Cold and damp. Of course. [40s and saturated, but sunny! so basically nice fall weather]
Watching youtube and listening to the shortwave playing music, and stayed up long past my bedtime. Gonna be a weary day today.
I did get a couple of things done yesterday, but nothing major on the list. I did get the food rotated to and from the secondary, at least for the small amount I just bought. One case baked beans, one case corn, one partial case peas, one bottle kids multivitamin, one shrink wrap bunch of canned chicken from Costco, and a bucket of rice. I didn’t bring bulk rice home. It was a one for one swap though. I’ve been buying the same stuff for years. Also took a case of Mountain House, mixed meals, and a package of starbucks instant, and one case of instant oatmeal packets. Oh, and a bottle of dishsoap.
I identified a bunch more stuff to take to auction. And a couple of things I’ll list on ebay.
Of course I bought some auction stuff too. I won a bunch of bids for supplies and parts to feed or build some things. For some reason, one of the auctions has a bunch of magpul in damaged boxes. Works for me… and you never know what’s going to come out of the drawers or safes at an estate sale. I’ll either flip it, or buy something to use it with…
And now to get back to work.
n
Cold and rainy yesterday. I played some Rainbow Six Siege in the morning. After lunch, took the boy out to practice driving, and stopped for haircuts. I also picked up a couple shirts for work at Men’s Warehouse. Casual button ups, less than $20 each…score! I was going to swing by Costco and pick up a bag of dog food, but going there on the weekend is not fun. I’ll swing by there Monday after work.
The Men’s Warehouse is located in a traditional indoor mall. My son asked when the mall was going to close for good. We’ve already lost the other, bigger mall. I told him not in the near future. Occupancy looks good, lots of foot traffic, and it’s been kept up to date and clean. Oh, and it never had a Sears anchor to depend on…
It is interesting to walk through the clothing anchor stores though. Even though they are modern, it still feels like a trip back in time to the 80’s. I’d say my perception is clouded by memories from the past, especially Sears and JCPenny’s stores.
It is interesting to walk through the clothing anchor stores though. Even though they are modern, it still feels like a trip back in time to the 80’s. I’d say my perception is clouded by memories from the past, especially Sears and JCPenny’s stores.
I’ll bet that they’re pulling WfW 3.11 machines out of decommissioned Sears stores. Those were still part of the infrastructure when I left Death Star Telephone in 2010.
I don’t blame the Brown Truck Store for the demise of apparel retailers as much as the loosening of corporate dress codes that happened when everyone wanted to try and replicate Silicon Valley and Seattle elsewhere in the country in the 90s. Sears is a special case who, at around the same time, lost the ability to run their credit lines under a different set of rules than everyone else, and it was those rules which made them successful on a large scale.
Instead of investing in infrastructure, Penny’s management bought Eckerd and drove both chains into the ground. “The paradigm of the provenance of the synergy”.
When economic reality sets in for the Brown Truck Store model, a lot of brick-n-mortar retailing learned over the course of the 20th century will have to be re-learned. New Sam Waltons, Jack Eckerds, and Doc Webbs (from whom Eckerd and Walton cribbed) will emerge as the wheel gets reinvented.
On Men’s Wearhouse, I’ve been getting suits from them for years during their 2-1 sale. If you find the right person, they will square you away.
Most of you here are prolific readers. Even I will hit 50 novels this year. Plus all the tech manuals, software, finance stuff. Life is good.
And writers. Some of the folks here do thousands of words a day in an era where 141 characters is considered deep thought.
I like Mens Wearhouse. In college, I needed a coat and slacks, and they set me up in under an hour with everything I needed to look sharp.
A couple of years ago, wife decided I needed a suit, and the same thing happened. After alterations, I had a set of outfits I can wear for almost any occasion. I still wear that suit when I need to dress up, but not impress the beautiful people. I have my hand- made italian thrift store suit for those occasions, but you can’t count on getting lucky like that. Men’s Wearhouse got the idea and execution right, and still provide a great value.
n
Follow up, glad the kid is recovering.
Meanwhile in the UK
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7719803/Boy-13-five-teenagers-arrested-police-officers-attacked-machete-brawl.html
Just high spirited youths, i’m sure.
The lesson for us is, “just because you’re going to see Frozen, does not mean you’re going to Disneyland. Rules for crowds apply.”
m
BTW, I knew I’d be up late when I drank the last of my iced tea after 5 pm. Even just a couple of ounces after that time will keep me alert and awake longer than normal.
I was really thirsty though, and don’t like waste…
n
BTW, I knew I’d be up late when I drank the last of my iced tea after 5 pm. Even just a couple of ounces after that time will keep me alert and awake longer than normal.
I was really thirsty though, and don’t like waste…
I have a significant caffeine problem from nearly 30 years in software. I can consume mass quantities all day and still be asleep ~ 10 PM without an issue on work nights.
Most of my jobs have been beyond mind numbing so the caffiene was a necessity.
BTW, work decided that hiring the 20-something Fancy Lad College grad at a pay grade beyond mine wasn’t a good decision. I wasn’t going to be the only one with a problem in my group, but I was the most likely to make a fuss. I’m not walking away from another blatant age discrimination situation like I did in Seattle.
I don’t think this ticket will happen, but it is what the Dems will have to do to beat Trump, presenting a clear contrast and not a retread paired with Robert Francis as VP.
Even Nanny Bloomberg will lose to Trump. He’s *less* of a contrast than the others.
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/471368-the-democratic-ticket-trump-doesnt-want-in-2020
And Schiif-For-Brains is backtracking on impeachment. He wants to talk to his constituents. Meaning he doesn’t care if tRump is guilty of anything or not if it will cost hime HIS reelection.
Musk is squawking 150,000 “Cyber Trucks” ordered. If true, HFS!, watch out for the jerks driving those things. One reviewer said it would weigh 6,000# if tricked out. I want to see the Tesla quad wheeler in action, too.
Tesla is taking orders for the new cybertruck:
https://www.tesla.com/cybertruck/design#battery
I would get the dual motor awd version for $50K. Plus more battery if possible to extend the mileage beyond 300 miles.
And Schiif-For-Brains is backtracking on impeachment. He wants to talk to his constituents. Meaning he doesn’t care if tRump is guilty of anything or not if it will cost hime HIS reelection.
Adam Schiff represents Hollywood. Literally. He has one of the safest seats in the country.
He doesn’t want to get called as a witness in the Senate as Trump is threatening. Schiff and the Pajama Boy whistleblower could end up in prison even if Mittens rounded up enough Republican votes to impeach. Barr wouldn’t go anywhere.
I don’t know what buttsniffer would bring to the ticket besides “teh ghay”.
I guess that would be enough for the SJW crowd. At least he’s had some executive experience. I challenge anyone to name a qualification, significant accomplishment, or policy position that he holds without googling. I’d think even WITH google, you’d be hard pressed.
Same challenge for Tulsa….
n
I don’t know what buttsniffer would bring to the ticket besides “teh ghay”.
Young. And, like 1976, if the impeachment mess goes on much longer, people will be tired of the insiders of both parties and want something different.
The Dems need to offer a clear contrast. Even Robert Francis as VP isn’t enough, and the Au Pair (only real job he’s ever had) would get buried in the first debate with Pence.
I would get the dual motor awd version for $50K. Plus more battery if possible to extend the mileage beyond 300 miles.
I have my doubts about delivery happening unless Trump loses or fails to hold the line on CAFE.
You ended up with a better vehicle.
Ok, seriously, ANYONE think we’re going to back away from the edge?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7720011/Giuliani-claims-dirt-Biden-family-release-gets-trouble.html
We have a major player, known internationally, who has a dead man switch… because he thinks he might be assassinated. BY HIS OWN GOVERNMENT. OUR government.
Do you think ordinary people have a chance in hell if they come to the wrong attention?
n
Rudy later said he was joking, though I’m not sure that latter claim was truthful.
That he can even make a joke like that is telling, since “many a true word is said in jest.”
And I certainly don’t see anyone decrying his boorishness for making the statement, which I take as them accepting it on face value, and as prudent….
n
Tesla is taking orders for the new cybertruck:
https://www.tesla.com/cybertruck/design#battery
I would get the dual motor awd version for $50K. Plus more battery if possible to extend the mileage beyond 300 miles.
I forgot to mention that my F-150 has a 600 mile range (half that when towing). I expect that from a Tesla truck also.
I would get the dual motor awd version for $50K. Plus more battery if possible to extend the mileage beyond 300 miles.
I have my doubts about delivery happening unless Trump loses or fails to hold the line on CAFE.
You ended up with a better vehicle.
I ended up with a vehicle now ! The Tesla truck is vaporware at the moment. 2021 could easily become 2024.
I asked the wife if I could buy the Tesla truck when they come out. She said sure, when my new truck is 10 years old. So, that is 2029.
I won’t be putting my $100 deposit down.
I asked the wife if I could buy the Tesla truck when they come out. She said sure, when my new truck is 10 years old. So, that is 2029.
I used to think that the automation push would be well advanced by then, but the developers fleeing from Herr Fancy Lad Company make me wonder whats going on with their program and the others located here in town. The other automation programs aren’t hiring?
I used to think that the automation push would be well advanced by then, but the developers fleeing from Herr Fancy Lad Company make me wonder whats going on with their program and the others located here in town. The other automation programs aren’t hiring?
So, who is Herr Fancy Lad Company ?
Vehicule driving automation is a tremendous problem to solve with many conditions and requirements, specifically safety at the forefront. And, shoot, even the sensors are not uniform between the vehicles.
Wait, wait, wait … the biggest software developer in Austin is Apple …
From the Urban Dictionary: Fancy Lad.
I learned an important lesson tonight. When the wife says get “light Karo”, do not bring home “lite Karo”.
“Light Karo” is the opposite of “dark Karo”. “Lite Karo” is a 33% reduced sugar abomination.
I will be returning to HEB tomorrow.
So, who is Herr Fancy Lad Company ?
German. Transportation. Energy. Large presence in Texas.
Vehicle *automation*, cars running under central control, is within reach given current technology, but the problem is finding enough bright people and paying them sufficiently to write the software.
*Autonomous* vehicles, where the car drives itself, are a long way off.
Wait, wait, wait … the biggest software developer in Austin is Apple …
The Austin campus has a lot of people, but the activities are very diverse, an accumulation of operations over 25 years. Dell and HP probably have more pure software jobs staffed with H1Bs, and GM hires a ton of Fresher OPT visas working on their vehicle automation projects and other embedded car software.
“Light Karo” is the opposite of “dark Karo”. “Lite Karo” is a 33% reduced sugar abomination.
Rhetorical question: Does it really matter with HFC? How do they make insanity mode sugar 33% less insane. 🙂
Pecan pie?
In an attempt to a hip Austin company, management put in a Coca Cola Freestyle machine a few weeks ago. The most interesting thing about the equipment I noticed was the HFC component has a separate container, and the sweetener doesn’t get mixed until the dispensing stage.
When my dad serviced fountain machines in Tampa in the 70s, everything got mixed in advance at the bottler except the soda water component, but that was the era when Coke still sweetened with real sugar and not corn syrup.
@greg, they premixed the syrup to protect trade secrets, I think. With modern liquid chromatography and other analytical tests available to anyone with a couple $1000 and the knowledge to use them, it doesn’t make sense, if it costs more. Flavored and fizzy water has fragmented and expanded to the point you couldn’t produce every syrup economically anyway.
I’m sure most fountain systems are still premixed syrup as that’s easiest for the server.
IIRC most bars didn’t have ginger ale on the gun, they just mixed coke and sprite in you glass… so there’s an early mix on demand system for you!
n
Of course, with HFCS, we can get mexican versions of product here, made with real sugar. Also, Dr Pepper has Imperial Brand sugar, and even HEB’s house branded soda is “made with real cane sugar”. The mass market stuff is all HFCS of course.
n