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It's an old cliché, right? And, you don't talk about it in mixed company, or polite company, amirite? It's just something we all live with. Ehhhh - keep reading, maybe you'll learn something, as I did. Dude has done the research for us, and compares 8 different brands of men's underwear, highlighting their strengths, and shortcomings.

https://snarkynomad.com/the-best-mens-underwear-for-every-guy-out-there/

The best men’s underwear for every guy out there
December 12, 2016 - by SnarkyNomad
Welcome, friends and loved ones, to what is going to be the most detailed discussion I have ever produced. And that’s saying something.

I’ve written about men’s underwear before, specifically regarding how incredibly difficult it is finding something that works. So many designs out there are total garbage that most guys don’t bother sifting through the selection to find something good, and end up just living with whatever’s cheap, because the fancy ones don’t work either. Add to this the fact that underwear is incredibly polarizing, with some people liking a loose boxer fit, while others prefer a boxer brief, along with all kinds of other preferences that are more divisive than a heated political debate. And I think I finally know why.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen––but mostly gentlemen––I think I’ve actually figured out why some people like one design instead of another, and I also think I can articulate this problem without resorting to obscene diagrams. It’s all going to start making perfect sense, and by the end of all this, I think you’ll be able to find something that’ll work for you, without having to spend $30 on something that fits horribly and gets thrown in the garbage by the end of the day.

So go ahead and get comfortable, because this is going to be as thorough as a nuclear submarine technical manual.

How men’s underwear discussions tend to miss the point
I will begin by saying that everything you’ve been told about men’s underwear is wrong.

Everyone talks about “support,” claiming that one pair of underwear has good “support,” while another does not. But this doesn’t make any sense. “Support” is what happens when you’re lifted up from underneath. But what good is that?

The constant readjustment problem that plagues every guy all day long has nothing to do with a lack of “support.” It has to do with a lack of containment. Walking around for a while will dislodge whatever you intend to hold in place up front, and it’ll start migrating into various positions and start chafing against the leg and ruin your whole day. This is why underwear with good “support” isn’t going to do you any good.

As I say, he did all the research, and he notes within his blog that these brands start at about $5.00 per pair, and get very pricey from there. I don't suppose that many of us can justify a $50 pair of undies - I know that I can't. I started with the lowest price available, and experimented.

https://www.uniqlo.com/us/en/men/innerwear-and-socks/boxers-and-boxer-briefs

People, you won't believe it until you try it. Some of those higher priced garments could possibly be better, but I don't know how. The ONLY thing that I don't really like, is the fabric. I've spent a lifetime wearing 100% cotton, in the thickness and texture found in Hanes, Fruit of the Loom, and other common brands. Very thin, smooth, moisture wicking cotton - certainly not silk, but it does have some silky qualities. My initial impression of the fabric was, "These are kind of effeminate, aren't they?" But - I've gotten used to them.

Blurb here about that cotton: https://authenticity50.com/pages/supima-cotton

WHAT IS SUPIMA COTTON?
"Extra-long staple Supima cotton is the crème de la crème in the cotton world" -GEAR PATROL

There’s a reason the American-grown Supima® cotton we use costs more than 2x the price of regular cotton, and it shows in the product. It's finer and more expensive than Egyptian Cotton and traditional Pima cotton. Its extra-long staples allows us to spin an extremely fine yet durable single-ply thread, which results in a softer, more breathable, and longer lasting bed sheet.

EXTRA-LONG STAPLE
In fact, Supima® is 35% longer than regular cotton, which makes the fiber 45% stronger and considerably softer. Supima® accounts for less than 3% of the cotton grown in the United States, and comes fully certified by the Supima® association.

Imagine that - high tech underwear, that doesn't even plug into a computer!! All you need is a connection to milennia old Pima Indian cultivated cotton!

Bear in mind, all of these guys are near my age. None of them can be less than 45 years old, and one or two may be as old as 65.

DJ1 (referencing a news story) And, he really ought to be sent to a psychologist for testing.

DJ2 And, I know a lot of people who should be tested.

DJ1 You know, a lot of radio people have been tested.

DJ3 Thats sounds a little bit like someone here may have been tested?

DJ1 Well, no I never was tested.

DJ2 Wait a minute - you say that like - there's a story there?

DJ3 Yes, tell us about you not being tested.

DJ1 Well, the school counselor was being as ass, and told me to go see this psychologist.

JD3 And? Tell us more.

DJ1 The psych guy started off being a smartass before introductions were even finished. He said "Boy, there's something WRONG with you!"

DJ2 Oh-oh - so you're saying that the shrink knew on sight that something was wrong with you?

DJ1 Well, you know, those psychology people never know what they're talking about, so I wasn't going to take any test.

DJ3 That can't be all of the story now. Go on.

DJ1 Well, that psychologist said something about restraints. But I showed him.

DJ2 What did you show him?

DJ1 He opened the broom closet to get something out of there - and I just locked him in there, and left.

Everyone laughing for several seconds, they seque into another news story.

DJ1 mumble mumble mumble.

DJ2 What was that? You didn't finish your story?

DJ1 Actually, I was just wondering if you guys think I should go back, and let him out of that closet.

DJ2 OH MY GOD!!!!.

Everyone else laughing their asses off.

Oh - the story they were seguing into?

Someone asked Mad Dog Mattis what keeps him up at night.

Mad Dog says, "Nothing. I sleep like a baby at night. Actually, it's ME that keeps other people up at night!

And, I actually found a reference for that story!

https://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/05/28/james-mad-dog-mattis-is-asked-what-keeps-him-awake-at-night-his-response-screams-merica

Some “obsolete” tech that is no longer used perhaps should be (I’ve written about it) because they were better in some respects than newer replacements, but there are some other obsolete technologies that no longer serve a useful purpose, some remaining among the near dead, some almost comatose and some screaming in fear.
        The steering wheel, brake pedal, and throttle control are screaming in fear. They only have twenty or thirty years left. When they’re gone, good riddance! But the tech isn’t quite there yet, although the clutch has died a quiet death.
        The near dead is the home phone. I haven’t had one in over fifteen years, but my ninety year old mom who uses her cell phone like we used to use pay phones when they still existed (and had a reason to exist) still has one. Call her cell and you get no answer. I knew a few other, but very few, all wedded to the past. I had a grandpa who refused to use the toilet my uncle installed in the bathroom he built, always using the outhouse.
        The home phone is dead. But it still writhes.
        Then we have cable and satellite TV. They became endangered when TV became digital.
        When they were young (to me, meaning when I first met them) they were great. No snow, no ghosts, no static in the sound. Plus, you got half a dozen more channels, including HBO, for ten bucks. The cable channels either didn’t have commercials, or only had them between shows. Most cable channels didn’t censor out vulgarity.
        There were educational channels, like Discovery and The History Channel. There was the rock channel, MTV, that played music videos.
        It gradually changed. Commercials started appearing, and now they show commercials at the bottom of the screen while the actual content is running. MTV stopped playing music videos and started showing stupid reality shows. Discovery stopped showing science and technology and started showing stupid reality shows. The History Channel stopped showing history and started showing stupid reality shows.
        More channels were added, none anyone in their right mind would watch, like the four or five shopping channels. So many sports channels were added that the “sports” channels started showing pool, poker, and even chess, despite the fact that those games aren’t sports. And the price kept rising to the point that the cable bill cost more than the phone bill or the trash bill.
        Then television went digital. The number of over the air channels tripled or quadrupled. Ghosts, snow, and audio static were banished. Now, instead of cable giving a better picture than over the air, it’s reversed. Almost all cable channels are standard definition with none offering better than 720, while the same channels over the air are in 1080.
        There was no longer any reason to have cable, unless you were a Nascar fan, but now even Nascar fans can watch the races with Nascar’s TV app. And it got worse for cable. Netflix started streaming for about ten bucks a month with a plethora of excellent shows and movies, without commercials, and uncut, for about ten bucks a month, a little over a tenth of the cost of cable. Their highest pricing tier offers 4K content.
        But a lot of people (I’m guessing Nascar fans that haven’t heard of streaming boxes) still have cable. When will this zombie die?

I believe that other people have mentioned Iridium, here on the forum. For whatever reason, I've never messed with it. Never even followed up on it, to see what makes it special. In recent days, it has been mentioned multiple times in various discussions that I've read, but not elaborated on. So - interest piqued, I did a search for it.

https://iridiumbrowser.de/

A BROWSER SECURING YOUR PRIVACY. THAT’S IT.
DOWNLOAD

Iridium Browser is based on the Chromium code base. All modifications enhance the privacy of the user and make sure that the latest and best secure technologies are used. Automatic transmission of partial queries, keywords and metrics to central services is prevented and only occurs with the approval of the user. In addition, all our builds are reproducible and modifications are auditable, setting the project ahead of other secure browser providers.

There is a lot more to read on that page, like the manifest.

MANIFEST
IMPORTANT NOTICE

Before Iridium Browser, we had to decide if we wanted to have cutting edge technologies like sandboxed processes, WebRTC, WebUSB … , or if we wanted to use a browser that respects our privacy. So we decided to use the power of free software and build a browser that can do both. We analysed the code of Chromium and stripped out the functionality which exposes data to others in a way we don‘t like.
See most important changes here

Our ambition is to get builds for Debian, Ubuntu, openSUSE, Fedora, RHEL/CentOS, Windows and macOS a couple of days after a new release of Chromium. To achieve this, we need help from individuals and organisations, who have the same intention. Currently there are weeks between a new release of Iridium and Chromium.
Please take this into consideration for your personal usage of the browser as you might be at risk when surfing unknown and potentially dangerous websites!
We feel, that as an application browser or as browser for trusted websites, this is acceptable.

Wow. Sounds good. It seems to address the reasons that I've used several other browsers, such as SRWare Iron, Cyberfox, and others.

Keep on reading, and I'm reminded of the reasons I was excited about Webkit when it was promoted by Google. (Bear in mind that Google didn't invent this thing, they took open source code from the KDE browser, Konqueror, enhanced it, and turned it loose under the Google name.)

Unfortunately, Google added some things that none of us need, and in fact, few of us know about. Hardcoded URLS for various purposes, all designed to collect information, and to push advertising. SRWare Iron addresses some of that, but - sometimes, it has just seemed that they didn't go far enough.

Iridium, though, has gone into the source code, and either removed or obfuscated those hard coded URL's. There is a whole page dedicated to the stuff that has been removed, or changed - https://github.com/iridium-browser/tracker/wiki/Differences-between-Iridium-and-Chromium

This page describes the changes we did in Iridium compared to the Chromium base version. Please note that this list might not be exhaustive, so always check the Git repository at https://git.iridiumbrowser.de/cgit.cgi/iridium-browser/ for the latest changes.

I've kicked it around for a couple days now. I'm just about to set Iridium as "default browser", to replace Cyberfox. (Default browser is the one that opens when you click a link someplace, like in a PDF. It has little to no effect on what happens inside of your non-default browsers.)

Resource-wise, Iridium uses about the same CPU and memory as SRWare Iron. (they don't have the same pages open, so maybe I shouldn't compare them like that, but they do have roughly the same number of pages open) Both seem to use slightly less resources than vanilla Chromium.

EDIT: I initially posted that Iridium is in the Debian repositories. That was wrong. Iridium happens to be in my distro's repository, so it popped up immediately when I did an apt-cache search. Iridium-browser is NOT in the Debian repositories. Most Debian users will have to add the Iridium repository, or compile it themselves from the git. Sorry for any confusion I may have caused!

The best thing about Iridium, for Debian users, it's in the repository.

#apt-get install iridium-browser

does it all for you. You'll get the standard output, telling you dependencies, and recommended libraries and documentation.

NOTE: Iridium isn't replacing my daily drivers. I have multiple browsers installed on my system, and I use them in different ways. Using Iridium (or any "hardened" browser) as "default" helps to insure that inadvertantly invoking a browser from a PDF file doesn't open the system up to anyone who might be watching for a phone-home thing to happen. It's a "secure browser", right?

You be the judge - click the link(s), read up, and decide how good Iridium is - or isn't.

Currently, Iridium Browser is available for the following operating systems:
Windows 7+ • macOS 10.9+ • Debian 8+, Mint 17+, Ubuntu 14.04+ (all 64-bit) • openSUSE Leap 42.3 and 15.0 • Fedora 27+ • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7+ | CentOS 7+

  Iridium Browser is not available for Android, iOS, Windows Mobile or any other mobile operating system!

I'm just going to put this out there for you all to think about. If you are taking your moral cues from politicians, pundits, or lobbying groups, you've got it precisely backwards. They are supposed to be taking their positions based on what you believe. The other way around is the tail wagging the dog.

Potentiometers and Variable Capacitors
        In the first installment, written over a decade ago, I bemoaned the loss of volume and tuning knobs on car radios, which had been stupidly replaced by buttons. By the second installment the knobs were back, although the knobs were digital, rather than analog.
        A potentiomenter is a variable resistor with three leads. Usually the control lead is the center and can raise the voltage to a second lead while lowering it to the third. In analog systems they were used as volume, tone, and balance controls. In stereo systems there were two stacked together, one for each channel.
        A variable capacitor was a capacitor where turning the knob one direction raised the capacitance, the other was lowered it. These were used for tuning radios, and UHF channels on early televisions.
        Never once did I ever see one of these two devices fail. Old potentiometers suffered from getting dirty, which caused a crackling noise when turned, and often made the sound silent. However, this was easily remedied with switch oil, sold at Radio Shack as color TV tuner cleaner. It only took removing a few screws to access them for cleaning.
        I drive a fifteen year old car, and the volume knob drives me nuts. Try to turn it up and the volume often goes down, or the reverse, or nothing at all. The digital tuner often jumps off the station. The old analog equipment never did that no matter how old it was.
        There’s no reason whatever to use digital switches for volume knobs, because all sound is analog and all amplifiers are analog. Potentiometers would still work well, and you can still buy them, but I don’t think I’ve seen one on any new stereo in this century.
        Why did they change? The mantra of youth, “new is always better!” Well, sometimes it is. Just as “reform” doesn’t mean “improve” but to change the form of something for better or worse, change can be better or worse.
        Digital volume and tuning controls have no advantages at all over the older tech, and many disadvantages. Changing this was just stupid.

Packaging that doesn’t need tools to open
        Back in the last century things generally came in thin cardboard boxes, simple things that were always easy to open and seldom needed tools, and the only needed tools for some were a knife or scissors. Now? They package things in hard plastic that sometimes breaks scissors!
        And it’s terrible for the environment. Over half of all plastic on Earth was manufactured in this century! There’s absolutely no rational or logical reason to imprison a product in a stupid, very hard to open plastic package. It seems that with some items, they gave more thought to the looks (but not usability) of the packaging than the actual merchandise!
        Stop making all that damned plastic and stop making it so damned hard to access everything I’ve bought!
        Now, easily opened packaging isn’t completely dead; they still use paper wrappers and cardboard boxes for fast food. But anything else? “Honey, have you seen the jackhammer?

Car windows you can open or close without the ignition in the operating position
        Now, I love power windows. It’s great to be able to roll up all your windows from the driver’s seat without having to pull over and open each door to roll the windows up. It’s also nice to be able to keep passengers from rolling them up or down.
        But why does the key have to be in the running position? I should be able to simply open the driver door and roll them up or down. When they’re rolled up and it’s hot outside, you certainly don’t want to put you upper body in that hundred fifty degree furnace!
        There’s absolutely no reason why I should need a key to roll a window down.
        This isn’t exactly on-topic, but when it starts raining, the windows should roll themselves up.

Glass soda bottles
        Plastic bottles make sense for a lot of things; viscous substances like shampoo and condiments are far better served by squeezable bottles, especially ketchup, which was hard to get out of a full glass bottle. Milk and other assorted liquids are fine in plastic, as long as the container has a flat bottom.
        But there is no good reason to put liquids, like soda or cooking oil, in plastic. Plastic is bad for the environment, particularly the oceans’ environments. The only reason it’s used is because it only takes a hundredth of a penny to make a glass bottle but a penny for a glass bottle.
        That saving of .99% of a penny does in no way make up for the environmental damage of plastic, nor for the instability of soda bottles. Beer still comes in glass bottles, and you can set one on the hood of your car easily. Not soda, a soda bottle’s design (which makes it look like it holds more soda) is unstable unless on a perfectly flat, level surface.
        But worse, plastic is pliable (or a plastic ketchup bottle would be useless), which means the soda will go flat much faster. That’s why they still use glass bottles for beer!
        As for cooking oil, if it’s on your stove when the oven is on, it will melt.
        Plastic soda and cooking oil bottles are not user-friendly, or environment friendly. Bring back glass!

Paper cups and straws
        As mentioned above, plastic is bad for the environment. There used to be no plastic cups or straws; they were made of thin waxed cardboard, and I see no reason why plastic cups and straws should cost any less than paper.
        They should bring back paper milk cartons, too.

Bezels
        They’re not dead yet, but it’s coming. Now, getting rid of bezels on TVs and monitors is a great innovation. The one on my new fifty five inch TV is only half an inch. But why do designers these days never look at how a device is going to be used? The bezel on my four inch phone is already too small, and I’ve read they’re so small on the new phones that they’re being called “bezel-less”.
        It’s stupid! The bezel on a phone or tablet is necessary to keep from accidental clicks, which my phone gets all the time. My tablets, with generous bezels, never do.
        Idiot designers, forget about cool, I don’t need to impress anyone with “innovation” that some stupid young hot shot came up with.
        Getting rid of phone bezels is almost as dumb as touch screen controls in cars, the most idiotically dangerous “innovation” in decades. You shouldn’t have to take your eyes off the road to adjust the heater or turn up the radio!

Foot operated car dimmer switches
        I don’t know ahat idiot in Japan... or was it Germany? Whatever, cars used to have foot switches to dim their headlights.
        And then some moron decided to move the dimmer switch to the turn signal. I guess whoever made that decision never used his turn signals and figured he’s add a use to the “useless” turn signal.
        But using your turn signal to turn or change lanes is the law in all fifty states (I don’t know about foreign countries). The problem occurs when you go to use the turn signal and blind some poor soul in an oncoming vehicle.
        Someone please fire these morons before they kill more of us!

The talk show hosts have blathered about #WalkAway for a few days now. Finally - I looked it up. Definitely interesting!

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/07/03/former_liberal_to_progressives_time_to_walk_away.html

Brandon Straka says that less than a year ago, he was a liberal. He explains why he changed his mind in this "viral video" encouraging other progressives to "walk away" from the remains of the Democratic Party.

"Once upon a time, I was a liberal,” the gay NYC hairdresser begins. "I felt I’d found a tribe.” But, he said, they will do “absolutely nothing for you."

The video is at least a month old, but Straka appeared on FNC's 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' on Monday to discuss what he means:

Watch the latest video at foxnews.com

Another story from an apparently Black Canadian woman who married an American.

https://www.redstate.com/kiradavis/2018/08/10/heres-chose-walkaway-liberalism/

My father-in-law was a popular local pastor, and also the first black man I’d ever met who called himself a Republican and a conservative. We were fast friends, and often talked politics. He would gently but intelligently challenge a lot of my notions and beliefs. I thought I knew a lot because I read a lot of headlines. He challenged me to read the actual stories. I thought I new a lot because I watched Bill Maher. He challenged me to watch the things going on around me. I thought I knew a lot because…well, I knew a lot! He challenged me to value results over talk. I wasn’t a convert, but I began to think that maybe I didn’t have the full picture when it came to my ideas about Republicans and conservatives. Could it be that I was depending too much on salacious headlines and raging talking heads for my opinions about conservatism?

Back to Brandon: http://insider.foxnews.com/2018/07/08/brandon-straka-walk-away-campaign-founder-denied-service-camera-store

Straka said the salesperson recognized him from his campaign and said that he couldn't sell anything to him because he did not support the "#WalkAway" campaign.

According to the movement's Facebook page, it's meant to "encourage and support those on the left to walk away from the divisive tenets."

Straka said following his encounter at the electronics store, he started "shaking" because he hadn't experienced negative backlash like that before.

"It took my breath away," he said.

Two videos, each of them very eloquent:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Pjs7uoOkag&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILQXW2Ob1PU&feature=youtu.be