to my daughter’s house, eat dinner (takeout vegan oriental), load luggage and make the 5-hour trek home. We arrived around midnight, roughly 12 hours later than originally planned.
Overall it was a very positive experience. Lots of things could have gone lots more sideways than they did.
TL:DR we are all fine.
@chienfou oh my word. I dont know where to begin!
Colorado sounds fantastic, I need to plan a trip there later this year or early next year. What concert did you see?
Sorry about the alternator, that stinks. Had something similar happen to me about a month ago while out shopping w mom abd had to have my 2012 Equinox towed to the shop. They replaced the alternator and the belt as well but mine took a few days. I need to think about a new car at some point. My mechanic highly recommends a Toyota.
Glad everyone made it home safe and sound
@tinamarie1974
Concert was a birthday present for the grandson. We had him pick out several artists he wanted to see then tried to find a spot where we could get tickets that were marginally affordable. The Red rocks venue is an AMAZING place. Highly recommend seeing a concert there if you have the opportunity. We saw Evan Honer (HE was actually the grandson’s artist pick) opening for The Head and the Heart. . Great show
Got super lucky with the car being able to be in and out on a Friday afternoon without an appointment. I was highly impressed with the shop. In fact since they had the serpentine belt off anyway I told them to go ahead and put a new one on. No point in tempting fate since the current belt was 15 plus years old. Ends up only a part expense since they had to put the belt back on anyway.
I’ve had great luck with this and the Plymouth Vibe (AKA Toyota Matrix) that we had for a number of years. Vibe lasted for over 250,000 mi. This one’s a 2011 with only 130k. Has plenty of life in it still.
@chienfou @tinamarie1974
Um, Plymouth Vibe -> Pontiac Vibe…
But yeah, we had great luck with our 2008 Vibe too - our daughter is still driving it (not sure what the mileage is now, but I think it will need either replacement or major work before much longer).
@macromeh @tinamarie1974
D’oh. I knew that!
Where voice to text got Plymouth from that I have no idea. I’m pretty sure I said Pontiac when I dictated, but whatever. That’s what I get for not proofreading better
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@chienfou @macromeh thats why I had mine replace the belt as well. Just made sense.
Im leaning towards a rav4 when I finally give in to spend the $$$
When I asked the mechanic he said, well we all have Toyotas b/c we dont like working on cars when we get home
I said, but doesnt that reduce your business…if I get a highly reliable car. He agreed but said he would rather see me in something sturdy to keep me safe. That he knows Ill come back for reg maintenance. He is a good guy