Kicked off some major media web sites for being such a tool, he landed here. Over the next four or five years Smoking Man dropped thousands of comments on this blog. At least half of them were obscene, libelous, incendiary or unintelligible. Especially the drunken, overnight ones. SM became the most Deleted person in blog dog history.
The others were always acerbic, sometimes profound, bordering on prophetic. He called for a Trump win when the guy was still riding down his elevator and labeling Mexicans murderers. He mercilessly raked former banker colleagues on Bay Street. He wrote the worst book possibly ever penned, then insisted on trying to publish pieces of it here, hoping I wouldn’t notice. He attempted to humble, humiliate, embarrass and torment me. Then he sent me creepy emails (at night, drunken) to say he loved me.
When I wrote about Dorothy one day, this was his nocturnal message:
Garth, she is beauty. I know she hates my character. I wanted to say nicer things but I love being the bad man on the blog..you can’t bend what you can’t offend..
Your lucky, you got a good woman at your side.. It’s all you need. Everything is a risk on adventure after that.
Why you got into politics beats me.. You can’t the machine. What is wrong with you? Guess you figured it out the hard way……
Congrats, you ugly bearded freak…
Smoking Man was a persona. Or was it? Was Jim Stojsin really dyslexic, or just pretending? Did he actually make millions trading forex in his wife’s name after perfectly timing his Toronto real estate sale and moving onto a California beach? Or was that fiction?
One day three years ago he materialized, coming to visit me at my country general store, wearing Wal-Mart flip flops and driving a runt pickup with a broken windshield.
Just before the virus arrived, he went silent. I sent a note. The response: “Hello Garth this is Jim’s wife Brenda. It’s been a tough road for Jim and I. We were living an incredible life in California when terrible and tragic events occurred. When he’s up to it he will let you know. Meanwhile keep him in your prayers.”
Hours later SM sent this: “I want to send something. Just need some time to put words together. This thing is a bitch.”
Last Sunday, says daughter Amy, Jim died of brain cancer. At 61.
She sent his obituary:
Jim and his wife Brenda spent 2 fabulous years in Corona Del Mar, CA after Jim landed his dream job. Sadly, their time was cut short when Jim was rushed into emergency brain surgery in California. After, he had to return home to Canada and fight for his life, not able to return to his home away from home. He enjoyed the last few months of his life surrounded by his loved ones, seeking as much quality time and adventure as his body would permit.
Jim was a loving husband, devoted father, published author, conspiracy theorist, blog writer , alien hunter, animal lover and self-taught computer guru. Jim was not your average man, he pushed the envelope, thought independently, and walked to the beat of his own drum, all things that made others love the man they endearingly called “BigStoj”.
“Remember when you were young
You shone like the sun
Shine on you crazy diamond” – Pink Floyd
Amy also said she was going through his laptop, “and found a final blog post that mentions you. It seems that he meant to post it. We were wondering if we sent it to you if you would publish it?”
Here are Smoking Man’s final words.
It must have started in September of 2019. I came here to post words would not flow, I imagined that I had grand essay only to catch it the next day one or two sentences.
Just did New Year 2019. Wife’s forex account screaming green. Complete bragging rights for Greater Fool, was trying to figure out a way to link the P&L sheet with out Garth knowing about it.
Next thing I know I wake up at the Hoag hospital in Newport Beach to the news that if I’m lucky, I get to live 1 to 5 more years. Brain Cancer.
Man does that change your priorities, even typing this little blurb while in treatment is almost impossible, good thing my phone does the typing, I just talk to it. It’s retarded but it works.
In a short span of time I’ve gone from a make money Maverick to a how much time do I have left. Take in the views, plan the next vacation before it’s to late, start helping other’s.
I never planned on living as long as my parents, was brutal on me watching them melt. Now the odds of me making it to 65 are clearly against me. Never saw that coming. But it is what it is.
I just want to thank you dogs for putting up with all my shit over the years, I think I’m a great troll but who knows who cares. Those days are over.
Indeed they are. And I regret that. It’s now a worse world.
383 comments ↓
This is sad news.
He has gone to a better place.
One of my favorite people on here.
A truly interesting person (and you can say that about maybe one in every thousand or so people that you meet – this person was unique, truly not one of the pack, a different experience – that was Smoking Man).
He would not want to rest in peace, so I won’t wish that on him.
Hope he is enjoying whatever comes after this often painful existence.
Sad to hear.
Life can turn on a dime. Enjoy the now and love what you do have.
I’m sorry to hear SM has passed away. Sometimes amusing, sometimes annoying, he always had an interesting point of view, even if I had no idea where he was coming from! My thoughts are with his family and friends. Rest easy, SM.
#197 Stoph on 09.16.20 at 2:04 pm
@YouKnowWho
I’d say that the proof is in the pudding when considering the increasing accumulation of wealth. The question I think should be answered is: is your life better off for it? Whether or not it’s good for society is separate matter.
———
What I am reading from your response is….
The behaviour of hoarding that is clearly considered a mental disorder when applied to cats, gnomes or books is of concern and requires professional mental help BUT when hoarding is applied to wealth it is fine and aspirational because “proof is in the pudding” – tasted and true. Bezos is a hoarder of wealth and look at him! Proof is in the pudding!
Improvement of one’s life is totally fine, even if it comes at the cost of other people’s lives? Or at least one should not be concerned about what is good for society in personal hoarding?
First post.
Have been reading for many years.
Rest in peace smoking man.
RIP Smokey… was thinking of you this past weekend almost felt it… the world, or this blog, will never be the same… see you there one day
Thanks for the post today, Garth.
You’re a good man
RIP Smoking Man
RIP SM.
This comments section was lit because of him.
Godspeed smoking man.
“It’s retarded but it works”. Rest easy, Smoking Man!
Eterno riposo SM.
Thanks for letting us know Garth, you’re a good man.
And there it is. A reflection of what I consider the most important piece of advice you’ve preached over the years. Others may have missed it G, but I didn’t.
Only one thing matters, grab hold of it before it’s gone.
R.I.P. Smoking Man
I always enjoyed his posts
Memorable guy. He will be missed
The true currency in this life is time, once you figure this out you are wealthy!
By all accounts Smoking Man hated Canada. I wonder why he returned to Canada? A valid OHIP card perhaps?
Rest In Peace Smoking Man.
Missed his posts, as always very professional of you Garth.
As always the world gets a little dimmer when a candle burning too bright, goes out.
That damn brain cancer is something I hear about more and more and it’s scary. Rest in Peace Smoking Man.
wow dude. RIP big time. You will be missed.
You did this fellow proud and your words are a tribute…..must have read hundreds of Jim’s posts and in reply I would say..
“The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit. Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.”
– Omar Khayyám
Rest in peace Smoking Man; you are missed.
R.I.P Smoking Man.
Remember when you posted about him showing up at the Belfountain General Store. That was epic! Rest in peace, dyslexic smoking man aka Jim.
Oh no…. we have lost someone dear.
As for Garth’s words – “Was Jim Stojsin really dyslexic, or just pretending? ”
I believe he was pretending… His emails to me were without spelling mistakes and clear.
RIP Smoking Man. We’ll miss you.
RIP to a real one.
Awwhhh…soo sad!
Hahaha…Smoking Man was the best, and I have no doubt he wins first prize for deletes…RIP trailblazer…
10 star post Garth! (as usual)
What’s an alien hunter? : )
I remember Smoking Man.
His comments were contrarian. Fun. Did he really smoke?
How about some reflection?
What of his wealth can Smoking Man take with him?
Did he want to go or did he want more time?
How much did a Harley or a Pickup matter to him?
How much of what he had would he have given up for another day here? Another hug? Another kiss? Another expression of love to people he loved?
I had a friend die of brain cancer. He was mid 50s. Till the day he died he insisted it was the early cellphones that he was using from the moment they were introduced in mid or early 80s. He insisted on it. Since the cancer was on the side on which he held his phone all the time – his non-dominant side. He was convinced. I believe him. You believe a dying man. He continued to work through all the surgeries. In a meeting in Paris we shared a car and he told me he was likely going to palliative care soon after that trip.
The truth is simple. We’re all here for a short while. Why are we such dicks to each other?
Why do we step on top of each other to gain at each other’s expense? What do we really gain? Do you think you’re better because you have a grand in your wallet when I have a hundred? Do you think you’re better because you drive a Audi and he drives a Toyota?
What does it say about us as humans and as a society when Garth’s true warnings about eating cat food in old age in poverty are the reality of the day for many? When 50% are $200 from starvation in a country named Canada? When few can hoard so much from so many and take lives and their time via nothing short of modern slavery, increasingly committing future generations to ever lower standard of living and more debt as well?
We have so little time on this planet in the end, and we waste it in front of a screen. Like I’m wasting. Screw this…I’m going for a run!
But since Smoking Man was a big Pink Floyd fan, I leave you with this from DSOTM…Time….
Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain.
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today.
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you.
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun.
I used to read this blog every day for about a year and a half or so and was often struck by Smoking Man’s wisdom which snuck in here and there in his posts. Stopped reading for about a year, and now that I moved back to Canada I wanted to check in with Garth through the blog and see what’s what…and wondered why Smoking Man was not commenting any longer. Sorry to hear of his passing, he made the comments section here really come to life. He definitely made an impact here and I will miss him though we never met. RIP
The Edge…There is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over. The others-the living-are those who pushed their control as far as they felt they could handle it, and then pulled back, or slowed down, or did whatever they had to when it came time to choose between Now and Later. But the edge is still Out there.
Hunter S. Thompson
Rest In Peace Smoking Man
I hope he took his CPP at 60.
RIP Smoking Man… Might as well just shut the comments down, there’s no point without him.
YouKnowWho # 4,
#180 Yukon Elvis
“Money is security and the freedom to do what you want when you want with your own time.”
————————-
“OK. So how much do you need to hoard? And you know, you’re free to do what you want with your time if you just stop buying all that useless $#!+ like Harleys and pickup trucks.”
“Look, we’ve read the stats. 1% wealth equals the remaining 99%. Jan 2020 50% of Canadians were $200 away from broke, now it’s 43% – hurray!”
“Bottom line – the 1% are hoarding all the wealth away from the other 99%, are they not?”
“There is only so much of it, and it is controlled, owned, hoarded.
My question simply is – how is the lady hoarding dead cats in her house a woman in need of mental help, with an anxiety disorder and the billionaire guy hoarding wealth a saint to be celebrated? They are both hoarders exhibiting the exact same behaviour that is classified as a mental disorder. Only difference is the item the hoard.”
———————————-
Been riding motorcycles since the age of 12 and am now 57 years of age.
Raced MX, Scrambles, dabbled with road racing for a couple years but just couldn’t reconcile my loose riding style with the black top. I have owned multiple: Yamaha’s, Honda’s, Kawasaki’s, Suzuki’s, KTM’s, Harley’s and now even a Royal Enfield Himalayan.
Mostly off road stuff but have had nine street bikes in the past 30 years. I agree, riding on the road now is dangerous, so dangerous that I rarely ride in the Fraser Valley and instead trailer a bike to the Okanagan for either on, or off road riding.
Being a dirt bike guy, I used to hate Harley’s in the worst way, for many of the reasons you mentioned, but after owning a few of them over the past 15 years and experiencing the people / culture that comes with ownership, I can say it goes way beyond owning a mechanical device.
I have never met a more nonjudgmental, easy going group of people in my life and I came in with a preconceived negative notion of what a “Biker” is.
I Also owned multiple pick up over the years, including a couple F-150’s. Just sold my 2003 Ram Diesel Dually 4X4 quad cab after 16 years of awesome ownership.
I also am a big fan of hoarding as much cash, as I possibly can.
—————————————————-
WKW: “My weapon now is Trek Pro Caliber Carbon with full XTR.”
—————————————–
Most would not have a clue what this is, but having raced XC Rocky’s for years, know this is a $ 8000 bicycle. Still have an older ETS-X 70 full XT, for when the urge to spin kicks in.
So what’s my point?
Different strokes, for different folks.
Doesn’t mean their choices are bad, just maybe not for you or I. I mean how many here, would drop $ 8K on a bicycle? Not many, but that doesn’t mean its wrong for you to do it….
He taught us many lessons . I remember most.
Larger than life, larger in life, larger in post-life. The only way.
…
#120 TurnerNation on 08.21.20 at 2:09 pm
Speaking of Smoking Man the Duke of Devon patio despite being set up has not re-opened this year. A little late now.
A fitting repose for the man who sold a sht bung at the top then fled this country before it really went downtown
guy was “hard core” last of the stand-up kinda guys.. RIP and respect to his family.
Live life blog dawgs you never know what 2morrow will bring
HH
Extremely sad to hear this. Truly enjoyed his posts and looked forward to it every day for many years. He will be missed. RIP Smoky.
RIP SM
Who here enjoyed his Periscope streams? I watched them after the fact – not live .
If you want to hear him again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjkf1ZyXkUQ
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj6mVzK9KMvltOm-rUdX25g/videos
Wow my best friend died of brain cancer. It is absolutely the worst disease going. Good luck up there SM.
Sad to hear this – RIP Smoking Man! I guess I can stop waiting for hot tips on how to make a mil doing forex.
R.I.P. Smoking Man
Personally, I loathed the persona Smoking Man displayed on the blog, and after his first dozen posts, just skipped him, and all other posts arguing with, supporting, or disagreeing with him. But that was only a persona and as such, not reflective of the true man.
Mr. Stojsin had a wife and family who loved him; that is enough to mourn his passing as another human being.
Solid guy, lots of fun..
The world and us readers will miss his originality.
Maybe he can send a signal from the otherworld telling us what decade rates will rise again.
#31 Blacksheep
I don’t think I agree. I though about my choice of recreation going forward.
It is not noisy, like a Harley. Doesn’t even have a motor.
It doesn’t pollute like a Harley or a VW diesel.
It doesn’t harm people’s hearing or wake them at night. It doesn’t put people in danger on the road. I only go as fast as I am physically able on trails. It is all on me. I don’t burn fuel.
I gave my choice of weapon consideration, even if others may not. I can’t change what others do, but I can be considerate with my choice on how it impacts others.
Not owning a Harley or a Diesel Pickup that’s chipped to pollute like a monster is not a choice I make because it is illegal. It’s a choice I make because I want to be a better person. I don’t need this things, and I don’t want to want these things. I want to grow and improve as a person. Respect the body nature has given me. I want to do better for others, the young ones. And guess what, it also means I’m doing better for myself. Win-Win alignments, you can never go wrong. I’m certainly getting more benefit riding the mountain bike than riding a motorcycle for example.
I don’t want to be judgmental of others, because it is very easy. Harleys are easy picking, so they don’t get a pass. They are terribly selfish machines. Neither do Diesel Pickup guys who chipped a pickup truck for “performance” at the cost of incredibly unhealthy emissions you and your kids get to breathe in because they want to go slightly faster off the light on public roads.
But if we all gave more thought to our choices, and if we all bought more on needs vs. wants, this place would already be significantly better. It wouldn’t take much. But of course you’ll have those tough rebels who give others no consideration call me a ferry, wimp, soft. Once again…humans have it backwards, because a little personal sacrifice goes a long long way.
Without doubt personal sacrifice and consideration of others is a strength. If you think that is true, the weak are the selfish and inconsiderate.
Oh no, that’s terrible news. So sorry, Smoking Man & family.
Garth, thanks for sharing the news.
Wow Garth, I literally wanted to message you yesterday asking what happened to smoking man since he didn’t post for a while.
It’s a shame, too short. Rest In Peace Smoky.
Smoking Man was a Cowboy,the world needs more Cowboys. R.I.P.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVSzr-2_E3A
Thanks for posting this Garth. A lot of us were wondering what happening to SM.
RIP buddy. I’ll miss you.
Garth, Thank you for today’s post. I did not always agree with SM but I feel sad for Jim Stojsin passing. Garth, you once quoted “If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.” I hope SM found the dogs.
Love and memory last and will so endure till the game is called because of darkness.
Gene Fowler
R.I.P Smokey
Time, the only thing that matters.
The rest is BS.
RIP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn1gcjuhlhg
Ahhh no, Poor smoking man. That’s so sad.
Thank you for the wonderful eulogy, Garth. You obviously meant a LOT to the Smoking Man.
SM, if you’re reading this, keep shining on!
Have followed this blog off and on for quite awhile and Smoking Man was one of a kind. Both wild and poignant in his many comments. This blog was a big part of his community and you were like a big brother. If you have contact with his wife still, I hope you pass on condolences from all the dogs. RIP
Garth,
I’m sorry to read this news. Although my time here was short and my tone ranged from sober to flagrantly arrogant and ascerbic, this comments section served as a kind of community for me when WFH isolation really ramped up. This site is a community for all here I suppose. We humans are social creatures and all forms of community engagement have huge impacts on our lives both positively and negatively. I know because there are still some words in SA and my battles that get me fired up and thinking about mask-as-feed-bag makes me laugh. The forum and these interactions were virtual, but the impacts are real and I think that’s often forgotten when we write.
For the most part, you appear to work hard to keep this a positive and constructive place and it’s clear that those who have posted here for a long time find the forum a positive in their lives. Attaining a positively impactful realm on this increasingly dire internet of ours is a real feat. Your hosting and tolerance of SM is a testament to that goal. I gather that many were touched by Smoking Man’s words and I’m sorry for your loss.
Sincerely
Rest in Peace Smoking Man.
He certainly was entertaining… half fiction/half real…. which part was real!
https://www.gofundme.com/f/jim039s-family-fund-amp-medical-expenses?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1
RIP Smoking man. Very honest post in his memory. My thoughts and wishes to his wife and kids. He’ll always be proof we need rebels willing to take hits to question what is. They may not always be right (or socially acceptable) but they’re not always wrong. If not for those like SM our world needs them to counter the complacent and fearful. He prob knew many conspiracies are proven true. Life can change forever in a moment. For SM…
“If you’re really in favor of free speech, then you’re in favor of freedom of speech for precisely the views you despise. Otherwise, you’re not in favor of free speech.” -Noam Chomsky
Rare is the troll who doesn’t comment or post to hurt or denigrate but to hopefully rattle something loose in the too easily offended readers to make them stop and think, hey, even someone who writes like this might have a thing or two to say and teach.
Didn’t know him, always liked reading his comments for what they said, what they didn’t say, and for the reaction I imagined them triggering in the perpetually closed minded.
I’m guessing, hoping, he went out like a man: few regrets, few tears, stoic acceptance of his time, and perhaps even a little anticipation–once the truth set in–of what exactly it’s like when the abyss stares back for good, as it’ll do to us all.
Thank you for the update Garth.
Sad to hear the news. I always looked for his comments and rants when I scanned the comments section. Will be missed.
Great tribute Garth. I imagine SM lived more life in his 61 years than most could imagine. What a great character. Wished I could have met him. Thanks for sharing this and sincere condolences to his family and friends.
Yes, puts things in perspective. Yes hold tight what is dear before it’s gone. Do the right thing. Thank you Garth.
Till we meet again.
R.I.P. SM.
Edit to add he may not have known many theories are proven true (they’re not) but maybe knew of those that were/are and believed others were. Agree or not he did stick by his beliefs through his unique filter.
Thank you for the post today Garth. You and Smoking Man are different then most, you are not sheep, you do not follow, you lead and you push the idea of deep thought. I wished there were more people like both of you in this world. RIP Smoking Man, you will be missed
SM became the most Deleted person in blog dog history.
(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((())))))))))))))))))))))))))
I loved his alcohol fueled profane rants.
Go with God SM.
This is why you retire as soon as you can afford, and take OAS early.
61.
We’re all flying faster than we can comprehend on this marble, and soon enough there won’t be nothing for us to comprehend at all. So make it count.
I’m very sorry to hear the news of SMs passing. I always enjoyed his crazy sense of humour.
Sincere condolences to his family. And thanks for posting this Garth
I’ve been wondering where SM has been! May he rest in paradise. Deepest condolences go out to his family.
A fitting tribute written by a true wordsmith.
Sad to see a couple of commenters like Kip showing their true colours. Taking shots at a dead man, nice. Couldn’t even wait one day? Ah well. The irony is I doubt anyone would even notice if a retired crane operator met the same fate as SM.
To be honest the comments section has been very much lessened ever since Smoking Man has been absent. Fortunately the main content remains excellent.
With this news and the loss of some other of the more quality posters like The Jaguar and Sail Away, seems like a sign it’s time to pack it in with the comments.
Thank you for relaying this news, Garth.
So sad news!
Rest in peace SM.
I’ll miss a lot his posts here. :(
Rest in peace Smoking Man.
Just goes to show, life is full of unknowns. Live with no regrets.
Caught this blog too late to know who he was. There is never enough controversy in a world where the “official narrative” is beamed onto our Orwellian TV sets day in and day out. Soon enough anyone who wore “a tin foil hat” is going to be revered for the foresight. But, it does add some perspective. In the end analysis we are all human; trying to experience one reality from 8.5 billion different angles.
Garth, you are a moral man for giving this macro look over the situation. This says a lot about your character. (Too bad you left politics).
RIP to a courageous man.
and at the end of the day.
……your HEALTH is all that matters!
Sad to hear. He was one of a kind. We’ll all miss him.
Does this mean that I have to apply for CERB now?
Did the Illuminati inject cancer cells in Smoking Man using Justin Trudeau as a transmitter?
I found your post very touching and typically kind and caring.
SM drove me crazy with some of his tweets over the years but I always read what he had to say.
Time waits for no one.
Thank you, Mr. Turner.
Us blog dogs will miss SM.
Smokey will be missed.
“There he goes. One of God’s own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.”
― Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
I’ve been coming to this blog since before Smoking Man was a thing. I (as well as others) watched as he developed his arc, and his voice here in the comments section. I recall when Jim first started reading Thompson, and his affinity for the characters and the language in those stories, when he ‘came out’ and unmasked himself to us all.
On the other hand, I credit ‘Smoking Man’ with being one of the first posters to popularize conspiracy theories, ‘trolling’ others, picking fights, and pushing boundaries in the comments section. If I recall correctly, Smoking Man provided the posts that were some of Garth’s first public DELETIONS. So there’s a part of me that feels like after he moved in, the community suffered somewhat, to the point that some days it isn’t as pleasant a place to visit, as it once was.
So farewell, Jim. You certainly made an impression, and have etched your essence across the internet, if not the Cosmos. Adieu.
I’m so sad to hear of Smoking Mans passing. I’m crying. Can’t stop. He is missed. God bless everyone and thank you Garth
#4 YouKnowWho on 09.16.20 at 3:38 pm
#197 Stoph on 09.16.20 at 2:04 pm
@YouKnowWho
I’d say that the proof is in the pudding when considering the increasing accumulation of wealth. The question I think should be answered is: is your life better off for it? Whether or not it’s good for society is separate matter.
———
What I am reading from your response is….
The behaviour of hoarding that is clearly considered a mental disorder when applied to cats, gnomes or books is of concern and requires professional mental help BUT when hoarding is applied to wealth it is fine and aspirational because “proof is in the pudding” – tasted and true. Bezos is a hoarder of wealth and look at him! Proof is in the pudding!
Improvement of one’s life is totally fine, even if it comes at the cost of other people’s lives? Or at least one should not be concerned about what is good for society in personal hoarding?
—————————————————————-
For some people, the pursuit of wealth will ruin the other aspects of their life, for other people, their wealth will allow them to live a better life.
This blog isn’t about accumulating as much wealth as possible. It has consistently reminded people to stay balanced, and told people that their time is their most valuable asset.
Obviously, pursuing wealth at the cost other people’s lives is not fine.
There are subtle cases however that aren’t as clear cut as to what right or wrong or the ‘best’ option. What about the case however where someone chooses to work a job rather than volunteering? What’s better for society? I benefited greatly from other people volunteering their time and am happy that I live in a society where people do volunteer. Is it wrong however for someone to work rather than volunteer? Depends on the circumstances I suppose, but it’s certainly not a mental disorder if they do.
Death is the only certainty with odds of 100%.
Place your bets accordingly.
R.I.P SM
Rest peacefully, S.M.
Wow, this hits home was wondering what had become of him. RIP Smokey
RIP SM
RIP Jim. I met him at his Longbranch garage sale just before he scooted south of the border. Never met a nicer guy.
RIP Smokey
RIP boomer internet troll. May you continue trolling in the heavens.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L-l6tHeseDY
Thanks SM.
—Doug
Nah I don’t buy it.
The gray men must have finally managed to strike a deal with the reptilian Illuminati chapter on Earth.
They were allowed to take Smokey for his import/export skills. He will be freighting containers in Orion.
Godspeed Smokey.
RIP SM. An original in a world fast running out of them.
Thank you for the update on Smoking Man, Garth!
R.I.P. Jim, and my sincere condolences for his loved ones.
Also, I know he will be forever missed by Garth, and the many Blog Dawgs who were his fans. Myself included, fan #3.
Freedom First
RIP SM
yes, we knew we were in for a night of many posts when SM had been drinking. Then it was delete, delete, delete…. Other posts made me wonder if it could be the same person coming out with profound points of view. I did enjoy his links to music videos. They brought back good memories
He was being missed all this time.
I always thought of him as a combination of dyslexic/add/ocd/autistic.
A whole bunch of whacky labels.
A unique entity incisively rectifying our stodgy perspectives.
RIP Smoking Man
PEACE OUT SM – hope there is a place in the universe that you are in peace
“_ _ _”
Just came back from my killer run. UNBELIEVABLE! How on subject.
I’m running through a trail and guy’s dog runs into my legs in an off leash area. I say exactly “Sir, this is not an off-leash area. Please be a good example to other dog owners and put your dog on the leash.” It’s my standard 2-sentence request when needed. It’s calm and respectful, has “please” and asks for consideration of others and to be a good example to other dog owners. If you have suggestions on how I can improve it, let me know. Anyhow….
The Dick reaches for his pocket and takes out a knife! I am kidding you not! A folding knife, which he fumbled and dropped, at which time I said “Oh look, a weapon. You’re a real man!” And seeing that he was clearly in no shape to run after me, I just kept on jogging.
Could have actually kicked him in the hip as he was reaching for his dropped knife to make him tumble into the dirt and took his knife, call the cops. But I am jogging, I have no time for dicks or drama.
But isn’t that something? This is what I’m talking about Garth. This is what I encounter around here all the time. Perhaps it is time you do some Dog’s work over here and remind your followers about Dog owner responsibility?
Off leash areas are marked as such for a reason. Children use them. People who want to avoid running into dogs on the loose use them. Joggers use them. How selfish and inconsiderate of any dog owner to think that they have the right to have their special dog off-leash in a clearly designated leashed area? As if the rules are there only for others and their dog is just harmless and special and one of a kind.
It’s exactly what I’m talking about. Selfishness. Lack of consideration. Lack of manners. Screw society, as long as I get mine.
We don’t even care enough to save the children! Look what we’re doing to them? To their futures? Look at student debt in the US? Look at job opportunities now and in the future?
We are only sad when we get cancer. Has anyone considered that humans are a cancer to this living organism that is the planet we’re on? Maybe you’re wise enough to have considered the possibility.
I am sure the dude is smoking the peace pipe somewhere in the great beyond. One day we will all join him.
RIP
RIP smokey!
RIP Smoking Man. Thanks for the tribute Garth. I’m especially fond of your posts that remind us that our time on this Earth is limited and we should enjoy the ride because we just never know what’s around the next corner…
RIP Smoking Man.You will be missed.
Garth, thank-you for letting us all know
I shall enjoy a fine Cuban on the front porch tonight in his memory. I often called him boring due to the repetitive nature of his posts but damned if I didn’t miss him these last few months. I hope his family gets some rest- death and funerals can be exhausting- and I hope he finds peace in the afterlife.
Y.K.W. # 42,
OK, we got it:
Harley = Bad
Street bike = Bad
Truck = Bad
Wealth accumulation = Bad
8K bicycle = Good
——————————-
Y.K.W. “I don’t want to be judgmental of others”
——————————-
If that’s your goal, at least for the last couple days, your doing a very shitty job of it.
That was a beautifully written tribute and I’m glad he found his way to your store. There is nothing more precious than time, and it looks like Smoking Man spent his well. RIP.
Lesson: Life & death is unpredictable and it’s a crap shoot.
Knew someone who was diagnosed with brain cancer in his early thirties, a husband and new dad…
Had some ‘successful’ surgery, was told it may come back. Returned to work, renovated his house for a few brief years, and bang! Brain cancer came back fast and took him out… so sad…
Similar cancer with my 70-something uncle. Could not leave the hospital…
So if you’re married, planning or have kids, get some T10 term insurance for you and your spouse… at least 500K. Not too expensive…
#203 Sunnyways on 09.16.20 at 3:28 pm
Some virus’s have mutated themselves to oblivion. The Spanish Flu and the HK flu come quick to mind. Corona virus’s have only been in the human population for at most, 45 years. Since their human to human transmission pandemics within the boundaries of the common cold (229E and OC43), what we’ve observed is that 229E disguises its surface antigens (antigens are what the immune system uses to identify the pathogen) through surface mutations much like influenza to continue infecting hosts that have prior immunity (explains why each year you need a flu shot, they are only good for a season), while OC43 prefers to mutate into new strains (with different antigens) to re-infect hosts with older strain immunity to keep the pandemic alive. In so doing, immune systems don’t recognize the new antigens and don’t react as quickly and the virus has its way. In this way, as the virus runs into herd immunity, it forces the mutation of new strains. They (Covid19 and OC43) are of the same Genus and as such, the precedent for the same behavior is there:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betacoronavirus
Currently, OC43 has 29 strains. Covid19 is a Betacoronavirus as is OC43 and so far, what we are seeing play out is Covid19 behaving like OC43. It remains to be seen, but what is likely to happen as Covid 19 runs into hosts that have immunity to its existing strains, is Covid19 will mutate into more strains to reinfect hosts with past immunity. My point? Don’t expect a vaccine (they will come) to be good for life (I’m thinking we’ll need updates every 2 years).
Btw, what I said about viral loads is valid. Indoor air doesn’t circulate as well in the winter as we all want to keep that warm air inside and under the right conditions, Covid19 is airborne. As a consequence, the viral loads that initially infect people should be on average, higher over winter. As a consequence, the higher the viral load or baseline, the higher the risk of people getting sicker with more fatalities.
There’s a big difference in, say, getting a whiff of 1,000 virus’s as opposed to 10 or 100. The lower the count, the more time the immune system has to identify invaders and mount a defense. That’s why wearing masks are so important (at least, until governments wake up to Vitamin D therapy). They may not be bullet proof (N95’s are the best choice for the masses), but they don’t have to be. Its all about reducing the viral load. If the immune system is healthy and you aren’t deficient of Vitamin D and Zinc in particular, the chances of you not getting sick from a low viral load is good. If you are immune compromised (most often due to deficiencies) and you get a whiff of a high viral load, it likely won’t end well for you. My point? Take Vit D and Zinc supplements in this age.
New clinical trials and studies continue to suggest a large correlation with Covid19 preying on people who are deficient of Vitamin D in particular, as well as Zinc. How large? A recent trial looked at 100 patients with Covid 19 who were given the same standard hospital treatments upon diagnosis, only 50 were given Vitamin D and Calcitriol to speed up the absorption of Vitamin D and 50 were not. Of the 50 who received Vitamin D, 2 were admitted to hospital with no fatalities. Of the 50 who didn’t receive Vitamin D, 26 were admitted and 2 died. This is a small, but random double blind trial that is really saying something here. The thing is, as you look into Vitamin D studies and trials, they are all saying the same thing. It works and its cheap and safe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8Ks9fUh2k8
Downplaying the seriousness of this pandemic is not wise but the choices we’ve made in dealing with it haven’t been wise either. In Canada, there is large room for criticism in how we handled it financially, large enough on their own (small surprise) to cost T2 his government. I would have obviously preferred Canada led with this but we continue to follow the U.S. example and the ugly answer is, I think, is due to trade pressures. Even the grotesque deficit spending we’ve seen is related to it. (will expand on this thesis later)
We essentially have 3 pandemic choices. We can go old school with masks, temp guns, cel apps, social distancing, lock downs if it comes to it and at the time there were mask shortages so we basically bumbled our way through it and still are somewhat, or we can look for drug therapies & vaccines which take time and we don’t have anything definitive yet which, for some lame reason the market wants us to take even though we are in recessionary times OR we can take the 3rd way. Governments can concentrate on beefing up immune systems in the gen pop either as they get sick, or as a prevent directly through the food supply with Vitamin D in particular (strong case can be made also, for Zinc). Sure, lack of sleep, stress, toxic loads, addictions, old age, they can all weaken and compromise the immune system but at the top of the list is deficiencies.
It’s not like I’m reinventing the wheel here, we’ve known this for decades, at least since the 50’s, the role Vitamin D plays in immune systems. Hopefully governments will finally come to their senses with this, see the light and make it mandatory that everyone testing positive with Covid 19 is given Vitamin D with Calcitriol and Zinc as soon as they are diagnosed.
Again, some 42% of the world population is thought to be deficient in Vitamin D and 25% deficient in Zinc. Both are critical to healthy immune systems specifically. The human body simply cannot mount a healthy defense against Class 4 virus’s without D and Zinc, I can’t stress this enough. But I wander once again and am out of time.
RIP SM
RIP Smoking Man. Life’s too short. make the best of it.
I will miss him, not many clairvoyants like him. Some very honest thought. All good people have a little smokin man in them. Condolences to the family.
Its been a while since I have commented , this was a touching blog Garth thank you. RIP Smoking Man
RIP Smoking Man
You proved once again…no one gets out of here alive…
May God grant your family His perfect peace…
… SM became the most Deleted person in blog dog history.
—-
I always liked SM’s posts – not that I understood some of them. RIP SM!
Now, I’ll if I can be deleted more often… before it’s ‘too late’.
tcc
You know who. Preach much? Wound a little tight.
RIP
Sometimes I only opened the comments section looking for his, depending on the blog topic.
RIP
SM was one of the few men left who would tell it like it is unfiltered. This blog gave him an avenue to do so.
Alas, that is gone.
RIP Jim.
#101 Blacksheep on 09.16.20 at 5:40 pm
——————————-
If that’s your goal, at least for the last couple days, your doing a very shitty job of it.
——————————-
Blacksheep, I’m very very far from a perfect human being. I’m trying to be better. I’m not going to get into too much detail, but recently I had a near-death-experience that had the potential of such terrible outcome (it didn’t involve just me) that it clarified a lot of things for me. It lasted a good minute, so I had a really really good look into the eyes of death.
I am in a stage where I consider every day more of a gift than ever before. There was a time I took days for granted. About a decade, decade and a half back that changed. But I recently learned I wasn’t appreciating the miracle of life, gifts we have nearly enough. I’m trying to do better, I swear. I’m only one individual. There is only so much any individual can do. I’m trying. I can tell you over my life I believe I helped others. I also was very conscious not to stop on other’s as tends to be a way for many to elevate themselves. It’s not an easy thing to do, but I think I managed so far to not compromise my principals on this. But I agree with you, I have areas where I need to really improve myself. I think I’m still quite judgemental and still can be selfish. I need to listen more and talk less as well – that’s for sure.
I can see the irony your point out. The hateful emotions towards wasteful consumerism with Harleys in the middle of the target. My bike… :-). First it’s not $8K but $13K, because it has really fancy wheels and top of the line front fork. But I would never pay that much for a bike. I wouldn’t even pay 1/2 of that. I don’t need it, and I know I could spend the money well somewhere else. Honestly, the boys at St.Francis Table do lovely work – they would make such a better use of that money. It was nearly a gift and I’d be a fool to say no to the generous offer I got on it. I certainly believe I can appreciate it and it is only through generosity of an individual who owns a local shop that I and that bike got connected and exist together. It is beautiful, but it is a lot of bike – of that there is no doubt. But it is an item. A good I’ve consumed. And you’re right, I could have, maybe envy should have given that money to St. Francis for example – because it would feed people. My bike only feeds my ego. And with things we can always be looked at as selling our principals by owning an item.
I observe some people that we’d refer to as hipsters. We ridicule them, but they live their principals either out of necessity or choice. Living minimally, riding a basic bike, socializing, wearing normal clothes, not being wasteful, not glamorizing consumerism, even choosing to eat less or no meat at all. And while we often tend to look at them as non-contributors, and maybe even not valuable, silly hipsters – a case could easily be made that they are better human beings that me. They appear to have the will power and strength not to be seduced by shiny thing marketing told us we need. To not make many of the selfish mistakes we seem to make. They have a belief system that, when considered – has to be respected as being considerate of others, and not selfish.
I’m not saying some wealth accumulation for necessity is bad. Learn form a squirrel – they put away bunch of nuts, but squirrels don’t put away 50,000 squirrel lifetimes of wealth. They don’t hoard. They don’t own all of Canada. They don’t take Native’s land under duress. They store to weather the season. You don’t have 1% of the squirrels control same amount of nuts/food as the remaining 99% of squirrels. Can we find any examples in nature where this is true outside of humanity?
Logic and Math is still not working out on this question. How can hoarding cats, gnomes, books be a mental disorder, but when the item hoarded is wealth, it is celebrated. No one has answered this.
Thank you for letting us know, Garth. I found Smoking Man’s comments perplexing, hilarious, demented and bizarre, and always entertaining – he added a certain unique flavour here, and I, like others, have been wondering of late where he’s been. Sincere condolences to his family.
R.I.P. Smoking Man
I always enjoyed your posts. You will be missed.
Thanks for sharing Garth, I kept wondering where did he go. I am sure it fills hearts of his family for being eternalized on this blog.
Sounds like he had good run at the end, for what it’s worth. RIP SM
Actually, I got inspiration for my nom de plume fishman from the smokingman. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
RIP smoking man. I always enjoyed trying to decipher the crazy comments. You will be missed.
I was suspicious something was up when Smoking Man stopped posting. RIP, SM.
Maybe it was just me but I skipped over every single post SM made…. don’t know if I missed anything or not that’s what I did.
Garth, you are a kind gentleman. Thank you for posting this.
RIP Smoking Man.
Condolences to the family.
Im here sporadically….to busy printing money.
The realizationd in the last 6 months why run CO #2 if i dont need to work 7×15 to pay bills?
SM caught my eye and while i skip alot of post due to lack of reading time I always read SM…
Now I’m only doing what i have to as its time to take time.
Im sure its way cooler where you are Smoking Man as planet earth is now in full $hit storm…. so enjoy it!
Like Garth says, use these low int rates to paydown debt fast rather than digging deaper.
I starter years, getting the debt gone, we are beyond set.
Best to all in these silly ass times.
“Canadians have never been hungry enough to go insane.” – SmokingMan
“Behavior is paramount; it’s 100 times more important than getting things done efficiently and productively. Ingenuity takes a huge back seat when compared to decorum and appropriate behavior” – Smoking Man
1960 Dad worked, Mom stayed home, 5 Kids, no debt
1970 Dad worked, Mom worked part time, 4 Kids, no debt
1980 Dad worked, Mom worked full time , 3 Kids, a little debt
1990 Dad worked, Mom worked full time , 2 Kids, more debt
2000 Dad works 2 jobs, Mom worked full time , 1 Kid, tons of debt
2010 Dad works 2 jobs, Mom works 2 jobs, No Kids, absolutely broke and in debt.
Today why is it that with our great educational system, and with all the kids with degrees why can’t they see they have been shafted? – Dyslexic Smoking Man
The smoke here now in Vancouver coming up from the States has never been this bad. New West’s pier still smouldering. Bad creosote smoke. Not that I’m superstitious or believe in signs or anything.
I remember a post he described meeting Garth at a function of some sort and the courage it took him to stand up, seemed sincere, that one. I usually scanned his post afterwards, RIP.
“Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one’s head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace.”
-Oscar Wilde
Life’s change agent comes for us all…RIP SM!
Thank you for following up Garth.
When Penny Henny didn’t hear from him, I figured something was up.
I remember calling him out long ago on the sloppy writing as I saw a very in tune man behind the scenes. I am truly sad that he has left Earth and is on his way to Nectonite.
To his wife and children: Be kind to yourselves in this time of grieving. He often spoke of his family in a loving manner
I will miss Jim’s presence and thoughts.
Rest in Peace Buddy.
Thanks for the great post on smoking man. I had been wondering about this unique individual. Needless to say it is a loss.
I really enjoyed many of his comments, he certainly was a character.
I hope he came to the revelation that you don’t see hearse’s pulling UHAULS and that this short lived journey we are on is about getting to know the Creator.. or not….
I’m quite sure Trumps comment towards murdering Mexicans was referring to MS 13 members.
I hope it ended well for you Smoking Man.
RIP S.M.
He was good for laughs on some of his posts.
What was the music video he kept linking to?
“He wrote the worst book possibly ever penned,”-Garth
LOL, it was so bad it was good. I wonder how many editors went ” whoa, this can not be done, just leave it like it is.”
RIP Mr Stojsin, I think we would have got along well.
Condolences to his family as well.
Still a long-time daily reader, but not longer a daily poster. (My girlfriend says I’m in a much better mood when I stopped reading the comments section, or the comments section in general of any online media for that matter).
Though, today’s news brought a tear to my eye.
I remember that day, long ago, when Smokin’ Man announced his forthcoming pilgrimage northward to Belfountain General Store. I just had to see this larger-than-life, extraterrestrial guy in person so I jumped on my Hog and headed north as well.
Upon my arrival, there he was, pacing back and forth on the front sidewalk, nervous as hell, like a student just summoned to the principal’s office. I said hi, he smiled and nodded back, eyes glancing his surroundings, clearly preoccupied with his upcoming encounter with Garth.
Couldn’t stick around long enough to witness the galactic meetup, but later saw the classic, timeless photo posted of the two of them, a timber frame separating the two of them, like magnets of the same pole. Almost a precursor to social distancing.
Despite his sometimes-controversial posts, I always knew Garth had a soft spot for Smokin’ Man, kind of like the junior high school teacher has for his class clown.
Excellent eulogy, Garth. As always, a class act.
I remember him posting on The AutoMagic earth website too.
Found the Greater fool blog am SM eventually found it .
Very entertaining guy if not a little to much at times .
RIP Smoking man . Hope you get a new plasma flyer where you are .
Thank you, Garth.
RIP Smoking Man
R.I.P. Smokey.
P.S. I enjoyed the book.
SM was an original thinker, the opposite, of a herd follower.
I’m saddened by the news of his passing and have been missing his colorful but often insightful comments.
But I’m glad to learn he was loved.
Thank you for honoring him here Garth and letting us all know; very respectful.
Rest in Peace Smoking Man
Like everyone else, I enjoyed the Smoking Man’s pen, retarded though it may have been. This one should give pause to everyone. You never know your number is up.
In the end, he was as weird and valuable member of a weird and valuable community. Godspeed, Smoking one, and I love you weirdos all.
#4 YouKnowWho on 09.16.20 at 3:38 pm
“Bezos is a hoarder of wealth and look at him! Proof is in the pudding!”
How is Bezos a “hoarder of wealth”? He started Amazon! You can say what you like about Amazon but it has changed the way people shop and become a behemoth. He doesn’t really have $100 billion dollars piled up in his basement like Scrooge McDuck, he has a bunch of shares in the company he started and runs to this day that the Robinhood traders think is worth $100 billion. What it is really worth nobody knows until he tries to sell. And yes, when he sells he will have to pay tax on the proceeds.
This same sort of thing has happened to all the famous game changers from Henry Ford on down to Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. These folks are not “wealth hoarders” they are “wealth creators”. You can’t really blame them for creating products and services that the masses loved and bought in large numbers. I don’t even know how many old iPhones we have in the house but it is a lot. My wife made a security system out of some of them. No need to pay for alarm monitoring when your old iPhones are sending you video every time there is movement. But of course we paid a lot of money for those phones. Apple made money on every one and distributed a portion of the profits to each of their shareholders. How is that “hoarding”? That’s wealth creation. And job creation, not just at Apple but at every telcom that is selling these things. Blackberry of course invented the smartphone, and pretty soon everyone who had an office job had one. But Steve Jobs made it such that now everyone has one. Even kids. I bet you have one too, maybe Samsung or something but I bet you never leave home without your phone. I don’t (unless I am going to see my mistress, location tracking for the wise).
And as for Amazon, well I don’t use it a lot, but my son’s shower is leaking somewhere and I could not figure out from where. After a few drinks I thought to myself “What I really need here is an endoscope, but they are too expensive.” I searched them on Amazon and clickity-click-click and $38 dollars later there was one sitting on the base of my son’s basketball hoop the next day. Less than 24 hours. (I think Amazon delivery guys have a secret contest going to see who can leave the package in the most odd spot.) No water leaked last night after fixing what appeared to be the problem, but we’ll see.
(How did the endoscope come to be only $38 delivered? It doesn’t have a screen but instead links wirelessly to your iPhone or iPad. This technology just keeps compounding. And of course it’s made in China.)
I for one am not sad. His posts were simply annoying.
#77 Stoph,
You’re absolutely right. Balance.
Work vs. Volunteer – well, I think many of us would if we didn’t have to pay bills. It is probably why so many of us look for fulfillment in our work. A meaning. Something that helps others.
I’m going to defer, because your comment about balance has me humming a song in my mind. Martin Gore, the incredibly often overlooked by those who don’t know Depeche Mode co-frontman, and writer of an incredible catalog of music wrote “Get the Balance Right!” What a gem from 1982. I can’t say it better than him.
>
There’s more besides joyrides
Little house in the countryside
Understand, learn to demand,
Compromise, sometimes lie
Get the Balance right, get the balance right
Be responsible, respectable,
Stable but gullible
Concerned and caring, help the helpless
But always remain ultimately selfish
Get the balance right, get the balance right
You think you’ve got a hold of it all
You haven’t got a hold at all
When you reach the top, get ready to drop
Prepare yourself for the fall, you’re gonna fall
It’s almost predictable
Don’t take this way, don’t take that way
Straight down the middle until next Thursday
Push to the left, back to the right
Twist and turn ’til you’ve got it right
Get the balance right
There is a video!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfiISFiozg8&vl=es
Hello all,
Long time reader, first time commenter.
A net loss indeed. Thank you for this post Mr. Turner.
Rest In Peace Smoking Man.
#94
Looks like I called ON-Leash area as off leash! Bottom line, the dog was off leash when it should have been on a leash in a clearly marked leash area.
Thanks for clearing that up, Karen. – Garth
Smokey – our atypical dog who would delight in sharing his unique, often distorted, alcohol-fueled enlightenment.
I too, had a few thoughts of him these past months.
A character of this world, gone too soon.
Rest in peaceful repose Smokey. )
M56BC
I was wondering where he went. He will be missed.
There’s a lesson here. I’m a long time reader who didn’t attend the meetup at Belfountain. “I’m not outgoing”, I thought. “I’m too young”, that too. “There will be other opportunities”, the worst of the 3. Life is so short.
RIP Smoking Man. Thinking of you and your family.
Below is the link to the original comments, when Smoking Man beamed down for his first galactic appearance to us mortals in Belfountain, thus confirming his alien existence.
My favourite quote:
“….Being a supreme Alien observational technologist I was floored. Got to say truthfully that Garth and Dorothy are truly remarkable. I felt extream warmth radiate from these strangers who know I’m totally certifiably insane but it didn’t seem to matter to them much……” – Smoking Man
(scroll down to his post #39)….
https://www.greaterfool.ca/2016/10/02/coming-down/
#94 YouKnowWho on 09.16.20 at 5:35 pm
Just came back from my killer run. UNBELIEVABLE! How on subject.
I’m running through a trail and guy’s dog runs into my legs in an off leash area. I say exactly “Sir, this is not an off-leash area. Please be a good example to other dog owners and put your dog on the leash.”
—————————————-
Was it an “off leash” area or not?
YouKnowWho #114,
“Blacksheep,”
“I’m very very far from a perfect human being.”
————————–
Go easy on yourself, none of us are perfect.
I’m just suggesting letting everyone make their own choices, with their own hard earned cash, just like you did with your very high end MTB, with out doling out judgments. (over and over and over)
————————–
“Logic and Math is still not working out on this question. How can hoarding cats, gnomes, books be a mental disorder, but when the item hoarded is wealth, it is celebrated. No one has answered this..”
————————–
I’ll give it a shot.
One can’t find financial Independence (freedom) because their home is full of: Cats, gnomes and books.
But if ones bank statement displays, many, many zero’s, life becomes full of pleasant options.
Yes, everyone should cover their fair share of the systemic tax burden, but as long as that’s covered, what wrong with becoming stinking rich?
RIP Smokey. My condolences to his family. One long whistle on the train for you.
#140 Nonplused
Some valid points of course Nonplused.
I guess my issue with Amazon is that a lot of stuff they got away with in the creation of it were loopholes, anti-competitive, destructive – with a goal to be ruthless. All kinds of well documented distasteful stuff.
Of course all of humanity was sold on it because it was EASY it let humanity be LAZY.
I said it before, and I’ll say it again. Amazon’s product is slave labour fetching us stuff. The cheap prices we pay have a cost. We’re indifferent to consider those costs. We’re OK with a impoverished person fetching our stuff, or slaves who enjoy making those iPhones so much, they throw themselves off buildings because another 12 hour shift of making the iPhones (that Apple makes 50-60% margin on) is so fulfilling for the soul.
Why pay these people more for their slave work? Why not install nets so they don’t die when they throw themselves off the top of buildings and cause bad publicity?
These Silicon Valley companies create wealth? At what cost? All these social media companies are turning out to be GIANT CREEPS! For that matter, any company from Silicon Valley can be put into this category really. If an actual human being spied on you like that they’d be thrown in jail for stalking and harassment. But our politicians allow it. Why else would there be no real laws to protect us and our privacy all these decades later?
You remember your childhood? Did you have an iPhone? xbox? iPad?
How was your childhood? Fun? You were out in nature? Playing outside? Outdoors? Having fun? Until lights on the street went on?
How are the children’s childhood now? Screens? Phones? Anxiety of social media? Shaming and bullying on social media? Screen time, screen time, screen time.
So…they’ve created wealth you say? At what price? Why don’t we look at the other side of the coin of all that wealth.
#114 YouKnowWho
“I can see the irony your point out. The hateful emotions towards wasteful consumerism with Harleys in the middle of the target.”
Most Harleys get over 40 mpg. Smaller motorcycles can get 100. If you want to save the planet from the dreaded CO2, ride.
The important lesson here is to retire early, forget the corporate ladder (unless it’s your true passion) they won’t care about you when you are gone.
Tomorrow is not promised.
RIP Smoking Man
Thanks for clearing that up, Karen. – Garth
Point taken, Chad. I’ll get off my little podium here.
So sorry to hear his loss. I remember the post Garth wrote when SM visited the Belfountain. Life is short.
RIP SM!!!
#141 Uncle Rico on 09.16.20 at 7:00 pm
“I for one am not sad. His posts were simply annoying.”
Psychopath much?
Rip SM! Way to be you! Good on you for posting Garth. I was wondering what happened.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-imshaNhsI I believes he explains the deferral trap well reflecting your blog the other day with real consequences . Sunny ways it is not.
Thanks for clearing that up, Karen. – Garth
I’m actually a bit more of Mr.Cooper. The Dick with the pocket knife…he’s clearly the Karen in this “leash your dog story”.
“Deleted”
RIP
RIP Smoking Man, your posts caused many people to stop and think, will miss your comments whether I agreed with them or not
#144 YouKnowWho. Now if we could only get a leash on your long winded sermons. Karen lmfao.
Can we talk about the Sand Dollar?
Smoking Man is a legend
Oh man… this breaks my heart to read this post.
I’m so sorry for Brenda’s loss. Smoking Man was an amazing guy based simply from his posts.
Us blog dogs will miss him.
RIP, SM.
https://www.facebook.com/jim.stojsin
Sometimes one would benefit from a language translator (like for the movie Trainspotting) to understand what SM was trying to articulate. Can’t say I agreed with his views, but he was entertaining. RIP.
I am sure that SM would have just loved this article
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/milennials-taxes-rich-wealth-resource-movement-inequality-pandemic-1.5726557
You have been missed, Smokey. May the end have been peaceful and pain-free.
It is amazing how sad one can feel at the passing of those we only “know” online.
Rest in Peace Smoking Man:
I had my run-ins on this blog with him, especially about Trump and gun control.
But in the end he made me laugh more than he got me annoyed.
Sometimes i would be in tears laughing at his drunken Greater Fool rants– full of spelling errors.
And how terrific to hear he holds the record as the most deleted poster ever on the GF blog. A worthy record holder.
But i like to think i had a bit of positive influence with him– linked him up to Dudeism for instance. And Charles Bukowski. And Malcolm Lowry’s “Under the Volcano”.
I even purchased his so-called “novel” on amazon.
Well now i’m going to have to finally read it.
I can just see Smoking Man sitting back amongst the heavenly clouds, having a good laugh … and a scotch… and a smoke, with Johnny Cash on the ear buds, making plans for his next staycation at Casino Niagara.
Now he is “Smoking Man’s Ghost” indeed.
Farewell bud!
SM, may your travels take you to the edge of the universe. Peace be with you.
RIP Smoking Man. You will be in my thoughts when I think about Freedom of Speech. Thank you for your inspiration.
… most sad news!
“Every man’s life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.” ― Ernest Hemingway
F.S. – Calgary, Alberta.
With condolences to Jim Stojsin’s family ..!!
Garth, post only if okay/appropriate but I sense that the blog’s dear friend, ‘Smoking Man’, would agree :
You want a physicist to speak at your funeral.
You want the physicist to talk to your grieving family about the conservation of energy, so they will understand that your energy has not died.
You want the physicist to remind your sobbing mother about the first law of thermodynamics; that no energy gets created in the universe, and none is destroyed.
You want your mother to know that all your energy, every vibration, every Btu of heat, every wave of every particle that was her beloved child remains with her in this world. You want the physicist to tell your weeping father that amid energies of the cosmos, you gave as good as you got.
And at one point you’d hope that the physicist would step down from the pulpit and walk to your brokenhearted spouse there in the pew and tell him that all the photons that ever bounced off your face, all the particles whose paths were interrupted by your smile, by the touch of your hair, hundreds of trillions of particles, have raced off like children, their ways forever changed by you.
And as your widow rocks in the arms of a loving family, may the physicist let her know that all the photons that bounced from you were gathered in the particle detectors that are her eyes, that those photons created within her constellations of electromagnetically charged neurons whose energy will go on forever.
And the physicist will remind the congregation of how much of all our energy is given off as heat. There may be a few fanning themselves with their programs as he says it. And he will tell them that the warmth that flowed through you in life is still here, still part of all that we are, even as we who mourn continue the heat of our own lives.
And you’ll want the physicist to explain to those who loved you that they need not have faith; indeed, they should not have faith. Let them know that they can measure, that scientists have measured precisely the conservation of energy and found it accurate, verifiable and consistent across space and time. You can hope your family will examine the evidence and satisfy themselves that the science is sound and that they’ll be comforted to know your energy’s still around. According to the law of the conservation of energy, not a bit of you is gone; you’re just less orderly. Amen.
-Aaron Freeman.
RIP Smoking Man !!
Was taking a bit of a break from commenting but I’ll chip in to pay my respects.
What to write about a guy as unique as Jim?
We traded barbs at first and then settled into a groove, the nicest thing he ever said to me on here was after Boom died.
Gonna let him speak for himself.
#55 Smoking Man on 12.26.16 at 9:09
“Very nice words For those about to flop, worth a repeat.
Just the fact you teared up, made me tear up a bit, glad you found a buddy on here, have a few myself. after getting to know them a bit, I see how you feel.
Garth, thanks for sharing this. I always tell people you’re a good shit, for any doubters, today is 100% proof.”
He wrote his own tribute post that day that held a few insights.
#44 Smoking Man on 12.26.16 at 8:47 pm
“That sucks, retired boomer and herb were one of the few blog dogs I would Ctr+F, then they vanished, never realized he was Boom.
I hope that he had everything checked off his bucket list.
Paul, I think me and your dad traded a few swipes at each other, all in good fun, of course. Sucks huge to lose a loved one, but I’m sure where ever he is now, he’s happy as shit he went before a son or daughter.
We are born to die, so long as Garth pays his internet hosting fees a part of Roy will live forever in the archives.
That’s why all of you should write a book, don’t matter how ridiculous it is. Get a piece of your soul out there. Even if it’s not perfect.
Paul sincere condolences to you and your family.
Smokey”
And finally to the guys on here having the usual petty arguments.
Maybe just shelve them for a day out of respect for his family.
Jim got it.
A few people tried to rope him into the normal banter.
He knew to give it a rest for a day.
Rest In Peace, Jim, you were certainly a character…
M46BC
#118 Smoking Man on 12.27.16 at 8:18 am
“Don’t want to steer today’s posts away from Booms tributes so no response today. But tonight, I’ll lay it all out for you…”
Oh boy, we’ll miss the smoking man.
Garth, I’ll be honest with you: most people only came to this blog just because of him, of course!
Best wishes for the family. I’ll definitely pray for him.
May his spirit find peace.
Thanks for everything Garth, we love you ❤
#124 Dogman01 on 09.16.20 at 6:32 pm
Thanks for that Dogman
Peeps need to be reminded of how things work.
One would think that over the years Canuckle heads would be alot better off. Less debt more assets paid off maybe a div cheque from one of the richest resource countries in the world.
Lumber
Fishing
Mining
Major energy resourses
Vast growing areas.
Nope the more these sectors made the more they were taxed.
Ie as soon as the energy markets roared, the more royalties were demanded by the gov. Same old.
This is a tax farm and I despise all governments for always demanding more rather than working on taking less. They never stop expanding in size and consistently dialing in raises for themselves.
We have gone over the cliff as controls placed on us will never be rolled back.
We need a Revolution….
Problem it Trudope is buying off the ignorant.
RIP Smoking Man, you were a legend!
Thanks for this nice blog post today Garth; you are a legend too!
“Thought and language are to an artist instruments of an art”
– Oscar Wilde
Sad to hear.
Always read his posts – sometimes semi-wise, sometimes totally bizarre and incoherent, but that was the attraction – you never knew what you’d get on any given post (he knew this I’m sure, just like his purposeful bad spelling schtick.)
The Blog will be less without you, SM. RIP. (And thanks Garth for the posting – reminds us all what’s truly important).
Damn, he and I had some great conversations; RIP you crazy alien hunter, yes, I did read his book. My condolences to his family; definitely have been missing him on this blog!
Very sad news. The photo totally humanizes just how human we are. Now we’re here, then we’re gone. RIP.
Sad News. I miss Smoking Mans comments. He always made me laugh. Remember him predicting Trump would win. Then when it happened, it was surreal. I purchased Smoking mans book. It was also quite funny. God Bless Smoking Man.
“ ““Issac, please tell me this ship has a time machine module, with memory erase,” I said. “Smokey, of course, I would never leave home without it.” “Thank fricken god, it took me six years to write a stupid book that’s getting published tomorrow. Can you set the time machine date back to the morning of Friday, November 4th, 2016, send me a note via the UCC to abort the Vegas mission, have Zumanga contact me and a reminder to have my air conditioner serviced. Oh, I need to get hold of Donald Trump, send me his contact info, no way I’m letting Shlong have the earth all to himself without a fight.” “Smokey you know you can’t beat the machine, time is on our side.” “Yes, I know! But hell, it sure is fun trying.” THE END”
— Deplorables by Dyslexic Smoking Man
https://a.co/9LEqKBf
PB43
RIP Smoking Man. Quite the character. I remember the flipflop photo the first time.
He was right though. Plan the next vacation and don’t worry about work so much. Live with no regrets. Every day is a blessing.
Take care.
LOL i see that Smoking Man was identified by an algorithm as the author of the “top angry comment ever” on this blog.
Note the dyslexia making an appearance there.. hahaha
Top Angry Comment
“Enjoy life don’t, worry about the small shit. Gamble bitches.”
– Smoking Man, Apr 4 2019. Anger rank: 0.935145
never did get any info on his book. anyone know the title or anything?
RIP SM I really enjoyed some of your posts. Now is Black Sheep, You know who and Sail away the same person?
Thank you, Garth, for sharing with your readers the news about the passing of Smoking Man. Your kindly written summary of his involvement with this blog is appreciated. Condolences to Jim Stojsin’s family.
Many of SM’s posts that made it onto the blog provided interesting reading. Sometimes he posted links to pieces he had written. SM’s writing, particularly his reports from Las Vegas, echoed the spirit of Hunter S. Thompson’s work. He even looks a little like HST in the photo with Garth in front of the store.
“The greatest mania of all is passion: and I am a natural slave to passion.”–HST
I found I missed seeing (if not reading) his posts once they stopped, even though I disagreed with almost all of them.
There was a real kindness to the man, and a desire to reach out and connect with Garth and this audience in a personal, almost vulnerable way. That will be missed. I was looking forward to hearing his calls on the 2020 election because he got 2016 and Brexit bang on.
Thanks Garth, we all know you are a decent man otherwise we would not return day after day; although you wish many would not; including me a few times. :)
What an honorable post today to a man that really believed or not what he was posting; many times he did say that he was fictitious character. He was sly!
I can recall a few years back that you were so fed up with all the posts that you threatened to shut down your blog. Good memories for me and thank you for letting us know about his way back to the alien world!
#162 broader mind
It is a bit much indeed. I’ll work on that as of now.
Maybe someone reads those and it lulls them to sleep in the evening so something good comes out of it?
Thanks for letting us know Garth. Smoking Man – thanks for the laughs, till we meet again.
Rest easy smoky, I shall raise a glass to you, and have a smoke.
I was wondering why I didn’t see his comments any more.
What is it about 61 +/- a few years?
I was extremely lucky. I died watching TV when I was 61. My wife noticed and I woke up 3 days later in the hospital because she knew how to do perfect CPR. (and many other fortunate things happened too)
Smoking Man was not as lucky.
If you come back from the dead it changes your life.
You will notice that there was no opportunity to take anything with you, nothing at all. All there will be left of you is what you have left behind. People’s memories of you. That is it. Different things may become important to you.
Maverick and the Marlborough Man.
The best photo ever featured on this blog
Had it as background on my desktop, a long, long time.
So long Smokey, really enjoyed reading your cryptic messages. We all have a best before date, looks like you did live to your fullest. Shine on amigo.
I’m so sorry to hear about smoking man. I have to say it was a bit of a gut punch even though I’ve never met him. My thoughts are with his family
RIP Smoking Man, always enjoyed reading your posts.
Here’s to Smoking Man, who left it all on the field of battle, comments wise. He fulfilled the first rule, which is to entertain, and held nothing back. RIP.
RIP Smoking Man.
Garth, thank you for the eulogy.
Rest In Peace Jim Stojsin. Smoking Man !
I remember his rants in the comments section . One of the contrarian ones that had some coherence and reason . Remember disagreeing but thinking his arguments were well written at times . Not saying this cause of his death .
I think we lost a great voice in the comments section . A different perspective .
@#191 Polecat
“Rest easy smoky, I shall raise a glass to you….”
+++
What a great idea.
25 year old , single malt, Highland Park….. here’s to Smokey…
Rest In Peace.
Smoking Man thank you for your thoughts and insightfulness. I enjoyed your entries.
Alot has already been stated and I hope the family gets a chance to read it all. My condolences to the family.
Smoking Man you will be missed by myself and many.
We are already at 196 comments.
Garth,
Thank you for everything that you do.
He who is not afraid of life is not afraid of death.
Arthur Schopenhauer
Garth,
Thank you for what you do.
RIP SMOKING MAN. He was a polarizing figure, you either admired him or hated him. I found his quirky sense of talking very humorous and if you peeled away the jibberish you found a very compassionate individual.
RIP to Smokey.
How many times you saw his name with ‘deleted’, LOL!
This blog is a national treasure.
Time marches on. Enjoy it while we can. So long Smoking Man.
@#94 You know…who?
“It’s exactly what I’m talking about. Selfishness. Lack of consideration. Lack of manners. Screw society, as long as I get mine….”
++++
Considering todays subject.
The irony of your endlessly ranting Novella reeks of selfishness.
Back to my Highland Park……insect.
I’m sorry to hear this. I knew something was up when he stopped posting.
Smoking Man and I started out at odds, but warmed up and became allies of sorts.
I remember the turning point message. Something along the lines of “Finally starting to like you. Took a while.” From that point we had an understanding. Quiet acceptance.
SM was cool. Gave some life to the blog. Probably holds the record for DELETE’s from Garth, it’s not even close.
Sad news. Condolences to the family. Make every day count like Smoking Man did.
MF
I truly enjoyed Smoking Man’s often cryptic posts.
He made a couple of comments early in the year that seemed to foretell of an upcoming personal challenge. Thank you daughter Amy for letting us know the struggle that your father was enduring and thank you Garth for passing along this information. Smoking Man has been missed for a few months on this site and now we know why.
Deepest condolences to his family.
The name Stojsin is of Serbian origin and means “Stojsin is a name gifted to only the brightest and best. The stojsin’s will take over the world with there bad boy attitudes and quick whit. Stojsin are true champions and leaders among men.”.
Not all wise man come with white hair and long white clothes.
He was a true original.
Always liked his posts.
Always entertaining, unless he was “sobar”.
hey, YOUKNOWWHO
Did you try speaking to the park manager?
People are posting about a blog dog’s passing and you just HAD to be heard? c’mon man… expect that from my 4 year old. grow up.
Thanks for sharing this Garth
restinpeace smokey
You will live in this blog for as long as it goes
So sad…I got the Smoking Man ages ago…being left handed and dyslexic it all made sense and he made me laugh and think and then reevaluate again. Just left the music room and some rum…going back for some Floyd and another rum…Zeez is anything good going to happen in 2020? Thank you Garth.
RIP Smoking Man, Jim Stojsin. I enjoyed his replies, political comments and investment advice, on Garths blog over the years. He told you so! He will be greatly missed.
RIP smokin
Cameltoe chart formations just won’t be the same…
I drink in his homage a balvenie 14 years. cheers SM! 61 years old, too young to pass away..i am 57…Vulcan without ears, Blue Angel. condolences to his family and friends
Sure sucks about the lost of Smoking Man. He was someone who did not follow the pack.
I like that and like most of his posts made me think.
Again I said made me think….R.I.P. Smoking Man.
SM you will be missed,
“Death and love are two wings that bear the good man to heaven.”
Michelangelo
RIP Smoking Man. May Lord’s Light guide you into His eternal kingdom.
Smoking was great. Made me laugh so many times. He was legend! RIP SM
Smoking was great. Made me laugh so many times. He was a legend! RIP SM
That’s very sad. He was a force of nature.
Thanks for what you do, Mr. T.
If you had died from a fentanyl overdose trying to hide drugs from police you would have been memorialized by CNN instead. But Greaterfool produces more accurate content and doesn’t lean as far left, so you’ll be remembered in a better place anyways.
R.I.P Smoking Man, troll on.
Great Mystery, I really liked you manifested as Smoking Man.
Wish you stayed longer like this, enjoying more California sunshine while posting here which of the future possibilities you placed your bet.
I miss you. Can’t imagine how can cope those souls, who were blessed with your presence so close, that they could smell the sacred tobacco around you.
Send some sign to your ugly bearded freak friend to release your DELETED forex formula in a posthumous post.
You are also the most read, and quite possibly the most loved blog dog for your big heart and big mouth.
I didn’t have to drink for this confession.
It’s night time, and the world is sobar.
Not like I always agreed with his hype but it was always thought provoking. Without a doubt one of a kind. Gonna miss him godspeed.
Thanks for putting everything into focus, Garth! Nothing really matters in the end, sad but true!
Your post is powerful tonight!
MF has some pretty big shoes to fill.
Cosi Celeste!
He knew how to call them.. maybe he was an alien….
https://dyslexicsmokingman.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2019-01-27T22:55:00-05:00&max-results=2
RIP SM.
Brenda and Amy, I’m sorry for your loss.
Thanks Garth for letting us know.
RIP Jim and thank you Garth for the sad update. I have been reading your blog for 7 years now and this is my first comment.
I heard of him but was not a big reader of the comment section. I am sorry to hear this and send my regards. It just goes to show us we never know what is around the corner. That’s why I say people spend too much time worrying about crap instead of living. This guy though lived.
RIP SM
I have to admit, Smoking Man was rarely my favourite poster. In fact, most of the time I thought he was a douche bag and creep.
I even fought with him a few times and found most of his posts rude, crass and offensive.
But I did appreciate his seeming authenticity and candour.
And every once in a while, like Garth says, he’d surprise me by writing something profound or prophetic, or by offering kind words or generous advice to one or all of the blog dawgs.
And I will admit that I had been worried about his disappearance from the blog, even more so of late. I mean, he did warn us that he was going to Cali, but I still thought he’d be posting regularly. He seemed to thrive off all the attention, whether good or bad.
I also have to admit that I’ve found his lack of presence on this blog eery, to the extent that I almost reached out a few times to inquiry about his whereabouts, but then thought the better of it. I mean, his buddies hadn’t said anything, so perhaps he was just in hiding and/or enjoying life, and after all, it wasn’t any of my business.
I think I knew that something was up but was afraid of the response. And indeed, it’s very sad to hear the news of his passing.
But then again, it’s also kind of a strange miracle he made it to 61 without getting himself killed! Just imagine how many people he managed to anger or offend in his lifetime, and then there were the countless tales of drunken debauchery…
The very one thing that’s true: love him or hate him, it’s just not the same blog without him.
Rest In Peace Smokin Man!
Just Very recently you crossed my mind and had me wondering what ever happened to you! You will be missed!
This isn’t the news I wanted to hear!
RIP SM
My favorite Smoking Man comment (02.17.14):
The only blog dog I wanted to drink with (other than Bill Grable). We’ll all see you again soon enough Smoking Man.
RIP Smoking Man
Smokey had a theory that the “the man” had lost control of the machine in the late 60’s and early 70’s…thus Pink Floyd…and great music. So can we extrapolate that to today and great music to follow…’cause the “man” seems to be out of control with regards to the machine.
Safe trip Smokey.
Into The Great Gig The Sky.
The time has come, the song is over…thought I’d have something more to say.
Roger Waters
Kinda felt that something like this was coming, rest easy Smokey and shine on you crazy diamond!
Save a little, spend a little and try to leave this rock in a little better shape then you found it…
Farts…done, but with homemade hooch, figured Smoky was a rebel so went unconventional. I don’t post often but this guy is something else, like his old school ways. Until we meet in Valhalla!
@#191 Polecat
“Rest easy smoky, I shall raise a glass to you….”
+++
What a great idea.
25 year old , single malt, Highland Park….. here’s to Smokey…
RIP SM.
I have only had one comment deleted by Garth Turner. It was a rebuttal to a comment by Smoking Man. He was pro Trump and I objected emotionally. I now realize the elections is not about the Democrats and Republicans. It is about science and religion. The Evangelistic White Christians believe Trump is their saviour. I am losing hope. The age of enlightenment is fading.
PS: Smokey while you are tearing it up in heaven, have a beer with my dad.
Thanks Garth. I heard from your blog that he was ill so I wrote him a note April 9th.. I said “Dear Smoking Man I have enjoyed your independant and individualistic comments for years on G’s blog. Sorry about your illness. I hope you find some wriggle room re the prognosis. Its been good sharing the virtual space with you. Shine On!! Eventually we’re all going back where we came from. See you there.”
He wrote me back. “Thanks David, it’s been a blast on GF but it is what it is.”
Jim
I’d been wondering over the last few months what happen to Smoking Man? Now we know!
He seemed to be a tortured individual, living on the edge of reality. I could never figure out why Garth would continue to put up with him. Regardless, it is sad to see him depart life too early. He has finally found the peace he did not seem to possess in this life.
Thoughts and condolences go out to his family.
I actually met up with Smokey at a Timmy’s in Long Branch a few years ago. I was following his Forex commentary in Sept. of 2015 when I was working as a field geologist in northern BC. His calls were bang on starting with his call of USDCAD hitting 1.32
I took the plunge and tucked my set up under my skirt and followed his lead. Made 35K in a few weeks after loading my brokerage with my credit card. I learned more that fall than in all my years of school combined.
I’d put my orders in the for the day, go walk my dog and have a smoke and be in the green by lunch. Say what you want about Smoking Man’s internet personality, he definitely knew what the F@#$ he was talking about when he told everyone to short the loonie. He used 400:1 leverage, I used 100:1. Unfathomable to a newb like myself.
When we met at the Timmy’s he was a bit awkward and totally smelled like he hadn’t stopping drinking from the night before but he was very friendly, and offered to buy a coffee while he showed me his spreadsheet that he used to calculate position size, etc, such that his next position was paid for by the profits of his last, so that he never tested his margin.
I’m not sure I can articulate what Smokey’s overarching message was to us fellow blog dogs, all I know is when I listened to his advice, it changed my life in a very tangible way.
Anyone who talked shit about him or actually to him, trust me, he was definitely a guy who had been in actual fights in his life.
Thanks for taking the time to message me, email me, and meet with me Jim. I tip my tinfoil fadora to you good sir.
I think I was the 6th person who bought his book. The man had an imagination that was rivalled only by his appetite for life.
I feel like the USDCAD is going to go up as equities fall, WTI falls and the DXY goes up. Just gotta time it right.
A real bummer. RIP SM, although I skipped most of your posts, admittedly because I had no idea what you were talking about, they were nonetheless entertaining.
Garth, you are a fine man. Beautiful words and a tear jerking tribute.
Everyone is a conspiracy theorist now – heck even a fakeologist.
I respect those that were so labeled before covaids – RIP independent thinker. There are so few of us left.
Smoking Man you’ll be missed but not forgotten.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMdeg-WKt1U
In the possibility that his wife or one of his son’s is reading this, Smokey was looked up upon by many.
He had a different perspective that proved to be more right than wrong.
RIP Smokey.
Remember to give Dog his due for making your dad suffer.
PS. I am assuming that Amy was his daughter in law or either that or he didn’t want to expose her.
All my best Smokey, give us a sign from the other side.
Heartbreaking. I’ll raise a glass and say a prayer for you Smoking Man. I had wondered where he had gone lately. I will miss his comments.
Sad to hear. Great write up. I wish he’d read it. I had the pleasure of (ever so briefly) Interact with him here. His family can be proud of his legacy. Dr Smoking Man shine on
Smoking Man — The Legend.
Kick @ss, Smokey! I was proud to be your friend!
Was wondering exsctly why the whole of North America had been completely covered in Smoke !
Great send off to Smokey! Blaze of, well smoke….
Peace to his Family, and class act Sir Turner! Thank You.
Man, things just keep getting worse, don’t they?
Although SM often went way off the deep-end and had an abrasive (and borderline offensive to many, particularly those he deemed SWJ, the schooled, snowflakes, etc.) personality that could have him labelled a crazy bastard anywhere…
He was *our* crazy bastard.
RIP Smoking Man.
Jim.
Hadn’t seen Smoking Man post in a a long while and knowing he’d never be banned I feared the worst. RIP bodd, thanks for all the wisdom.
When our forum host sat in those halls of power austere did he every think a constant constituent would prove a thorn in his side?
Smoking Man: the man’s man; a trader’s trader.
A bastion of bull-headedness, a bulwark of Bay Street.
Who else here dare would chirp a bank CEO on Linkedin? Never.
Self-publish a book and onto Amazon while shopping it to Hollywood? SOCAN? He can.
Watching his Periscopes was terrifying and empowering. As, he vacillated between Self Destruction and Self Instruction. Therein, lies the lesson.
This ain’t over. He blazed a trail and will trail with a blaze. Never.
Nice column GT
So sad, RIP Smokey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7qPP78lG04
RIP SM
Really enjoyed your comments
A drink of JD at a casino in his memory… RIP…
Although we had next to nothing in common, I have a pic of my dog meeting with his two tiny comical balls of fur, dogs which seemed to adore him, and visa versa, and that was enough for me… will miss the eccentricity
A tribute to Smoking Man.
—
AREA 51
Published July 21
Area 51 photos from pilot reveal new view of mysterious Nevada base
Done with permission from the base, of course
By Travis Fedschun | Fox News
An up-close view of runways and buildings at the top-secret military base known as Area 51 can be seen in new images from a private pilot who traveled near the mysterious area in the Nevada desert earlier this year.
Area 51 tested aircraft ranging from the U-2 in the 1950s to the B-2 stealth bomber in the 1980s.
The government spent decades refusing to acknowledge the site even existed, before releasing documents confirming it did in 2013. The continued secrecy surrounding the site has fueled rumors of government studies of extraterrestrials and crashed UFOs…
…Gabriel Zeifman, an air traffic controller and private pilot, told Mystery Wire he has made three trips near the once-secret base since November.
Zeifman said he landed in Rachel, Nev., along the Extraterrestrial Highway in November 2019, and had radioed Nellis Air Force Base to ask for permission to fly over the test range in restricted airspace to continue his flight to Henderson Executive Airport. After he was granted permission he flew along the boundary, which he described as “pretty awesome.”
“The first time I saw it, I was kind of surprised because I was still probably 30, 40 miles out and just like wow, okay, well that’s it.,” he told Mystery Wire. “I’m not really seeing any activity. It’s just the runways and stuff and I think it’s pretty cool anyway, just seeing that, you know, the place that everybody knows about, talks about but you can’t really see.”
During his flights, Zeifman has recorded his travel on a GoPro camera and brought along another camera to snap photos of the base.
His photographs show new angles of the mysterious base taken from the northwest of the facility, looking southeast and featuring up-close shots of the buildings.
In his three flights he’s made through the area since November, Zeifman asks for and receives permission to cross through restricted airspace. He then flies along what’s known as the “truly restricted border” that’s still some 30 to 40 miles away from the base.
Zeifman told Mystery Wire in each of his trips he’s careful not to cross over the border in order to avoid any escalation….
https://www.foxnews.com/science/area-51-photos-nevada-base-nellis-air-force-base-private-plane
#242 Have A Cigar
Best ending to a song ever. Saw Pink Floyd live! Even saw it at the ROM Planetarium – LASER FLOYD!
#213 yorkville renter
Forgive. I’ll put myself on a time out for this until…who knows when? 30 days at least seems fair. Over and out.
My condolences to his family and friends.
This is sad to hear. Thanks for posting this.
It is obvious that he is free from his body but, still alive in spirit as is obvious by the comments. God bless him.
and he actually really was a proficient and accomplished coder* (VB and VBA macros)
*architect/developer/programmer
And he thought he only had 13 fans!!… ha!… same reason Trump’s gonna win….
To all the Nictonites overcome with anxiety, freting the consequences of their fragility, Herdonomics is the light. Smoking Man has overcome the plasma state. Pure energy. The photon at the bottom of every shot glass. E=mc^2.
REMEMBER:
https://youtu.be/vcSuRyA2xAI
Blessed are the DELETED, for theirs is the kingdom of Dog.
My deepest sympathies to SM’s family.
Second time caller, longtime reader…
You’re a great man Garth, truly a good human.
I noticed that the zesty, acidic retorts of SM lapsed and left me wondering if he was okay, my dark penchant for those who pass from above the dirt to below appreciates that you are the conduit of this sad communication to the steerage section, thank you for such courage and compassion.
Gord Downey, and my personal hero; Neil Peart and now SM aka Jim Stojsin suffered from glioblastoma, all masters of the written word, amazing.
Every day is a gift
Thank you Garth for today’s tribute post. I have been missing Smoking Man for quite some time, and feared that he was quite ill. May he rest in peace with Boom, another wise elder gentleman whom i miss.
Garth, may God bless you and yours for all that you do.
#207 Gravy Train on 09.16.20 at 4:04 pm
How can the private sector make a profit from providing these essential public goods (other than by contracting with government), since people can understate their preferences for them, and can enjoy their benefits without paying for them?
==============================
But that is the whole point. Where do you think the government finds the money to do this ‘public good’? They borrow it from the private sector and pay it back with the tax dollars of people who will never benefit. It’s funny how they can almost always find money in the free markets to build boondoggle bridges to nowhere. Or else they are buying something beneficial but with private dollar markup because there is little competition and desire to get the best price (and they put it on a long term cash-flow-for-your-friends payment plan. We saw a lot of that during the BC Liberal government years).
So investors are still making a profit and are more than willing to invest…as long as all the risk is put on people who have no say in the matter…like future generations.
So I have two issues with your point. 1. That it is not a public good when you are taking from some and giving it to others via tyranny of the majority. 2. That the private sector does not profit from these government ‘investments’.
I added a song or two to my play list out of hist submissions. Every time the music plays, I remember where I found it.
“Once day three years ago he materialized, coming to visit me at my country general store, wearing Wal-Mart flip flops and driving a runt pickup with a broken windshield.”
I was there that fateful day. Shared a few laughs with SM and exchanged numbers as I had a contact in California he was interested in chatting with…he had thoughts of turning his book into a movie, and his project almost moved forward, testament to the unique character he was.
So sad to hear he’s now gone. RIP.
RIP Smoking Man. Garth, you have an amazing community and this is a touching tribute to the king of Blog Dogs.
Damn. I liked Smoking Man. I was wondering what happened to him not seeing his entertaining posts anymore.
RIP Dr Smoking Man, PHD Herdonomics
Rest well SM.
Screw this blog though.
To his family
I am so sorry for your loss. He will be missed.
Hugs from Alberta
S
SM drove me crazy on this board but I have to admit I often searched out his craziness
looks like he had no health care
https://www.gofundme.com/f/jim039s-family-fund-amp-medical-expenses?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1
I was thinking of him and wondering how he was doing. I wasn’t found of his posts but I could see he had a caring heart.
Bon voyage SM!
I could feel that this was coming, but it still sucks to have it have it arrive. I am sorry for his family’s loss, and ours.
I’ve been here since 2010 … Shed a few tears when I read tonight’s post.
He was a legend on this blog.
Rest in peace Smoking Man may this blog be with you
Hopefully you can find those bottles of jack you stashed away
I always got the smoking man, well, almost always. Making money is easy, going against the grain is hard. People are so judgemental and unable to think outside the box, but you could and did. Sometimes your ideas resonated so much common sense, and sometimes not. Either way, I got you. I’m having a brew for you tonight. Easy sailing and God bless.
A fitting tribute, Garth. Thanks for sharing.
“Repugnant is a creature who would squander the ability to lift an eye to heaven, conscious of his fleeting time here”
He was quite a character. Damn shame.
Appreciate you letting us know.
Going to go lie down now and think about my life.
Would have liked to read his comments on the pending election in the USA.
But somehow it does not seem to matter.
I use to love reading Smokey’s rants late into the night only to start laughing as Garth would have to throw on the delete switch as Smokey’s comments became less coherent and more evil in tone….lol
Amazing how one blogger can hold us all together like some bizarre family, with all the crazy traits from coast to coast to coast.
RIP Smokey
If before ye have not been deleted, as SM was so often, then ye are as one with little passion. Bye fellow dog.
He was a walking contradiction,
Partly truth and partly fiction.
Chris Christopherson, The Pilgrim
Rest in peace Smoking Man, some real wisdom mixed into the Gonzo-style posts.
I actually had a personal exchange with Smokey on twitter once.
He sent a photo of himself, from a club somewhere, with a smoke hanging low out of his mouth. And a voluptuous brunette lady dancing behind him.
Might have been photo-shopped.
“The Great Smoking Man”…
Abide with thee….
Smoking Man was a real weirdo. I’ll miss him. Rest in peace, Jim
RIP Smokey! Garth you are all class, when you honoured Boom and now Smokey.
Rest In Peace
Jim Stojsin aka BigStoj aka Smoking Man
RIP SM. Classy as hell as usual Garth – kudos.
I liked Smoky for his outlandish but sometimes precipitant views at times – enough said.
I find life fickle – perhaps I don’t try to control it. In my mind, I never had the resources to beat down the established – I lived at their pleasure. No more. Being myself is the greatest reward and F those who want me to conform to their vision of control. I will deliver results if I believe you but I have been harmed from trusting – sometimes enough to have to crawl into a cave to heal up. I like to give a few bucks to see if I get it back – trust with me now starts small. Hell, I loaned sizable money to my father that basically wiped out my savings. Fortunately I knew he was honorable and he paid it back.
I got a kick from this website. https://gurdeep.ca/
Why immigrants matter. He is in the Yukon and thriving – amazing for a guy from India to put up with 80 degree change. Try to see to see the video of him dancing with the Irish folk dancer – talk about kick ass. That lady could lose you in the woods. https://gurdeep.ca/category/videos/page/3/
RIP smoking man. I always enjoyed his posts and miss what he could be contributing today to the blog during these times. He’d probably be calling Trudeau a commie ushering in the “the great reset” by the UN. Likely pointing out the Covid-19 over reaction: all because he liked to swim against the tide. I ripped him to get his attention at times and once he called me a suck up and a teacher brown-noser following “the herd”. Classic. He read me wrong or he read me right and just wanted to fire me up.
If I’m not mistaken, Smoking Man sold his house right at the 2017 peak in the GTA (since surpassed during this Covid mania). Wise man. Knew when to hold em, fold em, walk away.
I’ve been wondering where he’s been. A very nice tribute by Garth.
Rest in peace SM, you will be missed. You were different, I always used to wait for your comments.
He will be missed. RIP Smoking Man.
Thank you for letting us know, Garth
Thanks for letting us know Garth. I could not figure the guy out – was he real or an act, was he smart or dumb. But he did make me laugh and think!
And I wonder. All this smoke in the air … some sort of cosmic tribute or alien acknowledgement ….. nah, can’t be, just coincidence surely. Sheesh, he has me doing it now.
Condolences to his family and friends. R.I.P SM.
RIP SM
Smokey was no shrinking violet.
The world echoes louder without souls like his.
Condolences to his family – it was obvious that he loved you all very much.
Unemployable n’er do well anti-hero middle aged howlie……A genius. He was beautiful…..
My sincere condolences Brenda and Amy.
Thank you for sharing Garth
Immortality is the genius to move others long after you yourself have stopped moving.
A life well lived, and on his terms. Cool.
If there was anybody who ever truly “owned the libtards” it was Smoking Man. He called it as he saw it, unfazed by the groupthink or social norms. Wild character, hope the Big Man greets him with a shot of JD upstairs.
Thinking about this a lot last night and this morning makes me realize how much a blog has been a small part of my life over the last decade plus. Just some words on a screen has connected us in a small way to people most of us will never meet or have anything else to do with. Its been something familiar to come back to every day even just to escape for the couple minutes per night. We start expecting to see certain names pop up, and when they stop it could be something as simple as them just moving on to something else, or in this case, moving on forever.
this is genuinely sad. Really nice of you garth to post this. everyone who has been followers of your blog will know smoking man.
I haven’t been on here lately as we just returned from the cottage last week to get my children into school. Spent most of the summer working remote and it was great. One of my coworkers that I turned onto this blog told me that Smoking Man passed away. While we were absolutely opposed in almost every opinion and belief it is truly sad that someone had to die from such cruel and devastating disease leaving a family to mourn their loved one. Been there and done that so Smoking Man RIP.
Here you go Smoking Man.
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride! Hunter S. Thompson
#121 westcoaster on 09.16.20 at 6:26 pm
Maybe it was just me but I skipped over every single post SM made…. don’t know if I missed anything or not that’s what I did.
Same here!
What?! So sad to hear, I always loved Smoking Man’s rants and conspiracies. We’re all going to get sucked into that cold, dark mysterious abyss. Rest in peace my friend.
I woke up already depressed this morning, and then read this news.
Well, that really sucks. I feel for his family.
You know, it’s very interesting how an individual anonymous comment poster can have such an overwhelming effect on the nature of the comment section and it’s myriad other posters. Even its host.
What was it about Smoking Man and his outrageous comments that fostered so much attention, interest, controversy, and follow up responses? Seriously.
I mean, clearly, there are dozens of other anonymous souls that have attempted to create an interesting “persona”, but only succeeded in revealing their own humourless idiocy. Smoky was unique in this endeavour.
He was definitely the Hunter S. Thompson of this blog.
I am a HUGE fan of Hunter S. Thompson, and Smoking Man always reminded me of him. It was interesting to find out from his family (on this blog today) that he actually lived his life uniquely – not a mainstream dude, for sure – and was not simply some anonymous phoney.
We got a glimpse into the essence of his true mind via his comments. Who knew?
I was secretly proud and happy the odd time that Smoking Man responded directly to one of my comments over the last 9 years. Funny that I would even care, one way or the other, but I’m admitting it here and now.
Life really is a bitch.
I hope Smoky didn’t suffer near the end.
What a tragedy.
I didn’t even know the guy, but I feel sad.
When SM said that he had brain cancer and was given 3 to 24 months to live, I expected him to choose the 24 months for starters and then try to push the boundaries some more from there.
While I was not interested in smoking, getting drunk, gambling at casinos, reading fiction, using spell-wrecker, or being dyslexic, he did inspire me to go and buy a pair of flip-flops.
They were not cheap Wal-Mart flip-flops either. I went to an actual factual flip-flop store and bought the least expensive, bluest, best-looking flip-flops they had for about $25.00.
Flip-flops can be nice and handy for around the house and yard but do tend to make one too lazy to put on socks and string-tie shoes (or even slip-on shoes) anymore.
Thanks for sharing Garth. I’ve been a reader of this blog for years. Smoking Man was a bit of a legend. RIP.
My father died young at 65. His passing was a lesson learned. Life is all about the power of NOW. Tomorrow is borrowed time …
Whether his personna on-line was real or not, I guess we’ll never know. He was the most entertaining poster I’ve ever read on any blog….It always cracked me up when he wrote “phyco”…. RIP SM.
I was wondering why his posts went away. I enjoyed them over the years. RIP SM.
The Jack Kerouac of this blog, you will be missed, Rest In Peace.
“When your old and lucky enough to be conciouse as you breath down your last breath. If you have lived like me, void of show, just bet, win some lose some but always fun fun fun…………….I will be smiling.” -Dyslexic Smoking Man-
R.I.P. Jim
#317 David Hawke on 09.17.20 at 9:34 am
#121 westcoaster on 09.16.20 at 6:26 pm
Maybe it was just me but I skipped over every single post SM made…. don’t know if I missed anything or not that’s what I did.
Same here!
————————————————————————————————
So why comment now?
Sad news, condolences to the family and friends.
SM, hope there is a big supply of JD awaiting you.
Smoking man helped to spice things up. This adds flavour to any topic. I appreciated that about him.
Garth thank you for taking the time to give him his final due.
Above all else smoking man was this personable guy that had many liking him as they did.
you only have to read the lines
there scribbly black and everything shines
I missed your rants and trolled responses.
Rest in peace Smoking Man
shine on, sm. shine on.
I’d noticed SM was absent from the comments for a while, and just yesterday I was wondering where he’d gone but I wasn’t expecting this.
Having never met him, never responded online to him, it’s sad to know he won’t be back. My prayers are with his family and loved ones.
“Take in the views, plan the next vacation before it’s to late, start helping other’s.”
This is a great sentiment from Smoking Man and contains his signature 1 typo minimum requirement, I assume on purpose since it was dictated.
Parking. Twenty something dollars.
Drinks and food. Thirty something dollars.
Meeting Smoking Man at The Duke. Priceless.
RIP Smokey. So glad I got the chance to meet you.
Thank you Garth for publishing Jims last comment. Key take away for myself is “start helping other’s”. As I become older, I see this line of thinking becomes more common to those that have insightful views on our existence and the pursuit of happiness.
Thank you Garth for all that you do.
Whenever I finally get to go to Vegas again (once the border opens) I will toast a Shot to you from a Bar at the Flamingo. You can count on it!
Rest in Peace brother…
SM would love you for doing this, Garth.
Or swear at you.
He is proof that we should treasure the special and delightfully unusual people in our lives. Railing against conformity should be honored.
Have a drink to SM today…or maybe three.
RIP Smoking Man. Enjoy the great gig in the sky.
Looks like the Stojsin family has a gofundme page…
https://gf.me/u/yy5bbt
Sincerest condolences
Long time lurker, I envy those like Smoking Man who can easily find the words for long funny or insightful comments.
Goodbye Smokey, you’ll stay in my memories.
RIP smoking man.
I remember him…may good Lord have mercy on his soul.
Sad day. RIP Smokey – you were an inspiration to many!
I’ve been reading this blog for years. Posted maybe 5 or 6 times. I’ve learned which posters to read and which to scroll past. Smoking Man was always somewhere in between. One post would make me go “ya, man .. you got it” the next would prompt an eye roll. Always unpredictable but also always interesting. Have missed him. Dead from brain cancer at 61… what a tragic way to go. Thanks Garth for posting about what happened. He certainly deserved that sendoff from this blog. And thank-you as well, again, for running this forum.
#148 Nonplused on 09.16.20 at 7:15 pm
Was it an “off leash” area or not?
=================================
An off leash area is where lushes who have made the final payment on their dogs can run or walk them.
Smoking Man was 50% of the reason I read this blog!
His comments were over the top entertainment!
In honor of his passing I have chosen an appropriate song to commemorate one of the last of the Free thinking Cowboys of the Wild West.
I can hear this music playing as his soul drifts away.
From Ennio Morricone Theme from “Once Upon a Time in the West”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3Q8h-fDfEI&ab_channel=JokerRecordings
Garth,
Thank you for posting my father in laws final blog post! He was truly a special man and loved very much.
To answer the question was he truly dyslexic: Yes!. He always wrote his blogs, books, emails using talk to text. This would explain the incoherent drunkin nighttime trolling. Did he really smoke? Yes! Right up until his first brain surgery in January. Lastly, Dyslexic Smoking Man was his persona, but he was also very much like that in real life. We as his family just got to see his softer side, and man did he love us with his whole heart.
Yes we have a go fund me page. May father in law was a “money making mavrick” in his own words. Unfortunately he thought he would live forever and didn’t require insurance. Brain surgery in California was at an astronomical cost. But what wouldn’t you do to save your loved one?
https://www.gofundme.com/f/jim039s-family-fund-amp-medical-expenses
RIP Smoking Man.
Smokie hated government overreach, he would have hated what happened to this reporter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6WAexW5leM
My hat off to SM, he was an entertaining dude indeed, and he accomplished something many people only wish, to leave a mark.
Garth, my hat off to you also for your decency, tolerance to different points of view and your vision.
My condolences to his family and to you, Garth.
Sorry to hear it. That’s too young to go. My condolences to SMs family.
A very nice eulogy Garth.
A cool tribute would be to break Garths all time commenting numbers on this post.
Ironically, being a newcomer to this blog, I only knew SM a short time. He was quite a spectacle, wasn’t he?
That brief time says it all. As I get older I’m finding I’m only meeting people briefly and then they are gone or I have moved on. Life is like a train station. We all leave eventually but we seldom walk out the door together
This triggered a deep pang of sadness in me.
He was an original.
We should all aspire to be mold breakers in our own way.
Ahhh Smokey,
Now you truly Know!
Explore on …
Peace and Joy!
Rest easy Smokey.
“Drink from the golden cup
And ride that highway in the sky”
Fare thee well, Smokey
Wow never been on this blog before but dad talked about it all the time. Reading these comments over this past little while is the happiest I’ve been in this past week, to know what an impression my dad made on all of you, that’s the type of guy he was Marched to the beat of his own drum.
Also I can confirm he was 100% dislexic And loved smoking darts while having a glass of wine in the backyard as he blogged.
RIP Smoking Man
good or bad…right or wrong…he was a noticeable persona.
R.I.P S.M.
R.I.P. Smoking Man, an interesting individual to say the least.
RIP SM.
Live your life everybody. Life is shorter than you think
“and the sad notes floated out to the
patio and hung in the trees like birds too tired to fly”
― Hunter S. Thompson —
Garth, you are one class act.
Peace to SM’s family.
Maybe a little late to say, but oddly enough, I understood much of what was said, even within assumed cryptic responses. Again, take the plasma flyer to the ends.
How do you become a star on someone else’s blog? Smoking Man was a star; now a shooting star. :_(
noone ever wishes they spent more time on their career ..i im happy SM got to cash out his chips and enjoy life for the brief time he did.. RIP Smoking Man
SM had a soft spot for the homeless and down-trodden.
‘What would Smoking Man do?’ is a question I now ask myself when encountering some down on his luck individual. Smokey would give generously. And in return he might get to hear an interesting story, or be met with vitriol. Didn’t matter to SM, he wasn’t afraid to make an effort. Gambler.
SM and hockey fights. Men fight it out then go have beers, it’s what boys do. SM lamented that this basic tenet of masculinity is seemingly lost. Not lost all on me I got what he’s saying and I appreciated that in this day and age he was saying it.
SM and family. His mom , dad and nephew’s passing. Truly, the man had a heart and he laid it bare here for all to see. It takes a strength of character to do that. For his kids, mentioned occasionally, he went the extra mile when it mattered most. His wife, reverence.
SM and trading. Batman head and camel toe have taken on new meaning.
SM’s book. He wrote ‘A BOOK’ and left something behind. Good bad ugly doesn’t matter, the man wrote a book, his lasting legacy.
SM and JD hidden in the back yard…. the gazebo, some funny and not so funny stories. He laid it out here for all to read.
SM and spelling or speeeling as he called it , brilliant, googling his posts nearly impossible. His justification, you could still understand what he was saying, and he was right. Teachers be damned!
SM and live streaming … if you understood his sense of humor the periscopes were funny. His subtle torture of authority and an appreciation for the gaudy.
SM the character would say anything, self-proclaiming he did not give an eff about what anyone thought of him. But beneath that persona to those who could see through it, he was a man who did care deeply about family and doing right by others no matter who they are.
Garth, thank you for not giving up on SM and banning him or siccing the amazonians (remember them?) on him. If there’s some sort of saintly Blogosphere award you have earned it.
RIP Smoking Man in that big plasma flyer in the sky!
S.M never failed to entertain,he did get under the skin of many but entertained just as many or more,myself included..a modern day oracle of sorts ,at least the man was colourful and excelled at provoking many who felt intellectualy superior ..most werent……RIP Smokeingman
Going to miss that pain in the ass. RIP SM!
Thank you Garth and Jim’s family for publishing this — SM was one of a kind.
I came for the blog, I always stayed for the comments and SM always delivered!!! He will be missed by all those he reached out to, in person, and online.
CSM.
Before he moved to Cali, SM was a Lakeshore west dude, same as us. On a sunny afternoon, my wife, myself, and Jim got together at our local bar patio joint. We chatted about life, his upcoming move, and this blog. He was excited about moving. So glad he got to do it.
I have been reading this blog for many years…tears
It’s been a long time since I posted, trying to keep my head above water in Covid times. I’m so saddened to hear of SM’s passing. He was the most entertaining blog dawg, bar none. He will be missed.
RIP, Smoking Man. Keep on trolling the stars.
So amazing to be dripping with tears after usually shaking my head or scrolling by SM’s comments. Garth, you really have built and fostered a community here. Thank you for your big heart. This crazy comment section features so many different opinions, characters and (usually) good humoured camaraderie. Smoking Man was one of a kind. Sincere condolences to his family.
Just catching up on the last three days of my favourite blog, and I’m in tears to hear we’ve lost Smoking Man. I could always sense his underlying goodness and intelligent logic, even when some of his comments were delete-worthy. Thank you to you, Garth, and to Amy for sharing his final post. Deepest condolences to his family and to us all, his blog dog family.
While I was never a fan of smoking man, at least he provided some colour to the comment section. Something lacking the past few months.
RIP dude.
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/pinkfloyd/thegreatgiginthesky.html
sorry smoking dude, almost forgot your past.
What a tribute to the Smoking Man!
You’ve all done him proud
Thank you for the post Garth. You’re the best
R.I.P. Smoking Man
Often disagreed with him, always enjoyed reading him.
“Wherewith shall the earth be salted?”
Garth, I think it is much to your credit, that you so patiently moderated the comments of someone like SM, rather than resorting to bans.
Thank you for publishing this eulogy.
My condolences to Smoking Man’s family. I have been greatly entertained by his posts over the years and the comment brawls they inevitably started. He was an epic blog dawg!
Buh bye
Very thoughtful Garth. RIP.
The good ones are always the smart asses. Class act giving him the last word.
Thank you for making this blog more interesting and entertaining SmokingMan.
I enjoyed your book, and our Twitter chats.
This world was a better place with you in it.
My heart goes out to your family.
RIP with love.