This is the thread where I say things and maybe other people say things too

[SportWagon]

This Toronto diner has been going for a long time...
https://www.zomato.com/toronto/vesta-lunch-seaton-village/menu
https://www.blogto.com/restaurants/vestalunch/
Since 1955, apparently.

Our neighbour across the street had been running his father's diner in downtown Waterloo until he retired a few years ago.
https://harmonylunch.ca/
It opened in 1930. It is still running with the same name and similar style under new ownership.

[sandydandy]

I originally posted this in the Art Appreciation forum, but I don’t think anybody goes there, so I’ll just repost it here:

Looking for a good telescope or powerful camera that I can use to zoom in on the moon and planets. I know the Nikon P900 is a popular one. Anyone know of any good cameras/telescopes around $1,000.

Why $1,000? Well, that is how much we’re looking to spend on my birthday in a few weeks.

My son got a (real) job this year and said he wanted to buy me a pair of Yeezys. Of course I’d pay for half. The only ones I liked were around $1,000. Then I realized that paying that much money for shoes is kind of a waste and generally stupid. I thought why not put that money toward a drone or a telescope (or really powerful camera)?

He reluctantly agreed. His scheme was to get a pair of Yeezys so he could wear them too, considering our shoe size is now the same.

Drone is out of the question. Too many regulations exist now around those. It’s gotten to the point where you almost have to get a pilot’s license to operate one. So fuck that. That leaves a telescope/camera, something I’ve always wanted. Of course I live so close to the city that it’s next to impossible to get a clear and proper view of the night sky. But we do go up to Blue Mountains every now and then which is awesome. I want to see, with my own eyes, the planets and galaxy in all their glory.

So any recommendations?

[FaultyMario]

How Pro are you diving into it? How about a Celestron Skymaster with the smartphone adapter?

[sandydandy]

Zero percent pro. That model sounds interesting. Will look it up. Thanks.

[Crazed_Insanity]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Case-Tripod-Warrant-Memory-Extended-Pro-12-7II-Interchangeable-w-Includes-Camera-Sony-Card-X9-Bundle-ILCE7M2K-B-Paint-w-32GB-32GB-OSS-Mirrorless-Shop/268551737?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=149&adid=22222222252420104469&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=307774079006&wl4=aud-566049426705:pla-293946777986&wl5=9031252&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=showcase_product&wl10=108214235&wl11=online&wl12=268551737&wl13=&veh=sem&wl18=showcase&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiuWK_NHT5AIVIx6tBh33xwqxEAQYASAC EgKpPPD_BwE

$2 short of the $1k target... :p

Anyway, personally I’d pocket the cash for now... until the day I figure out what I really really want!

[MR2 Fan]

so people are actually doing the Area 51 raid today.

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups I guess

[JoeW]

Look at Trump supporters for a prime example of that.

[sandydandy]

Watch only five people show up.

[FaultyMario]

Didn't that split up into 3 festivals/raves?

[MR2 Fan]

I don't read Sports Illustrated, and never really pay attention to it, other than the Swimsuit Issue....however this is part of a larger problem in modern capitalism.

Sports Illustrated lays off half of its staff, to replace them with contract workers instead.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/sports-illustrateds-new-operator-to-lay-off-more-than-40-employees-11570073983


And an eloquent tweet to go with it:

@Patrick_Wyman

Trying to imagine living in a world that wasn’t just the richest, dumbest assholes stripping down profitable, viable businesses for parts like scavengers in a post-apocalyptic wasteland going after a Chevy Nova

[FaultyMario]

The internet media is in its gilded age.

[George]

Here's a small-time rant o' the day. I should be worried about things that are truly important instead of this pettiness, but I shall remain silent about this no longer...at least here. I'll keep my silent, sarcastic smile while suffering what I am about to relate. I figure delayed, written road rage is better than the in-the-moment, on-the-scene kind.

I live in a neighborhood with multiple routes out to main roads, but all of them require stopping at at least one and as many as four four-way stop signs. I've noticed something over the years that has finally congealed enough in my brain that I now can predict what's going to happen with uncanny accuracy.

This happens when there aren't other cars at or approaching stop signs, and I only notice this is the morning when I'm trying to get out of the 'hood and on my way to work with a minimum of delays. At any other time of day, I don't care because I'm not in a hurry.

The speed limit is 30 mph on most of these roads. I do not speed on neighborhood streets, but I do not straggle, either. I go 30 mph (when I can) and I damn sure come to a complete stop at every stop sign. There are cops hiding down these streets very rarely, but often enough that if I see one, for the next month or three, I'm extra-extra careful about complete stops. Moving violation tickets are too expensive not to do this.

Maybe one or two days a week, I'll get stuck behind someone just poking along at around 20 mph. I can usually identify them when they pull out in front of me about half as quickly as they should. These are mostly distracted suburban mothers who drive like old men wearing hats used to drive large Oldsmobiles. I don't react, as these are my neighbors, parents of my kids' friends, etc., but I admit sometimes I am steaming inside at these people who are just loafing along without a care in the world or anywhere to be at a certain time.

I've noticed if there are no other cars around (not counting me behind them), these lethargic laggards will slow even more but not stop at stop signs. They roll through the stop signs slowly, but do not stop. :twitch:

Every :erm:

Single :smh:

Time :mad:

I recognize some irony in this post, but I guess what pisses me off the most is these kinds of drivers simply aren't paying attention.

Check it out the next time you're stuck behind someone going absurdly slow on streets with stop signs and see if I'm right.

Now get off my lawn. :angry:

[Crazed_Insanity]

There are way too many stupid people around... so I don't really get angry at them that much anymore... If I roadrage, I'd only roadrage with drivers intentionally being mean. Of course as I get older, I'm beginning to be able to let go of those assholes too.

Just yesterday morning, I was actually hit by a mutherfoquen stupid driver. A girl merged into my lane and scratched up the side of my car and she has the nerve to tell me that she signaled and why didn't I let her change lane? What?

I was driving like I was driving Ms Daisy with the EV to work, usually below 65mph. I think I might've been in her blindspot as she was attempting to change lane. I was practically next to her... and when I saw that, I honked and sped up to make sure that she can see me. In retrospect, I guess I should've braked hard and slowed down to avoid the hit. I was already at the left most lane so there's no way for me swerve to another lane... I actually swerved off to the shoulder a bit, but I still got hit.

Was I angry? Not really. Just was in a WTF state. We exchanged our info and that's that.

I don't think she was distracted at all. She just thought that after she signaled, she should have the right of way and everyone needs to yield!

I certainly have learned my lesson.

Never gotten into any accident with my road rage crazy drives when I was younger, but now that I'm older and mellower... maybe my reaction time has slowed to not be able to avoid this crazy lady.

Anyway, moral of the story is don't get mad. It ain't worth it. Just try to navigate carefully around stupid people and make sure you allow yourself ample time to your appointments.

[MR2 Fan]

This is really messed up.

For those who don't know about the Amber Guyver case, short version is that she is a cop in Dallas who arrived home, entered the wrong apartment that she thought was hers, shot and killed the resident (black guy) inside. She just got 10 years in prison for this...

Today, one of the key witnesses in the case, the neighbor of the victim who also happens to be black, was shot and killed.

Just a terrible situation all around.

Here's the story of the case and trial, prior to today's shooting.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/death-innocent-man-timeline-wrong-apartment-murder-trial/story?id=65938727

[FaultyMario]

You spelled "Joshua Brown was executed" wrong.

[MR2 Fan]

oh I agree there's a 95% chance of that...I don't know what the crime rate is in the area, etc. to make further judgement, but it is, of course, VERY VERY suspicious

[Phil_SS]

That is exactly what came to my mind as well. Seems shady as fuck.

[George]

Horrible. Sounds like a message from the Jim Crow era not to testify against white people and/or the police.

[Cam]

Jim Crow era is still de facto in many areas.

[FaultyMario]

I had an aluminum ladder give up on me as I was changing a lightbulb. It was a 2-meter "fall". Somehow I managed to not let go off the bulb and also lean against the wall to slow my way down, so l landed with my legs apart. And now my ass hurts.

[Cam]

Bummer. :P

[Leon]

Bummer. :P

oh god.

[dad joke applause]

[speedpimp]

so l landed with my legs apart. And now my ass hurts.

That's what she said!

[FaultyMario]

Yeah, I guess.

(Selfpwnage)

[MR2 Fan]

Found out an ex-coworker who seemed to be a cool guy....shot and killed his roommate this morning.

Looked at his FB posts and they're full of Qanon crap, so it seems he went off the deep end.....scary shit. How many others are going to do stuff like this?

I know he was ex-military and they haven't released any info about the victim yet, but it seems he practically admitted to it by his FB post today, something cryptic about the issue being taken care of and 911 arriving, can't recall exactly what it said. I mean for all we know his roommate may have been plotting something, but the qanon posts don't make me feel any better.

[sandydandy]

Holy crap! :eek:

[MR2 Fan]

Here's a more accurate report....seems there was paranoia going on or something...PTSD?

https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2019/11/26/man-facing-murder-charge-after-largo-shooting

[Crazed_Insanity]

Sad. And what a weird story...

[21Kid]

Damn... �� That's sad ��

[speedpimp]

I delivered eight cases of yams to a customer on Weds. He wanted to return two cases because something had gotten into the cases and had a feast. Ugh.
3436

[FaultyMario]

What the hell?

[Crazed_Insanity]

‘Tis the season of giving! Merry Christmas to whatever that something is! :D

[JoshInKC]

Yams will hold in good condition for a very long time so long as its dark and there's a little airflow. Could have been sitting in a warehouse for quite a while, and though that type of warehouse typically has really efficient rodent control measures in place, sometimes they do get in and have a snack before catching a trap. Shoulda been caught before it left the warehouse, but s#it happens.

This is why you always wash your vegetables.

[FaultyMario]

:up:

[speedpimp]

Talked to the night foreman about it. He noticed it, but just thought that it was one yam that had it's edge smashed, so he put it on the truck. Doubt it happened at our facility as the yams are stored in the same room as cukes, zucchini, pineapple and herbs and the tomato/banana room is next door to it and there hasn't been any issues with any other products.
And, yes, ALWAYS wash your veggies.
Also I hope that we're done with the romaine scares.

[sandydandy]

A hooker tried to add me on Facebook today. Been happening a lot lately. This one wasn't particularly good looking. Deleted and reported spam!

[FaultyMario]

Twitter hookers are generally better looking.

[MR2 Fan]

Random business idea if someone wants to run with this (if it's not already a thing).

Was watching a video and in the background was a lot of shelves with books. Pretty common for people...at least it was before the new era of tablets, online everything, etc.

So my thought is, what if people want to decorate their house, but want to have a bookshelf full of interesting books to either actually read, or at least appear to be intellectual to others (cynical yes).

So maybe having a business where people choose their favorite topics and you gather used books in decent condition, and shelves of a certain size, whatever they want and sell it together as a package.

Might be useful and a way to "save" older books.

[speedpimp]

Twitter hookers are generally better looking.

If Cheeto skin and cotton candy hair is your thing...

[JoshInKC]

That's already a thing. I knew a guy who did that to fund his hobby of buying rare books - Went to auctions, estate sales, &c. all over the US and Europe to buy in bulk and and pick out the good ones for himself. He mostly sold to nouveau riche in NYC and they almost never cared at all what was on the shelves. He said they generally cared about color schemes more often than content.

[FaultyMario]

If Cheeto skin and cotton candy hair is your thing...

None of that here (https://twitter.com/SkylarParkar/status/1196442887069802497/photo/1) (NSFW, obvs).

[drew]

Oh my.

[speedpimp]

So back in the middle of November I started feeling a pain in my left shoulder. Dull at first but increased in its frequency. At it's worst it felt like a drill was going from the front to the back of my left shoulder. I went to an urgent care center and it was diagnosed(without an x-ray) as "arthritis". I guess they thought I was just looking for pain killers. They prescribed Naproxen. That made it almost bearable. The prescription ran out and the pain intensified again. Fast forward to Thanksgiving Day and a trip to Wal-Mart yielded Aleve and Salon Pas pain patches. The combination of those two made things a hell of a lot better. The next day I reported the pain to my employer and they scheduled me for a clinic visit on the following Monday. So for three days I had a helper and all I was supposed to do was drive, but being the stubborn individual I am I couldn't just stand there and watch someone else do all of the work.
Come that Monday I make the appointment. I describe the pain. They take an x-ray. The physician's assistant comes into the exam room and tells me I have "Calcific Tendonitis" on the supraspinatus tendon. That would explain the "drilling sensation" as feeling like "bone on bone contact". As luck would have it, the physician's asst had the same problem in both of her shoulders at the same time.
The following Friday I get into see a specialist and he schedules an ultrasound for the following Tuesday. I go in for that and they see the calcium deposit on the tendon. So the doctor says the best way to take care of this is a Tenex procedure. It takes about twenty minutes to perform and about two weeks to recuperate from(at the minimum). So it's all scheduled. The weight restriction for the first week is 2.5 lbs and gradually increasing to 10 lbs by the end of the first month. As soon as I can return to work I will. For at least a month or so all I will be doing is driving and will have a helper. And as time goes on I hope things improve enough that I'll be able to be back on my own by the beginning of March.
Fun times.

[Ashie]

Glad they finally figured it out Rich. Hugs

[sandydandy]

Be well, me bruv!

[Crazed_Insanity]

As truck driver, you should be getting enough sun light, right?

That should give you plenty of vitamin D, which is needed to pull calcium out of soft tissues into your blood stream to avoid calcification.

Then you need vitamin k2 to help put all that calcium in its proper place... your bones!

Consult your doc and get a blood test. Take care dude!

[Godson]

Most glass blocks the needed wavelength of light to produce Vit D

[Crazed_Insanity]

Ah, that’s right huh? Most cars/trucks now have tinted window... even if they almost don’t look tinted...

[speedpimp]

Billi/y/e, come Summer I always have one hell of a driver's tan. My left arm is usually way darker than the rest of me.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Well, your condition got worse during winter time... so lack of D might be the issue. Go have it checked out.

[speedpimp]

No, Billy/i, the cause of the problem is from a previous injury. Doctor said there was probably some internal bleeding from a previous injury, the body didn't reabsorb all of the blood, which lead to the calcium stalactite on the tendon. More than likely it was caused by constant repetitions of the same movements day in, day out.

[FaultyMario]

No, Billy/i, the cause of the problem is from a previous injury. Doctor said there was probably some internal bleeding from a previous injury, the body didn't reabsorb all of the blood, which lead to the calcium stalactite on the tendon. More than likely it was caused by constant repetitions of the same movements day in, day out.

Wishing you well, homie.

Does that qualify as an occupational hazard/disease?

[SportWagon]

Executive summary:

I met a gas furnace installer in my favourite bar on Dec 20 (2019), and then he turned out to be the one who came to assess a gas furnace installation in my house on Dec 31, and subsequently lead the installation on Jan 2(2020). However, as of yet, neither of us have admitted any recognition to the other.
Fri Dec 20, 2019. Last day before Christmas break at the little bar I go to. I had been invited to stay for the Christmas Party afterwards.

But this was before that.

My early crowd from work had left, and I was at a small table. Beside another table. At some point two guys sat there, and I talked to both of them a bit, and sort of eaves-dropped with their knowledge a bit more. The guy across the table from me told me he worked installing gas furnaces. I sort of showed my appreciation of people who do work of a more real, tangible nature than I do. He briefly described the process of descending on a house and getting a new furnace installed and working, with old equipment removed, within a few hours.

December 26th. Our hot water heater suddenly springs a large leak. And, in hindsight, our emergency drain was somewhat plugged. But I turned the input water cutoff off almost right away. Can't be same day service. So Dec 27, someone (a sub-contractor to the main company) comes and says he'll need to infract our furnace if he puts in a new water heater and he can't vent the water heater out our existing chimney like the old one.

Eventually after several days of turmoil we succumb to replacing our 28-year old obsolete (parts hard-to-find) furnace as well as the water heater. (We alleviated our discomfort a little bit by using hot water from a 55 cup electric coffee urn I went and bought from a nearby consumer restaurant supply store).

So finally on January 2nd, everything is due to be replaced. Now the chief technician of three (at one point four, when they called an electrician to verify the usage of a particular plug for the new gas water heater which requires electricity whereas the old one didn't) was the guy I'd seen in the bar.

I'm positive of it now. Sort of embarassing considering various things about our house, mostly the excess clutter, and also some disrepair.

I'd suspected during the time he was there. And would have asked except the name of the bar is "Kickoff". It sounds like it won't sound comprehensible if someone isn't familiar with it. Compared to "Molly's" or "The Bent Elbow".

In hindsight I could have just asked if I'd seen him "in a bar on Dec 20", but then, to me, Kickoff isn't just "a bar". Perhaps I never wanted to confirm it.

I sort of think he must have recognized me, because I'm a more unusual-looking individual than he is, and he just didn't want to cause potential problems.

He implied he visits Kickoff occasionally, but is not really "a regular". I'm now a once-a-week "regular".

At least now we have a modern furnace and water heater with modern side-vent non-chimneys.

If I ever notice the individual (whose name I cannot remember from either meeting) in Kickoff again, I'll go over and see what happens when I re-introduce myself.

[speedpimp]

Wishing you well, homie.

Does that qualify as an occupational hazard/disease?

About in the same way a secretary can suffer from carpal tunnel.

[speedpimp]

D Day is Tuesday. Can't wait for this to be over with. Fuck getting old.

[sandydandy]

My nephew is fucked.

I talked about him on here last year, he was on a student visa and was fucking up in school and the status of his visa was always in question. The government kept extending his student visa, but now they've rejected his application for an extension. Not because of his grades...apparently he started doing better academically, and was a couple of courses away from graduation. They pulled the plug because he missed the deadline for applying for the extension. WTF?? He said he applied, but didn't use the right login ID, and didn't attach the proper letter from the college in his application. Or some stupid shit like that. It's impossible to tell what the fuck he's saying half the time, he talks in circles and nobody really knows what's going on. Apparently he was using a paralegal type person to fill out his applications for him, but got tired of paying a couple of hundred bucks for it, so decided to do it himself and didn't know what the fuck he was doing. Big mistake.

He went to see an immigration lawyer yesterday who told him to forget about the student visa. That's over and done with, don't even think of appealing. Told him to apply for refugee status instead. :erm: Obviously India is not a war-torn country that's he's escaping persecution from, so his refugee application is doomed to fail, but the idea is to buy him a couple of more years in this country so he can get a proper work permit, and hopefully find someone to get married to. He has a girlfriend, sort of, I'm not even 100% sure. Don't know her status if she's just a student or is from here. I don't know what the fuck is going on, or is going to happen. The saddest part is that he hasn't told his mother yet. She's sitting back home in India placing all of her hopes and dreams on him, and he's proven to be a colossal fuck up. I think we're all getting together Saturday evening when he'll make the call with all of us around as support.

Crummy situation. Don't even get me started on how much money he's wasted in tuition fees. Latest estimate was at least $50K. Tuition for international students is insanely expensive.

[Cam]

:(

[Yw-slayer]

Sorry to hear it, man.

What about applying to college for a deferral of assessment (or similar), and if it's granted, going back to India, then re-applying for a student visa?

[sandydandy]

I honestly don’t know. I’ll bring it up when I see him though. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Crazed_Insanity]

You know, this isn’t some unexpected unpreventable disaster. It is a man made disaster... actually self made disaster.

Yeah, it sucks, but the kid has to learn about consequences of his actions. Hope at least he learned his lessons?

We live in a fucked up world, but at the very minimum, we need to learn not to fuck ourselves over with our own actions. We inevitably do end up fucking ourselves over sometimes but hopefully we don’t do it over and over again and learn the lessons.

[Leon]

He does seem to be the master of his own destiny here.

[sandydandy]

Most definitely. :(

[mk]

More surplus youngster items from dairy farm.

One must worder what folks are actually eating when quality is really low.

[speedpimp]

Been off for almost two weeks. Follow-up appointment is on Tuesday morning. All I want to do is get back to work.

[Cam]

FB ads are in Chinese for me today. :lol: :rolleyes:

[Crazed_Insanity]

That novel corona virus has mutated and infected your computing equipments!!! You’re screwed man!

[Cam]

Clearly. :lol:

[FaultyMario]

An Air Canada airliner with a broken landing gear that has caused damage to one engine?
No problem, send the F18 to check on it (https://nationalpost.com/news/toronto-bound-air-canada-flight-due-to-make-emergency-landing-in-madrid).



That was bad ass.

[MR2 Fan]

that's the most useful thing that F-18 has probably done for a while

[Crazed_Insanity]

No, remaking Top Gun is probably the most useful thing F-18s have done lately... :p

[MR2 Fan]

No, remaking Top Gun is probably the most useful thing F-18s have done lately... :p

ok, in general that's true

[Cam]

I often check for free stuff on Craigslist. Sometimes there can be some gems. I once saw a woman giving away her late husband's Hot Wheels collection. I would have had it if I was into collecting stuff. It was gone in a few hours, of course. Most of the time it's junk. "Free garbage pile!" :rolleyes: Often people post stuff like "Free firewood!" when really they just want you to cut down a whole tree and haul it away. Why do you think it costs thousands to have a tree service cut a tree down? I once saw someone who wanted two full-grown walnut trees removed from their property. They claimed they knew the value of the wood and basically threatened to burn them down if someone did not take them away for free. :lol: What they do not understand is that the value is not added until it is cut down and milled into lumber. You also need special equipment to cut down a big tree. Just the trunk of the tree can weigh several tons, depending on the size.

[mk]

One of our pines had to be cut down top first.
Cutting wasn't expensive and neigbouring chainsaws did cleaning and some other took trunks and branches.

It was hitted by a lightning years before and had only a small part of its trunk live and healthy.
And many times taller than distance from the house.

[dodint]

We have some very tall pines in our back yard and our expansion is going to bring us very close to them. I'm not sure what it will cost to have them removed but it probably is the prudent thing.

[Cam]

We had three mature pines removed last fall and it cost $2,800.

[dodint]

That would be excellent.

[Cam]

A former GTFer's (I'm pretty sure he's not on this forum) sister was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash last week. A friend set up a Go Fund Me campaign to help pay for medical bills.

I find this sad, not only because someone was hurt, but also because it will probably financially ruin her for years to come. I guess it just frustrates me that so many Americans are against health care for all.

I spent one night in the hospital a few years back because I got pericarditis and thought I was having a heart attack. I have pretty good insurance through my wife's work and we still had to pay ~$2,000.

[21Kid]

:( agreed.

1/3 of GoFundMe accounts are for healthcare.

:(

[dodint]

Maybe if we all pooled together and paid everyone's healthcare, you know, universally, this wouldn't be an issue.

[21Kid]

:lol:

[MR2 Fan]

Maybe if we all pooled together and paid everyone's healthcare, you know, universally, this wouldn't be an issue.

:lol:

[Cam]

Insert slow clap GIF.

[Godson]

I will only put in a little at a time.

[dodint]

Oh.

My.

God.

[Leon]

Maybe if we all pooled together and paid everyone's healthcare, you know, universally, this wouldn't be an issue.

bloody leftie commie

Oh wait, that's what we do in NZ.

[Leon]

I will only put in a little at a time.

that's what she said.

No, wait ...

[21Kid]

I love you guys.

[TheBenior]

I will only put in a little at a time.

It saves money that way.

[speedpimp]

that's what she said.

No, wait ...

No need to wait...

[Dicknose]

It saves money that way.

Africa!

[mk]

Korrekt your lankuake.

[Jason]

I don’t talk about my life on the internet much these days, so I kind of forgot to update things.

Caitlin’s treatments have ended, we hope. She’s now gone through three different types of chemo, and immunotherapy and radiation. In four months we have a follow up mammogram to see how things look, and we go from there. So, knock on wood everybody hah. After 18 months of treatment she (and I) are so done with this all haha

[Jason]

A former GTFer's (I'm pretty sure he's not on this forum) sister was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash last week. A friend set up a Go Fund Me campaign to help pay for medical bills.

I find this sad, not only because someone was hurt, but also because it will probably financially ruin her for years to come. I guess it just frustrates me that so many Americans are against health care for all.

I spent one night in the hospital a few years back because I got pericarditis and thought I was having a heart attack. I have pretty good insurance through my wife's work and we still had to pay ~$2,000.

John Oliver touched on this a bit, in this segment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z2XRg3dy9k

[FaultyMario]

I don’t talk about my life on the internet much these days, so I kind of forgot to update things.


I first read that as "wife", so, :eek:

Anyway, give her a good hug from me.

[Godson]

Best of luck J. If you need an ear. Hit me up. I'm always willing to listen

[dodint]

18 months is a long road. Our best to her and you.

Ash starts chemo again on Friday. But her total course of treatment should be over in five months or sooner.

[Ashie]

I'll keep you and yours in my thoughts Jason. Here's to hoping she hears she is still NED in 4 months. Hugs.

[Jason]

Damn, more chemo?? Best of luck to you two, and thank you for the kind thoughts.

[Ashie]

Damn, more chemo?? Best of luck to you two, and thank you for the kind thoughts.

Yep, Cancer is a BITCH!

[sandydandy]

I'll keep you and yours in my thoughts Jason. Here's to hoping she hears she is still NED in 4 months. Hugs.


Damn, more chemo?? Best of luck to you two, and thank you for the kind thoughts. Best of luck to you both!

[Cam]

Adobe is garbage. For the amount they charge for the software, you think they could fix the bugs that have been there for years. :rolleyes: :mad:

[Leon]

Wait, they still have bugs, after doing daily updates every year, for decades? ;)

[Jason]

I think I'm one of three people in the world that's happy with Creative Cloud.

[Freude am Fahren]

Me too, but I'm a light user. I probably wouldn't pay for it if I wasn't getting the Student/Teacher rate.

[Cam]

I use Premiere all the time and like it. I went to use Adobe Animate and I encountered multiple hassles and bugs. *shrug*

[Yw-slayer]

I am OK with lightroom. I was quite angry with the misleading promotion for the PC version of Premiere or maybe it was Premiere Rush which was "FREE TO USE but btw it's only ON STARTUP that we tell you that you can only export 3 or 4 videos." Screw that.

Fortunately a friend recommended Da Vinci Resolve which is great and which free version has no such limitations.

[MR2 Fan]

Youtube...sigh...when i'm bored here at home and I like browsing YT videos I sometimes look for the trending videos.

so WHY is it ALWAYS Jeffery Star showing up first? I don't watch fashion or makeup videos and I have nothing against the...person, but he...erm, they are just scary looking and I don't want to see their videos all the time popping up. I even tried the blocking channel option...still shows up.

[dodint]

Last year they added the ability to block individual channels from recommendations. I searched high and low for this to keep Donut Media from being recommended to me. Go to Youtube in browser (desktop or mobile), click the three vertical dots, and select "Don't Recommend Channel" and it should clean that up.

[sandydandy]

We had a little incident in the kitchen yesterday. BTW this story is being told mainly to make myself look good.

We were getting ready to make a pizza and cleared out the oven and began heating it up. As it was heating up we noticed a weird smell in the air. I looked and suddenly saw smoke leaking out from behind the panel on the top where the stove dials are. That didn’t look normal to me. Wife turned off the oven and looked inside and said there was cheese melting down onto the racks. I looked and saw the pizza was still sitting on the counter, where did this cheese come from? I opened the oven and saw what looked like plastic melting right at the very roof of the oven. It was right under the element. Suddenly, poof! A small fire started right at the bottom where the “cheese” aka melted plastic had accumulated.

WTF I said! Kids started panicking and whimpering, and wife was hysterical. I remained calm and pulled on the door to pull the entire stove out, and unplugged it. Then instinctively for a split second looked for a fire extinguisher, realizing quickly that we didn’t have one. I then grabbed two glasses and filled them with water and doused the small fire. Then the smoke intensified and we had to open all the doors and windows in the house.

Luckily it ended well. Cleaned the racks and oven and were able to make the pizza. I’m guessing it was a margarine lid or something that was stuffed at the roof of the oven. Thankfully the situation was handled promptly and calmly by me. The house stank of melted plastic for hours after. There was still a faint but notable stench prevalent this morning.

The main lesson here I guess is to always have a fire extinguisher handy.

[Crazed_Insanity]

So did the pizza come out plasticy tasting?

[sandydandy]

No it was great!

[Crazed_Insanity]

:lol: Good!

Thanks to a stupid virus, you now get to have great pizza and great quality time with family!

[Cam]

Dang, sandy. :lol: Glad you guys are OK.

[sandydandy]

Thanks man. Looking back it wasn’t that huge a deal. Glad I kept my wits about me.

Ovens are quite sturdy and capable of withstanding small fires. Had it spread outside the oven and begin to engulf the stove itself, then I was ready to push the whole damn thing out the door and hose it down.

[Godson]

Well done man. Whenever a friend of mine buys a house, I always supply them with a housewarming gift of ....a fire extinguisher.

I've gotten a few looks from it, but people usually really like it as a gift overall.

This will sound sexist, and honestly I don't care. But I have noticed women will usually get hysterical about a situation turning bad, instead of noticing what's going wrong, and what needs to be handled to prevent something from getting worse.

It may just be my sample size of experience, but that's what I have noticed.

[tigeraid]

I amazes me that people don't have a couple of extinguishers around their home, especially in the kitchen. I still think it's not a part of the building code here, for residential that is. Unless you have an oil furnace, go figure.

[Cam]

My sample size is Lori. :lol: She is freaked out by critters in the house. That time we had the rat in the apartment, she was literally screaming hysterically. She calls for me any time she sees a cockroach or spider to come take care of it. I'm like, "You believe yourself to be a strong, independent woman. Take care of it yourself." Although, she was nonplussed about bears we would see in the Sierra Nevadas. *shrug*

[Godson]

My sample size is Lori. :lol: She is freaked out by critters in the house. That time we had the rat in the apartment, she was literally screaming hysterically. She calls for me any time she sees a cockroach or spider to come take care of it. I'm like, "You believe yourself to be a strong, independent woman. Take care of it yourself." Although, she was nonplussed about bears we would see in the Sierra Nevadas. *shrug*

Lol. It is wild. My mom used to be terrified of snakes and other creepy crawlies. Now, she is a Docent at the zoo and handles various snakes for exhibits and shows (not allowed to touch) things like whistling cockroaches, etc.

[dodint]

Oh, my, Cam. How does she survive in SC with the waterbugs? :lol:

[TheBenior]

My daughter is terrified of any loose insects she sees in the house (like escaped crickets that are supposed to be frog food), but quite likes Thor, our bearded dragon lizard.3522

[tigeraid]

My boss is deathly afraid of any form of rodent, from a mouse to a rat to a ferret to a mink to a damn river otter. But has no problem with dogs.

[sandydandy]

I squeal like a woman when I see a rodent. We had a mice infestation in the garage a little while back and it was my duty to dispose of their nasty little carcasses. I fought tooth and nail with the family about it, but lost. They’re so gross. Hamsters are the only rodents that aren’t gross. I love them.

I generally hate insects, except spiders. They’re cool. It’s good to have spiders in the house. They’re natural predators and work to cleanse other undesirable insects from infesting.

[tigeraid]

:lol:

[Leon]

if you want a fun insect, there's always the Weta in NZ. I mean, it's not going to actually do you any harm, but it has high intimidation value.

3524

[Dicknose]

Ive had a few spider interactions the last couple of days. I keep uncovering huntsman nests. They are harmless, but damn big and the nest will have big mumma and hundreds of smaller ones. Ive lifted some bark on a tree stump and bamm... hundreds of spider going everywhere, some of them going up my hand.
Im pretty good but it still gives me a scare-jump.

How are people with bats?
We have micro bats, small enough that they could pass for a large moth.
Had a few in the house where they cant find a way out.

[FaultyMario]

Could ekranoplans traverse oceans?

[Yw-slayer]

Could ekranoplans traverse oceans?

As I understand it, the practical difficulties they face are bad weather and large waves.

There are similar issues with flying wings. They may be theoretically more efficient, but are not entirely suitable for carrying passengers (consider whether passengers would be able to tolerate being placed in the wing during manoeuvres).

[FaultyMario]

Yes, that was my worry. That the air pressure differentials generated by movement from the sea would disrupt its... you know... "ground" effects.

[Yw-slayer]

Yes. And by similar issues, what I mean is issues of practicality, even if the theory is sound. I am not suggesting that flying wings have lack of "ground effect" issues!

[Leon]

Then there is the matter of if they can actually carry a coconut.

[JoshInKC]

How are people with bats?
We have micro bats, small enough that they could pass for a large moth.
Had a few in the house where they cant find a way out.

I'm fine with bats, not only have they never done anything upsetting to me, but they remind me of my childhood - Where I lived in elementary school we had kind of a lot of them so you'd see them out every night at dusk during the summer, swooping around the streetlights to catch bugs. Unfortunately that's no longer the case due to white-nose syndrome which is a fungal infection that's killing off bat populations across North America.
Also, last year when I was working at a rock shelter site in west Texas, we had two bats swooping around our heads and doing some audible chirping in the midafternoon (which were actually the first and only bats we'd seen the entire time we were down there). After they did that for awhile, freaking a couple of people out, they settled into a small crack in the roof of the shelter directly over the top of my total station and began screwing.
3525
Photo isn't very good due to the roof being about 12.132m (I measured it, that's what a total station is for) overhead, but at this moment both of their little round faces were staring directly down at us.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Very interesting...

You actually saw them screwing?

Did you also record video? :D

[FaultyMario]

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude, that's gross.

[dodint]

Desperate times. People are handling social distancing in many different ways.

[JoshInKC]

Very interesting...

You actually saw them screwing?

Did you also record video? :D

I did- it was hilarious in real life, but the video resolution was worse than the still above, and the audio is just a bunch of archaeologists laughing with waterfall sounds in the background.

[Crazed_Insanity]

:lol:

Wish I could’ve seen that!

[speedpimp]

Twenty plus years ago I had a roommate who had a teenage son that acted like the baddest MF ever, that was until he saw a spider and then he'd scream like a 10 yr old girl with a creepy uncle.

Not a fan of rats or mice.

[FaultyMario]

Turns out school needs me to open up a certain type of bank account at an specific bank.

Amidst the SCoV2 restrictions.

Show up at 9:00, get a ticket at 9:30, I'm number 13. Stay around the building b/c you're not allowed in unless your number's called.

1:00 pm, get to go inside the building. Sit inside for half an hour. Get told that I need a certain identity document (it wasn't in the checklist the school mailed us).

Run home to fetch it. 2 pm go back in the building. Sit inside for 5 quarters of an hour. Get told that the document is out of date. (An identity document, bitch please!) 6 hours and 20 minutes. Waiting at a bank, with people who can't keep their distance. Oh, and bitch didn't open the account for me.

How was your day?

[sandydandy]

Crazy shit happening in Nova Scotia yesterday with the shooting spree. 18 dead. I read a timeline of the events how the guy was pretending to be a cop and pulling people over, then shooting them. Shot up his neighbors and set their house on fire. Set cars on fire too. It’s like something straight out of GTA.

It’s really sad that such a tiny community, (or bunch of tiny communities), has been ravaged by unthinkable and senseless violence. We’ll likely never know the motive, as the gunman was killed by police.

Just surreal. Here we’re in a time where Americans are breathing a sigh of relief from the lack of mass shootings, due to Covid-19, yet it’s happening up here.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Yeah, heard about that crazy story...

The guy is not even an ex-cop, just somebody who had a strong interest in RCMP and RCMP memorabilia? What does that mean?

Something caused him to just snap... and then it became GTA...

BTW, RCMP is short for Royal Canadian Mounted Police... what does "Mounted" mean? :p

[sandydandy]

Yeah he killed one RCMP officer as well. Really sad.

Pretty sure “mounted“ means mounted on a horse. Mounties don’t actually ride horses or wear those funny uniforms anymore, that’s just for show. They more or less look like normal police officers. I rarely see RCMP around here, they’re more in the rural areas. I don’t know how big the provincial police force is in Nova Scotia, (assuming they have one), but I’d imagine it’s not that big, so RCMP would have a greater presence there.

[Cam]

I have a good friend who is a mountie. He was in the “musical ride” with the slain officer and knew her well. :(

NS does not have a provincial police force, so the RCMP is the police force outside of towns that have their own.

[21Kid]

:(

[FaultyMario]

Mounties are cool.

Not because of the mythical red shirt stuff. But because they cover a lot of sparsely populated territory and they build trust among their assigned communities. I'm sure that lady was well respected among those she kept an eye over.

May the earth lie lightly upon her.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Mounties are cool.

Not because of the mythical red shirt stuff. But because they cover a lot of sparsely populated territory and they build trust among their assigned communities. I'm sure that lady was well respected among those she kept an eye over.

May the earth lie lightly upon her.

Amen amen... :(

[sandydandy]

I have a good friend who is a mountie. He was in the “musical ride” with the slain officer and knew her well. :(

NS does not have a provincial police force, so the RCMP is the police force outside of towns that have their own. Apparently B.C. doesn’t have a provincial police force either, which I find really strange considering it’s the third largest province in Canada. Looks like Ontario and Quebec are the only ones with provincial police forces.

We got the OPP, (yeah you know me).

[speedpimp]

Spent the entire week working inside at work. It consisted of moving stuff, painting one side of a hallway, moving more stuff, painting the other side of the hall(that had been in place for 35 years but never painted), putting a second coat of the unpainted side(and trying to cover up the tiger stripes of water damage), putting stuff back where I got it from before I started painting, moving 4'x8' chalk boards, cleaning/sanding/cleaning/painting said chalk boards, and in between that I pulled orders for customers, unloading a truck or two. From Monday to Wednesday my thighs were killing me from all of the squats I was doing related to the painting. Today when I was painting the chalk boards by the time I got done with the fourth of six my face was numb. Fucking paint fumes. An hour or so later and I was finally done with the painting for this week. By the time I punched out my lower back was killing me. Welcome to middle age. And I get to do this again next week.
On the upside everybody raved about how nice and bright the hallway looks now. One person mentioned they never knew how long it was until they saw it painted. It looks like I'm handier than I ever thought I could be. Sitting in the break room eating lunch is great for watching the people standing in line(maintaining proper social distancing, wearing masks, being in a decent mood) waiting to get inside and buy meat.
On the downside I hope this change isn't permanent.

[sandydandy]

Ugh dealing with some bullshit from my car insurance broker. I’ve already shared my legal woes in other threads, but I’ll share this story in here because I’m neither sad or glad, just plain mad.

Being jerked around by my shitty ass broker, and getting tired of it.

Long story short, I have two cars, (2004 Accord and 2014 Santa Fe), with three drivers. Myself, wife and son. Two cars but dealing with two different insurance policies. Allstate for the wife/son and Santa Fe, and a high risk insurer for myself and the Accord. Allstate kicked me off my policy in 2018 when they found out about my DUI, so I had to seek out a high risk insurer.

This insurer does deal with non high risk drivers as well, and offers pretty good standard rates, and I’ve been trying to get the other car and drivers onto this policy since January. I want to take advantage of the multivehicle discount, and add my house as well.

The problem is the broker I’m dealing with is shit. Actually the broker itself is not the problem, it’s the woman I’m dealing with. The agent. She simply does not process my requests. She says she’ll do it, but doesn’t do it. This has been going on for months. I don’t know if she’s too busy, too lazy or too incompetent.

I complained about her to the broker two weeks ago and asked for somebody new to deal with, but all they did was give her a shove and then she called me on Monday. She took my information and particulars all over again for the umpteenth time, restarting the cycle of promising to do it, but not doing it.
It’s been a week since I heard from her and big surprise, nothing has been done. No response, no documents to sign, no quote, no new insurance slips, nothing. Nothing to indicate that she’s done anything to process my request.

I told her several times that I need to contact Allstate to notify them of my intent to cancel the policy, (which renews in mid-May), but I can’t do it until I know she’s scheduled the addition of the vehicle and drivers to my current policy. My house insurance, (also with Allstate), renews in three days.

I heard from an insurance friend that this is ten minutes of work, yet she’s been fucking jerking me around for months. All I get from her is “yeah it can be done, I’ll do it. I’ll get back to you very soon”, yet nothing gets done.

I am seriously at my wits end dealing with this woman. I’m going to contact the broker again, probably the VP this time, and demand to deal with someone else. I’ve never dealt with such an unprofessional ingrate in my life.

I know in the grand scheme of life this is part of the lesson I’m supposed to learn, being forced to deal with this aggravation, but fuck enough is enough.

I haven’t driven my Santa Fe in almost two years, since I’m excluded from the Allstate policy. They told me I won’t be rateable again until six years after the conviction date.

In hindsight I see that I had a really good thing going with Allstate. I really regret fucking it up by driving drunk. :mad:

[sandydandy]

Things finally starting to smoothen out with my insurance stuff.

Please excuse the above post...I was more or less venting. Lashing out actually. :|

[Crazed_Insanity]

Good thing we have a global pandemic! Just stay home for 6 years and then you’ll be rateable and finally be able to drive whichever car you want affordably! :D

[SportWagon]

Things finally starting to smoothen out with my insurance stuff.

Please excuse the above post...I was more or less venting. Lashing out actually. :|Isn't that a purpose of this place?

[Godson]

Had plans to play gt:s and increase driver rating. Got drunk instead.

[FaultyMario]

How is that a problem?

[sandydandy]

Isn't that a purpose of this place? Yup. :)

[Cam]

I did a FB survey today that basically asked me if I was a nationalist. :erm:

[Crazed_Insanity]

Yeah, you are definitely a North American! USA just need to absorb Canada as one of the states! :p

[Cam]

:|

[Cam]

The Snowbird who tragically died in a crash today was the daughter of a friend of mine. :(

[FaultyMario]

Awful news. My condolences.

[Crazed_Insanity]

:(

[Yw-slayer]

Sorry to hear it, bro.

[sandydandy]

Crap. :(

[2ndMoparMan]

Time to look for another job. F Amazon.

[Crazed_Insanity]

What happened?

[JoshInKC]

There was a possum on my lawn this morning. Thinking it would move along on its own, I left it to its own devices. When I looked out a few hours later it was still there, so assuming it was deceased I grabbed a snow shovel, some gloves, and a bag and headed out to deal with it.
Upon closer inspection, it was still breathing and had moved a bit into some shade, though there was something definitely wrong with one of its eyes. Further- as it was lying on its other side, I was able to see a couple of tiny tails sticking out of its pouch. So I got to spend part of my afternoon driving an injured possum and her babies to a wildlife rehab center two counties away. Hopefully they'll be okay- once I got her into transport tub, the mother got a little active and spent most of the drive standing up and looking confused.

It felt good to do something actually good for the first time in awhile.
It was also nice to drive more than 2 exits on the highway for the first time in like 10 weeks.

[Godson]

Atta boy stabs.


Oppossum are super important for our ecosystem

[Crazed_Insanity]

Wow! What a lives saver! :up:

[JoshInKC]

Atta boy stabs.


Oppossum are super important for our ecosystem

Yep, I love possums - anything that eats some many ticks and can't get rabies is a friend in my book.
My wife and I have a long-running policy of putting out cat-food and our leftovers for neighborhood strays (we typically capture the cats to get them spayed/neutered). The possums are our favorite customers because they're the neatest and most polite guests (raccoons spread food all over the place and will fight with anything). Plus, so many people find them scary or gross that I feel like they need as many friends as they can get.

[Godson]

Yeah, I used to live trash pandas, but those mfers are just mess makers

[Jason]

It was also nice to drive more than 2 exits on the highway for the first time in like 10 weeks.

I went for a drive last weekend, just for like an hour or so, a loop that had no stops, just find a couple twisting roads with some pretty trees or something. It was very nice. Being cooped up for this long is getting to me.

[JoshInKC]

Yeah, a big part of what normally I do (other than teaching, writing, and analysis) in the off-season is driving around and checking out areas that people think might be archaeological sites. So a lot of driving down country roads to where someone found an arrowhead or going down stream banks where a farmer spotted some bones eroding out of a cut-bank.
Not doing that or my 45 minute commute has seriously cut down our fuel bill though, so that's nice I guess.

[sandydandy]

I snoozed my alarm 12 times this morning before finally realizing what I was doing, and waking up.

[George]

Yeah, a big part of what normally I do (other than teaching, writing, and analysis) in the off-season is driving around and checking out areas that people think might be archaeological sites. So a lot of driving down country roads to where someone found an arrowhead or going down stream banks where a farmer spotted some bones eroding out of a cut-bank.

Josh, you might enjoy one of the Longmire novels called Dry Bones. I'm currently listening to the audiobook again after hearing it once enough years ago that I've forgotten what happens.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51nTKCNAzrL.jpg

From the Amazon plot summary:

When Jen, the largest, most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever found surfaces in Sherriff Walt Longmire’s jurisdiction, it appears to be a windfall for the High Plains Dinosaur Museum—until Danny Lone Elk, the Cheyenne rancher on whose property the remains were discovered, turns up dead, floating face down in a turtle pond. With millions of dollars at stake, a number of groups step forward to claim her, including Danny’s family, the tribe, and the federal government. As Wyoming’s Acting Deputy Attorney and a cadre of FBI officers descend on the town, Walt is determined to find out who would benefit from Danny’s death, enlisting old friends Lucian Connolly and Omar Rhoades, along with Dog and best friend Henry Standing Bear, to trawl the vast Lone Elk ranch looking for answers to a sixty-five-million-year-old cold case that’s heating up fast.

[JoshInKC]

GRRRRR!
3564
Seriously though, I haven't read that one and will check it out.

[Crazed_Insanity]

DLM! Dino lives matter too! :p

[George]

GRRRRR!
3564

:up:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeology

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleontology

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropology

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology ;)

[FaultyMario]

I had wanted to do some home work for a few weeks now.

Spent last two weeks doing copy writing for work, like crazy hours of it.

They* wanted to do yet another round of proofreading and at around 3 pm, I bailed (I limit myself to giving them an opinion to their proofs, yay or nay, basically).

So I went and bought some sheetrock, some wood and some hardware.

I spent 10 minutes (tops) on phone calls for their proofs when I got back from my errands.

It's almost 2 in the morning, my feet hurt, my nose is clogged up in dust and I smell funny. I'm probably at the mid point of my home project and I'm on the GTXF and I'm having a beer.

Thanks, fellas. You're an inspiration.

[JoshInKC]

:up:

[FaultyMario]

Sunday, 6 pm. 90% done.

I'm wrecked and a bit disappointed that it doesn't look half as good as I thought it would.

[JoshInKC]

Sunday, 6 pm. 90% done.

I'm wrecked and a bit disappointed that it doesn't look half as good as I thought it would.

Eh, you get used to it - Even when I was a very skilled professional very much in practice, I was never quite as happy as I'd hoped I would be with home improvement tasks.
There's always some flaw you'll see until either you move, die, or re-do it.

[George]

And most other people won't see it. Just you. Everyone else will think it looks great.

[FaultyMario]

The customer is appreciative of the final product. I think she will pay good for the work done. :hard:

[George]

https://media1.tenor.com/images/d8b4bdccba12e813f85ae2688e296d65/tenor.gif?itemid=10516145

[Godson]

Agreed, I redid the kitchen countertops and installed a backsplash.

Hard maple butcher block, with white subway tiles, and gray grout. Everyone who sees it absolutely loves it. I can show you several spots that bother me, but nobody can see them but me, until I point them out. Then everyone forgets3567

[sandydandy]

Yesterday I decided to go on a hunger strike. Then I got hangry and said fuck it. :|

[Cam]

:lol:

[Leon]

On the lighter side of life, there's a cat that wanders around the central business district of Wellington, and generally makes himself at home in various shops, people's cars etc.

He is called Mittens, and has become a minor celebrity, as Wellington now follows the adventures of Mittens.

There's a small Mittens exhibit in the national museum.

They decided to give him the keys to the city in a small ceremony.

Some busybody decided this frivolity was all too silly, so they did an "Official Information Act" enquiry, thinking that the city had wasted vast amounts of the ratepayer's money.

They'd spent very slightly over $14 ... so that backfired on that busybody big time.

[MR2 Fan]

:lol:

That's a good news story

[Crazed_Insanity]

:lol:

At least we can thank that busybody for the amusing story!

Mittens must be some awesome cat!

[Cam]

Legit artist struggle to get work in galleries and museums and a freakin' cat gets and exhibit? :lol: :(

[SportWagon]

The $14 probably doesn't include any of the cost of the museum exhibit, does it? It actually seems surprising that the cost of the key ceremony itself could be accounted to be that low.

[Leon]

The $14 probably doesn't include any of the cost of the museum exhibit, does it? It actually seems surprising that the cost of the key ceremony itself could be accounted to be that low.

Sorry to clarify ... the Museum exhibit is entirely museum funded and created. Though will likely be for profit, because merch.

The ceremony to give a cat keys to the city was on the ratepayer's tab, and was subject to the official information act cost query. There wasn't that much of a ceremony involved, and the key itself was donated by a jeweller. So basically it was $14 worth of paper & photocopying involved.

[Crazed_Insanity]

The cost for taxpayers to audit all that probably cost a lot more than $14...

[SportWagon]

Sorry, I assumed the term "national museum" implied some sort of government support/subsidy. Of course, even then the museum might be able to spin the cat exhibit as being a demonstrable draw card, bringing in more revenue than it cost.

[Kchrpm]

I probably did too, SportWagon, without thinking about the National Corvette Museum.

[Leon]

You're mostly correct. It is the Museum of New Zealand (tm). So there will be public funds going into it.

But how they spend their allocated funds is less open to questioning.

While the "giving keys to the cat" is easily queried.

[mk]

How high should an AP be to be able to laser connect HK and Taiwan or Philippines?

[sandydandy]

Tornado watch has been issued for my immediate area. I’m looking up at the sky like a madman, don’t trust the clouds even though the turbulent weather seems to have passed.

Hopefully I don’t end up in Oz this afternoon. :lol:

[SportWagon]

Lots of rain, and allegedly 90km/hr gusts here in Kitchener-Waterloo. But I didn't see anything super severe.

I finished my bicycle ride by just after 8am. Light SW wind making outward trip brisk and return interesting. Picked up even more later, I guess, but I don't think we saw too many 90km/hr gusts in our neighbourhood.

Interesting the thunderstorms were forecast for the afternoon, and 12:01pm--boom!

[SportWagon]

The photobucket saga is interesting.

Even if I told them "Just delete my account", which I think perhaps I should do sometime, I would still cause them expense from all the hotlinks left around several forums. I.e. having their web server return "not found".

At this place, I've changed all of my photobucket links to non-hot links. Strangely, the few I looked at here appeared to continue viewing, even though free accounts no longer allow hotlinking at all. The images viewed, but with a Photobucket watermark.

I suppose I should try do the same at gtplanet. Here at gtxf I found only six posts of mine containing "photobucket", of which only about half were actual hot links. I vaguely recall I might have left a lot more there.

And, of course, nothing prevented people in the past from hotlinking to my Photobucket pictures. I can't change those, can I?

[George]

File this complain under really, really, REALLY unimportant first-world problems.

Having worked in the restaurant business a few times as second jobs and once for a full-time, three-year stretch (that felt more like five or six), I sympathize with restaurant owners and workers. I really do.

But, if you've gone out of business due to Covid-19 (or any other reason), couldn't you at least put a note saying so on your website or take down the site completely? There are three restaurants near us we used to like to order from. One of the sites says Reopening May 1 (it's August now). The others haven't changed it all. Their phones either ring and ring with no answer and/or a recording comes on and says their voice mailbox is full. Drive-by reconnaissance confirms they have closed. And I'm sad to see this; don't get me wrong.

But, it seems like it would only take a minute or two to add a note saying Thanks For The Memories or Watch For Our Grand Reopening or something. I once had admin rights to a website and could do that in less time than it took to write this post.

Well, I guess it's better than in the days of paper take-out menus that would sit in a drawer or a folder for years as prices increased and offerings changed.

"A large anchovy pizza is now twelve dollars. It hasn't been $4.99 since the year we opened, back during Operation Desert Shield. And we can't deliver a 2-litre bottle of New Coke either. Sorry."

I am grateful to be able to complain about something so trivial while so many are looking for work. Restaurant work is a hard gig, to be sure, but you'd think they could at least update or take down the website before locking the door one last time.

[Cam]

Companies often pay someone else to make their web site. When the business is out of money, they can't pay someone to change the web site. It will sit there unchanged until the domain registration runs out, then it will be bought by a porn site. *shrug*

[George]

"Hi Charlie. It's Joe. Yeah, you heard right - we're done; closing up shop. I can't pay three employees with an average of ten takeout orders per night.

Would you please take down the website? I can't pay you for it any longer.

Thanks. I hope to have better news the next time we talk."

That was easy. Or maybe I still live in Mayberry.

I bet there are giant faceless corporations like Websites-R-Us hosting these sites who don't publish a phone number nor let you speak to a human being under any circumstances.

"Click here to try our new Live Chat feature!" :smh:

That's a rant for another day. :)

https://media1.tenor.com/images/b47d0bbd2f11c1cb3a30a48938a3aa69/tenor.gif?itemid=12558964

[Crazed_Insanity]

:lol:

[Dicknose]

Or possibly the people are so emotionally overwhelmed by having to shut and layoff staff that they havent the energy to deal with things like websites...

[Cam]

It is weird having a lady who could be my daughter ask for my ID at the beer store.

[George]

DN - Of course. I hope I made it clear this was the most minor of gripes. But, see, if I owned a restaurant, it would bother me. Maybe they hope to reopen and keep things just as they were. I hope they do.

Speaking of ID at the beer store, I bet teens are trying to buy beer wearing face masks these days and hoping they won't get carded.

That was our primary M.O. as kids - look confident and hope they won't ask.

This was back when the drinking age was 18 and we were maybe 17...or 19 when it was 21. There was a weird deal with a highway funding bill back in the mid to late 1980s in which states wouldn't get federal highway funding if they didn't raise the legal drinking (or alcohol purchasing) age to 21. All the states eventually did, but at different times.

I had lots of friends who were legal when they turned 18 but then lost the right to buy when the state I lived in at the time raised the age from 18 to 19 but then jumped from 19 to 21 the next year. Suddenly a bunch of 19 and 20 year-olds were minors again. And, we'd be underage in one state but legal in the next state over. And in Canada. I was legal there and in states along the way during a summer road trip when I was 20, but not back home in Mayberry.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Must be quite a trip to fluctuate between major and a minor crossing various state lines... :lol:

Btw, if you go out of business, are you responsible for removing your store front signs? Most of the time these ghost signs simply remained until the new store takes over... at least in my neighborhood.

Of course internet domain names don’t work like that, but I suspect your phantom site won’t be up forever without you paying fees? So just give it a year, it should disappear...

[Dicknose]

18 here.
Never got "carded" even when 16.
Only time I got asked for ID was on my 40th birthday!!

recently someone in front of me being served was asked for id. I go next and say "need to see mine?" - they laugh and I go, well "Im more than twice the age". Pause - do quick maths. Damn - Im triple the age!

[Yw-slayer]

It is weird having a lady who could be my daughter ask for my ID at the beer store.

She was hitting on you!! Wait a minute...

[Kchrpm]

After bartenders and waitresses getting dinged multiple times for not carding an under-aged person sent in by officers to test them, the local Hooters now requires them to card everyone, no matter what age they look. They have funny/flirty lines they use on the people that look like their grandparent to deflect the anger.

I always find it fascinating when people are angered because they didn't bring their driver's license. It was ingrained in me early on that I had to ALWAYS have my driver's license with me, because I could and would be arrested for driving without it, or worse.

[Dicknose]

The US obsession with "carding" can get silly when its applied to people who are well over the age.
My sister was refused a wine at a basketball game because they wouldnt accept her drivers license because it was "out of state". She was over 50, so clearly not under 21.

Our age is 18, but they have a rule that is you can be asked for id if you look under 25. Of cause its up to the person serving and Ive seen some people asked for id who were 30, but didnt look that old.
But it does mean in general that people over 25 wont get asked for id. The main purpose is to protect the people serving and checking id, it gives them a clear line as to who they should check without having to get into the silly "card em all"

[dodint]

In PA they scan the bar code on the license so discretion of the cashier is taken out of the equation.

[George]

It is weird having a lady who could be my daughter ask for my ID at the beer store.

It's tough getting old.

http://funnycracks.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/punch-line-back-on-the-face.jpg

[SportWagon]

The photobucket saga is interesting.

Even if I told them "Just delete my account", which I think perhaps I should do sometime, I would still cause them expense from all the hotlinks left around several forums. I.e. having their web server return "not found".

At this place, I've changed all of my photobucket links to non-hot links. Strangely, the few I looked at here appeared to continue viewing, even though free accounts no longer allow hotlinking at all. The images viewed, but with a Photobucket watermark.

I suppose I should try do the same at gtplanet. Here at gtxf I found only six posts of mine containing "photobucket", of which only about half were actual hot links. I vaguely recall I might have left a lot more there.

And, of course, nothing prevented people in the past from hotlinking to my Photobucket pictures. I can't change those, can I?It was difficult to delete the last part of my photobucket content. Albums could be relatively easily deleted as a whole by clicking on them and then selecting an option/link to do so.

There was no obvious way to delete the photos at the top-level ("library") however. And whether those photos displayed was not reliable. So I created a succession of dummy albums. I then drag-and-dropped the 39 images to those albums, deleting the albums and creating a new one when photobucket got in a snit until I could see the remaining photos.

A complicating oddity was that captcha was not working properly for me, and so I "forgot my password" about four times to get re-logged in as necessary.

After that I bashed through their FAQs and found reference to the "Delete Account" link, and it appeared to work. Well, it has scheduled my account for deletion on August 16, 2020.

I'll improve the screenshot quality. The raw ones are good png, but they got shmushed to fuzzy jpegs when I uploaded here.

[Kchrpm]

Our age is 18, but they have a rule that is you can be asked for id if you look under 25. Of cause its up to the person serving and Ive seen some people asked for id who were 30, but didnt look that old.
But it does mean in general that people over 25 wont get asked for id. The main purpose is to protect the people serving and checking id, it gives them a clear line as to who they should check without having to get into the silly "card em all"
The rule at the location mentioned above was to only card people that looked like they were 40 or older. I think it's funny because some people are offended when they're no longer carded, and others are offended when you card them.

Edit: Actually, I may be misremembering the rule (I don't drink, so it was never said to me). It might have been that they were told, and told to say, that they carded anyone that looked younger than their grandparents. It was a joking excuse that got a laugh more than anger.

[Dicknose]

In PA they scan the bar code on the license so discretion of the cashier is taken out of the equation.

And if you dont have local id?

[dodint]

Section 495(a) of the Liquor Code allows for a valid photo driver’s license or identification card issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation or by any other state, a valid United States Armed Forces identification card, or a valid passport or travel visa issued by the United States or a foreign country that contains the holder’s photograph, are all acceptable as identification cards.

That said, individual retailers are permitted to layer their own identification measures and the place I normally purchase beer requires scanning of the identification card. Shoppers will be turned away if the refuse to provide one.

[Freude am Fahren]

One of the people I'm training this month is the voice of AOL. He's a super nice guy.

[Crazed_Insanity]

The ‘you got mail’ guy?

[Freude am Fahren]

Yeah

[sandydandy]

He deserves royalties for his “you’ve got mail” work. AOL was the shit back in the 90’s.

[Crazed_Insanity]

He just has one line!

Imagine how much money could the Siri lady rake in if they really could get royalties every time we hear their voices!

[George]

I really have to wonder about people who think they own the whole damn place, wherever that may be.

There's a guy who works on our floor in our office building. He's probably around sixty and I think he's an attorney. There are only three occupied offices on this floor and very few people in them, especially now that many people work from home some, most, or all days.

He is one of the people we suspect of tearing down the occupied/vacant signs from the restroom doors that building management put up to help people stay away from each other during the pandemic. He and the others in his office don't wear face masks, despite a state-wide order from the governor and signs all over our building saying that face masks are required.

One of the guys I work with calls him "Mr. Business" because he's known for being on the phone while in the bathroom. Many times over the years I've gone to the mens room and heard him talking inside a stall. I still flush as usual and wash my hands and can't help but wonder what the people on the other end of his call must think when they hear that: "Dude, are you on the shitter?!" :lol: Or maybe with attorneys, it's assumed they're in the "lounge" at their "club" and there may be background noises as people shower after their lunchtime squash games.

Anyway, a little while ago, I was standing in the mens room and heard the door open. I heard footsteps behind me and a stall door open and close. I then turned the corner to where the two sinks are and found a big paper bag from a lunch place down the street placed between the only two sinks and blocking the soap dispenser that's mounted on the mirror in front of and in between the sinks. It was a large and tall bag, the kind with handles looping up from each long side. It was obviously new; not some old thing on the way to the trash, and it was maybe an inch or two from each of the sinks.

So, what am I supposed to do? Push his lunch aside, and into one of the sinks? Put it on the floor? Drip soapy water on it and in it as I was my hands? Wait until he gets his selfish ass out of the stall and picks up his lunch?

Some people are just assholes. And I'm one sometimes. But not in this way.

And why would anyone bring his lunch (and probably lunches for others in his office, judging from the size of the bag) into a bathroom anyway?

Ah, first-world problems.

[Jason]

Quarantine has taught me that I’m not mentally well, and I’ve been held together by the frayed strings and old tape that is basketball, traveling, and photography. Need to figure out how to be happy without activities that I enjoy.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Wife misses traveling too, so the only option left would be using RVs..., but it seems everyone has the same ideas? Travel trailers under 5000 lbs towable by our SUV apparently all sold out or with significant mark ups...

Anyway, with fires or hurricanes every where, it’s not like we could go anywhere anyways... I guess we’ll just keep waiting around at home for now until prices come down and inventory builds up...

[Cam]

Sorry to hear you are struggling, J. :(

[speedpimp]

On August 30, my stepmom passed away at 78 from a laundry list of causes. She and my dad were married for 37 years. My dad didn't take it well at all. A little after midnight on the following Friday my phone rings. It was my niece and my step sister. I thought it something was wrong with my dad. He was okay. The call was about my 20 yr old nephew. He was being chased by police, he pulled over and shot himself in the head. He was taken off life support a few hours later. Step mom's funeral was the next day(Saturday). On Sunday my aunt calls to tell me that my uncle is in the hospital and in a bad way. I didn't tell my dad because having just lost his wife and grandson, the last thing he needed was more bad news. My uncle got better, but he needs a heart and lung replacement, and they can't do the surgery because he wouldn't survive it. He was back home a few days later and I told my dad to call him. That was a shitty week in what has been an overall shitty month. Bring on October.

[Cam]

Jeez, sorry to hear. :(

[FaultyMario]

That's some rough shit, Rich.

[Yw-slayer]

Condolences on your losses, Rich.

[Ashie]

So sorry Rich. Hugs

[sandydandy]

That’s really rough, bruv. Hope you’re holding up okay.

[Crazed_Insanity]

You hang in there pimpie! :(

2020 is ‘almost’ over...

[TheBenior]

Sorry to hear, Rich.

[speedpimp]

Thanks guys.

[Godson]

Damn rich.


I just...

*Hugs*

:'(

[Kchrpm]

Stay strong, pimpster.

[Jason]

Jesus, Rich... sending my love

[George]

Very sad to hear this, Rich. Life can be pretty miserable at times. We're here for you.

[sandydandy]

Had a little fun this morning with a phone scammer from India. One of those "government" scams where they say you owe tax and the police will be notified, etc. I pressed 1 to talk to an "operator". Some girl answered and I played dumb for a minute. Then she asked my name and I made up a weirdly long Indian name, so she asked me to spell it out for her. I spelled it "F-U-C-K O-F-F". Then she realized I was messing with her and attempted to tell me something about my mother, and I cut her off by asking her if she was naked, and that I was. Then she started more with the weak insults and I more or less raised my voice to talk over her. Made a few inappropriate remarks to her, (telling her to touch herself, etc), before she hung up on me. The whole thing lasted 3-4 minutes. I kept cutting her off and frustrating her, which was the best part. It was fun. I love wasting their time and don't feel bad about saying negative shit to them, cause I don't look at them as human. They're trying to scam me out of money, so fuck them.

I wish they would call every day. They'll probably spoof my number now but whatever. They're already doing that.

[George]

Those bastards call us three, four, or more times a day. Everyone. Politicians. Police fraternal organizations. Firefighters. Pollsters. Realtors. Credit card offers: "We've been trying to reach you! This is your last chance to lower your interest rate!". Extended warranties for automobiles. Relief for student loans. Every charity with a sob story and every company selling anything is calling all day, every day. They call at 8:59 PM on Sunday nights and 8:01 AM on Saturday mornings and at all times in between. The last time I looked, our answering machine was flashing the number 26. We don't even check them anymore, as the number of older relatives who still use landlines sadly decreases every year.

And, now, most of these calls are recordings that sound like real people at first, so I can't even demand that they take us off their call list and not call again. I have pressed 1 or whatever to speak to a person. When I ask them to remove our number from their call list, they hang up instantly and, somehow, silently. I don't even hear a click - I'm just suddenly talking to myself and angry at myself for playing their game.

Maybe I should press M instead of 1.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Dial_M_For_Murder.jpg/220px-Dial_M_For_Murder.jpg

I hate them. And yet, I keep answering the phone if I'm not too busy, hoping that this time, it might be a real person. Once in a great while, it is, and they pay for the sins of their colleagues for as long as I can make them listen. Most won't or can't hang up if you don't use profanity or make threats or tell them you're not interested. So I don't do those things, sometimes. Sometimes I tell them how sorry I am for them that they have to call people at home to ask for money. "Maybe you'd have better luck holding up a cardboard sign at a busy intersection?" Then, I remember the civility that used to exist in society and I am sad. Then, I wonder where I can buy one of those air horns that people used to blow in the stands at sporting events.

And, despite all these employees calling to pitch their wares, it's practically impossible to get an employee of a company on the phone anymore if you're calling them. Except for the sales department, it's obvious most large companies do not want inbound phone calls.

"We're experiencing extremely high call volume." Bullsh!t. You're deliberately understaffed, like every company these days, and only interested in taking orders. People with questions that aren't related to new purchases can wait forever to speak to some anonymous, apathetic, and unaccountable drone who doesn't know anything except how to put people back on hold at the beginning of the phone queue so they can start over with someone else, if they're willing to wait long enough for another opportunity. :angry:

The telephone used to be something that our kids will never know. I tell them that sometimes. Family and friends used to call and it was fun to talk to them. Sometimes someone you didn't know would call, but conversations were courteous. A wrong number was an occasion for well-practiced attempts at problem-solving, including such pleasantries as "There is no one here by that name. What number were you calling?"

Oh, sure, the new technology in smart phones is great. But the telephone as a tool stopped being worth a damn several years ago...maybe around the time Gordon Gekko walked on the beach with one.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Caller ID is awesome! If you hide your number or if I don’t know your number, I just ignore you. Actually my phone is now set up to go straight to voicemail if you’re not in my address book.

If you’re someone with important business, I’ll get back to you.

Although sandy is tempting me to turn that feature off in order to have some fun when I’m bored... :D

Now if I am calling a company for a request, yeah, I usually try to do that online 1st. Only if I can’t do it online or thru their automated systems, then I try to spend a whole day trying to find a human who works for them in India or something...

[speedpimp]

The last scam call I had it was about being from "Dept. of Windows". All I said was "The Imam is with the Englishman in Mumbai. They are coming to see you tomorrow." The only other thing she said was "WHAT? WHAT? WHAT?" and then I hung up.

[CudaMan]

George, I have no idea who Mr. Gekko is, but you tell 'em! The phone is hot garbage these days. I am shocked your rant didn't include the companies that have no phone number or even email address listed with which to contact them. You have to go through their app or website Help section which is inevitably anything but. And when the pre-determined obvious situations don't apply to you and you need to have a real human solve a problem, your only option left is to Tweet the company and hope a customer service rep sends you a DM or something.

Seriously, this stuff can get off my lawn. :angry: I should have been born in the 50s/60s, not the 80s.

[speedpimp]

Nice Wall Street reference, George.

[sandydandy]

George you’re talking about legit telemarking calls. I generally don’t have a problem with those. What I was talking about was those scam calls that claim to be from a government agency who try to threaten and extort you over the phone. My sister-in-law fell prey to one of these schemes a couple of years ago and forked over almost $5,000. I shared the story in this thread.

Anyway, next time they call I’m going try a little harder to turn the collection call into a sex chat. Assuming it’s a female on the other end. Actually I’ll even try it if it’s a guy on the phone. It’ll be fun. :lol:

[Cam]

Or you could just not waste your time harrassing them. *shrug*

[sandydandy]

True, but it's less fun that way. ;)

Honestly it's about wasting their time. These are truly vile people who use fear tactics to take advantage of weak people, especially seniors, and steal a lot of money. The only satisfaction one can ever get is to waste their time. I've watched people on YouTube engage with these scamsters and fuck with them. I've also seen documentaries where they're able to track down their call centers in India and sometimes get them shut down. They really do operate with zero conscience or any sense of decency. So fuck them straight to hell, I say.

[Cam]

You and I have a different idea of what is fun.

I only have a cell phone. Don't recognize the number? I don't answer. If it is important, they will leave a message.