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Post by billhammond on Dec 27, 2019 8:19:33 GMT -5
Good day, folks. Unseasonably warm here -- rain on the way but it will be snow Up North. I handed off a hunk of leftover lamb roast to Marty yesterday at our fave Mex joint -- he nursed a dark beer while I tackled an enchilada/taco combo plate. Hope to knock off early today and pick up a friend to go to a fish fry at a St. Paul brewery, Urban Growler.
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Post by drlj on Dec 27, 2019 8:29:30 GMT -5
Still sick here. Maybe a little better. Only slept 14 hours last night.
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Post by brucemacneill on Dec 27, 2019 8:57:44 GMT -5
Good morning.
Went across the bay to return the Apple charging station Mary got me for Christmas not knowing that we don't have Apple stuff. It started out foggy but cleared on the way and we got to the mall. Mary couldn't remember where the Apple store was so we did a lot of walking and finally got directions to it. They don't even have a sign saying "APPLE STORE". I guess everyone is just supposed to know. Anyway, made the return and got the money back. Had lunch at a Cracker Barrel and started home. Got on the highway and the low tire light came on. I did hit a curb a couple of days ago so figured I lost some air so I got off on a North bound road and pulled in to a parking lot. I have a 12v pump in the car and thought I'd just put some air in the low tire. Wrong, there was a large nail in the right front tire. Kept driving north, slowly looking for a service station. I didn't want to put the donut spare on because I still had 70 miles to get home. First station didn't have anyone to fix a tire but called another place up the road a bit and they said they could do it but it would be a couple of hours. Didn't want to wait that long so kept going North and found a National Tire and Battery store where the guy said they'd take care of it. They put the car on the lift and I thought we'd be OK. After awhile the kid working on the car came out and said the nail was too close to the sidewall so the tire wasn't repairable. Things went downhill from there when the manager said I had to replace all 4 tires. I had plans to replace the tires but not yesterday. I couldn't drive on 3 tires, he wouldn't replace just one and wouldn't fix the bad one. I was over a barrel so agreed to all 4. There were several people already ahead of us and complaining so I figured we were stuck for awhile which turned into 4 hours with Mary getting more and more ballistic but I wasn't in control of the situation. We had left home about 9 in the morning and got back about 7 last night. I figured I got ripped off but did some research this morning and Subaru does say that unless you can get a matching tire with approximately the same wear as the rest of them you have to replace all 4 or it will damage the AWD system. There's even a video of a Subaru dealer explaining the situation and saying they keep a supply of used tires in case someone comes in needing just one and they can match it enough to get them back on the road. So, I guess I didn't get ripped off. My wallet just got lighter than I had expected making Christmas present return.
Happy Friday. I'm taking the day off.
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Post by AlanC on Dec 27, 2019 9:04:52 GMT -5
I am outside of Columbia, Miss. at Lisa's deer camp. I have commandeered an empty room at one of the metal buildings on the property for an office. I have set up a folding table upon which I have placed my two monitors. The first task today will be to finish my Professional Development Hours which is a semi-fancy name for absolute bullshit that I have to endure to keep my professional licenses. I have my ATT mifi for internet. Lisa is in her stand watching deer. Today I won't mind if she shoots poor Bambi as there are scads of other hunters here and once they see how pathetic I am at dealing with his carcass they will gently ease me out of the way and take over. I am too old to get offended at the implied slight to my "redneck street creds".(Dear Hank Junior: I can also skin a buck and run a trot line.... but I just don't want to anymore).
We spent Christmas at Number One daughter's where we continued the tradition of Christmas Eve drunk poker. The only bummer being that the number one fan of drunk poker, Bethany, had to fly that day and could not participate. We had family Christmas earlier in the day and we opened the gifts we got by drawing names (rigged by Lisa). The kids also got me a new iPad mini as mine was 3 or 4 years old. I didn't buy Lisa anything. It's sort of a protest, passive/aggressive thing as she spends waaaayyyy too much time browsing Amazon buying anything that catches her fancy. I don't tell her what she can or cannot do but neither can I be made to wrack my brain trying to find the "perfect gift" for someone who spends 6 hours a day looking for ways to further enrich Jeff Bezos and impoverish Billy Alan.
This is the only place where I can give my opinion about Christmas in general. I was kinda embarrassed? discomfited? uneasy? I dunno what to call it- about the sheer volume and expense of the gifts given to my daughter and grand kids. It took my SIL almost a solid hour to dole them all out. What a haul! My daughter got a purse that cost a thousand f'n dollars! I had to go touch it. It looked like cheap Chinese knockoff crap to me. What a colossal marketing coup! How do you convince otherwise rational human beings that that cheap ass looking shit is worth a thousand f'n dollars??? JFC!! And the girls... I couldn't list all the toys, kitchens, clothes, dolls, karoke machines, electronic doo dads, you-name-it that they received. OMFG! Almost forgot... when the orgy of shredding wrapping paper, oohhing and aahhing seemed to wane slightly, SIL gave Number one a Gucci camera bag. No telling what that cost. JFC! But I repeat myself. Anyway, I lost my Christmas spirit decades ago and this didn't help. Other than getting together with your family.... what a crock of materialistic shite.
Thanks for listening, guys and gals. I cannot vent to any of the people around me lest they lecture me about ruining Christmas, being a scrooge, blah, blah, blah, blah.
That's all the news from BF Columbia where the Amazonian hunter women are strong, the men are mos-def not good looking, and the kids are all.... meh.
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Post by howard lee on Dec 27, 2019 9:18:40 GMT -5
Bruce, look at it this way: you may have had to lay out extra cash, but your car is safer to drive, and being alive with a little less money in the bank is probably better than being dead with a great deal in the bank. Bill, how can you eat all that sort of cuisine and still look so good in your LBCD?
Have a good day, everyone.
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Post by Cornflake on Dec 27, 2019 9:21:02 GMT -5
Good morning. More rain today and then unusually cool weather for a spell.
Alan, I can identify. I'm fond of my wife's family but they turn the opening of gifts into an interminable tribute to Mammon. I've loathed it for 38 years. I've learned to shut up, feign good humor and practice patience.
Have a good day, one and all.
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Post by t-bob on Dec 27, 2019 9:26:51 GMT -5
Still sick here. Maybe a little better. Only slept 14 hours last night. LG Me too. Very sick. You get better also.
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Post by billhammond on Dec 27, 2019 9:49:23 GMT -5
Bill, how can you eat all that sort of cuisine and still look so good in your LBCD? Have a good day, everyone.
My secret, Howard, is that with every restaurant meal I order, I wind up taking at least half of it home for a secondary meal. (Plus a size 8 LBCD.)
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Post by Cosmic Wonder on Dec 27, 2019 9:50:07 GMT -5
Yay me. Still sick too, it will pass, one way or another.
Mike
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Post by Dan McLaughlin on Dec 27, 2019 10:12:25 GMT -5
Have good ones.
Going out for a fish fry dinner with fiancé myself later.
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Post by Marty on Dec 27, 2019 10:15:39 GMT -5
Good morning.
31F/-.05C Cloudy.
Back to work after being a total lazy ass yesterday. I sent DaWife to work with a lovely lamb and swiss cheese sammie in her lunch bag, got some left for a breakfast scramble. Thanks Bill.
Pine Island 80F.
83 Days til Spring.
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Post by Rob Hanesworth on Dec 27, 2019 10:19:34 GMT -5
Gonna have to pick up my activity level. I got a Fitbit Versa 2 for Christmas and the screen keeps saying "Yo! Is anyone even wearing me?"
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Post by howard lee on Dec 27, 2019 10:33:46 GMT -5
Bill, how can you eat all that sort of cuisine and still look so good in your LBCD? Have a good day, everyone.
My secret, Howard, is that with every restaurant meal I order, I wind up taking at least half of it home for a secondary meal. (Plus a size 8 LBCD.)
Very practical and sensible.
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Post by Hobson on Dec 27, 2019 10:44:56 GMT -5
Rain. Snow higher up, but higher up is socked in so I can't see it. A good day to not be on the roads. We may need to go pick up prescriptions if all goes well. I will recite the saga of Mr. H's impossible Rx elsewhere.
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Post by mnhermit on Dec 27, 2019 10:50:28 GMT -5
Overcast so its warmer. Appliance delivery today, unfortunately they'll have to be stored for awhile.
Better days y'all
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Post by millring on Dec 27, 2019 12:39:30 GMT -5
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Post by majorminor on Dec 27, 2019 12:45:21 GMT -5
Good morning. Went across the bay to return the Apple charging station Mary got me for Christmas not knowing that we don't have Apple stuff. It started out foggy but cleared on the way and we got to the mall. Mary couldn't remember where the Apple store was so we did a lot of walking and finally got directions to it. They don't even have a sign saying "APPLE STORE". I guess everyone is just supposed to know. Anyway, made the return and got the money back. Had lunch at a Cracker Barrel and started home. Got on the highway and the low tire light came on. I did hit a curb a couple of days ago so figured I lost some air so I got off on a North bound road and pulled in to a parking lot. I have a 12v pump in the car and thought I'd just put some air in the low tire. Wrong, there was a large nail in the right front tire. Kept driving north, slowly looking for a service station. I didn't want to put the donut spare on because I still had 70 miles to get home. First station didn't have anyone to fix a tire but called another place up the road a bit and they said they could do it but it would be a couple of hours. Didn't want to wait that long so kept going North and found a National Tire and Battery store where the guy said they'd take care of it. They put the car on the lift and I thought we'd be OK. After awhile the kid working on the car came out and said the nail was too close to the sidewall so the tire wasn't repairable. Things went downhill from there when the manager said I had to replace all 4 tires. I had plans to replace the tires but not yesterday. I couldn't drive on 3 tires, he wouldn't replace just one and wouldn't fix the bad one. I was over a barrel so agreed to all 4. There were several people already ahead of us and complaining so I figured we were stuck for awhile which turned into 4 hours with Mary getting more and more ballistic but I wasn't in control of the situation. We had left home about 9 in the morning and got back about 7 last night. I figured I got ripped off but did some research this morning and Subaru does say that unless you can get a matching tire with approximately the same wear as the rest of them you have to replace all 4 or it will damage the AWD system. There's even a video of a Subaru dealer explaining the situation and saying they keep a supply of used tires in case someone comes in needing just one and they can match it enough to get them back on the road. So, I guess I didn't get ripped off. My wallet just got lighter than I had expected making Christmas present return. Happy Friday. I'm taking the day off. Would have been cheaper just to buy an Ipad Bruce Day 6 and I'm almost over my cold. Did a 3 mile hike yesterday and didn't cough a lung up
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Post by brucemacneill on Dec 27, 2019 13:03:55 GMT -5
I don't know what iPads cost but being an Apple product I suspect maybe more than 4 tires.
Incidentally, I tell these stories for "Joke on me" value. I told my son many years ago "If everything goes right you have no material for stories". Life is always messing with you and it helps to see the humor in it. "It's just money" nothing important.
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Post by t-bob on Dec 27, 2019 13:08:13 GMT -5
So they still haven’t figured out an infection. So all I can do in a bed hospital and do nothing. And nobody else were going to see me because I have this vicious infection.
I’ll let you know what happens.
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Post by sekhmet on Dec 27, 2019 13:17:28 GMT -5
Well, looks like I staggered through another Christmas.
Cornflake - I do sympathize. Having spent the last month in the middle of retail frenzy at work I couldn't help thinking as I surveyed the store: "landfill".
If I had my way I would do away with presents at Christmas altogether. I guess the stock market would crash if we all did it but hell, whatever.
T-Bob - fight, rage, get better. That's an order.
I am at the tail-end of a two month cold. Larry bought me a JUUL for Christmas so now I'm only poisoning myself with tobacco and a couple of chemicals. No more stinking disgusting filters (more landfill) and big old packages (more landfill). No more cyanide and all those other addictive things in cigarettes. Maybe I can gradually ditch the entire deal without too much trauma.
The really great thing for me this year was to meet my Surprise Nephew William this summer and to visit with him in our home town Montreal. He's Just Like Me. We are delighted.
Maybe that isn't too bad a thing - to be like me. He's the only Mann family I have and the only other one that isn't completely nuts.
May your days be Merry and Bright.
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