So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[Edward]

Among the great benefits of living in one house for many years is having on hand all those little odds and ends which you’ve acquired over those years.

Baling wire, picture wire, speaker wire, electrical wire, wire nuts, power strips, wall anchors, paint, paint brushes, paint rollers, paint sprayer, tape (in many varieties), tape measures, tools, nuts and bolts and screws and nails. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

I’m not much or a handyman, nor a mechanic. But much of what needs fixing or replacing around the house doesn’t require specialized skills or equipment. And I have a two-car garage (I’m an American suburbanite, so that’s almost a birthright) and two garden sheds and a utility room in the basement. So it isn’t that all that stuff is in my way. In some ways, it’s better than money in the bank.

Two sheds? Are you related to this guy?

I am still having difficulty accessing FL. It is taking a very long time to load. Any updates about solving this problem?

Still working on the root cause, I think - though it seems to be working faster for most folks now?

^^^^^
As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, the people of the “Greatest Generation” I knew well enough to say I knew, rarely pined for how things were when they were young. Perhaps misty-eyed nostalgia is a luxury reserved for those who have never known true hardship.

I think we've spoken about this before, but I suspect a lot of unhealthy nostalgia of the "the past was perfect, and everything turned to doo doo in year X" is one of two things. Either 'Golden Age Thinking" - wherein the perfect era was typically before the speaker's birth (see Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris for a perfect take-down of this), or what I call 'Tom Buchanan Syndrome', where the individual feels a specific period of their life was perfect, and they're forever trying to get back to that. I've been very lucky so far, I think, that I've felt life has been on an upward trajectory - the bonus, I suppose, of growing into the grumpy old man I've been since I was about fourteen.

Growing up pre-internet, we were always encouraged to, look it up. Most lending libraries had a reference library annex. I haven't seen a reference library for years. Not much need I guess, but although the internet has made research easier, I do take Lizzie's point, it's not all Gospel truth.

There's a lot to be said for the plurality of content we have nowadays, though sadly quality of content has not kept up with the quantity, especially online. It sure does pay to fact check the internet!

Remember the 90s, when people still thought (influenced by Hollywood), that all Tarantulas are deadly monsters??

Althought, in old Germany, we always had the old saying "Like stung by a Tarantula", NOT "Like killed by a Tarantula".
Sure, Black Widow and others are a different story, but Tarantulas were built up into monsters, for whatever reason.

T Same as how Great Whites get so much bad press post Jaws, or how Rottweillers are perceived because of The Omen. The usual Hollywood thing.... if it looks cool....

Possibly also the fact that as well as looking impressive, tarantulas aren't really deadly - important back in the day when they couldn't just CGI it in, and to get a close-up that looked realistic, they had to have the real thing...

 

[tonyb]

The moment I hear somebody invoke their IQ in any argument is the moment I know there's no reason for me to listen to anything else they might have to say.

And even if that person were blessed with a highly extraordinary intellect, invoking it would cast little if any light on the matter at hand.

“Okay, fella, so you’d have us know you’re really, really smart. But telling us that doesn’t resolve anything.”

 

[tonyb]

There are online marketplaces that cater to people with more money to throw around than most all of us mere mortals ever will. Chairish is one; 1stDibs is another.

I don’t object to the existence of such “resources.” High-end interior decorators spending their well-heeled clients’ money have no need nor desire to pass their days scouring estate sales and remote antique malls in search of bargains.

What’s objectionable is the person who thinks his swag will fetch anything remotely approaching 1stDibs asking prices. (Asking prices as opposed to actual sales prices.) Some relative newbie to the antique/vintage scene living in Bozeman thinks the chair he got from his recently departed grandmother’s estate is worth $5K because one “just like it” is listed on Chairish for even more than that. That’s just fine, really. He doesn’t know better, and people aren’t born knowing this stuff. But when people who do know better politely tell him he’s not likely to get even a fourth as much he takes offense and gives them an argument.

I have the original artwork for a cartoon that appeared in the New Yorker in 1973. I got it for 10 bucks, framed and ready to hang. I told the junktique peddler I bought it from what it was and that it was likely worth considerably more than that. She let me have it for 10 bucks anyway, seeing how I was a reliable customer and how we liked each other well enough. (She had a jealous boyfriend, though, and he resented me.) I sent photos of it, with a ruler laid next to it, to the original art department at the NYer. The helpful woman there informed me of the issue and page number where it appeared. She told me that if she had it she would price it at $2,200. But she added that it might not ever sell, for that or any price. Realistically, she said, it might bring $200 at auction, so less than a tenth as much.

At least Chairish has a sense of humor about itself. A headline in its most recent missive reads “A Bohemian with a Trust Fund.”

I clearly couldn’t afford to be bohemian these days.

 

[Trenchfriend]

My Loungers, believe it or not !!

Actually, these typical MORONS, which are always coughing up without their hand or anything other covering their mouth in cold weather times, made me carrying my leftover FFP2s in public transportation/grocery store/doc's office and so on AT FREE WILL!

ME !!

But all bether than inhalate these folks bacteria/viruses, they spread all over omnibus/railcar...

And in doc's office, of course...

 

[tonyb]

Trivial, for sure, but still annoying …

Hippie: Long haired, scruffy, pot-smoking peacenik

Hippy: Prominent posterior, at the sides particularly

Please, get it, um, straight.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Do we all ski now??
Or why all stores want to sell tons of "ski jackets" to us??

 

[tonyb]

Surely a worldwide phenomenon.

One day before a holiday, the grocery stores are FULL of people. But why??

Is this rhetorical question? Or a setup for a comedy routine?

 

[Trenchfriend]

Is this rhetorical question? Or a setup for a comedy routine?

Nope, I just don't get, what they need so suddenly. Would they run out of groceries, the next day? Do some people got absolutely nothing stocked in their kitchen??

It's a phenomenon to me. I have no explanation for that behaviour.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I think it's a matter of being afraid of the stores not being open when they need some last minute item, or that, when you get there the item you want will be out of stock. Because of this OMG STOCK UP NOW mindset, you can open most any cupboard and if you dig back far enough you'll find cans and boxes of stuff bought for holiday meals five or six years ago, stuck on the shelf and forgotten, and bought again a year later because you didn't end up using and didn't remember you had. How many cans of One-Pie or boxes of Bell's Seasoning does anybody really need?

 

[tonyb]

Over here in God’s Country we’ve gotten to stretching holidays into long weekends. We may have overnight houseguests and/or a sizable gathering to feed and water and otherwise make comfortable. So we like to be well provisioned without having to interrupt the festivities.

Similarly, the supermarkets here in greater Denver get very busy when a significant snowfall is in the forecast. It might snow nonstop for a full day or longer with accumulations well over a foot. So of course people stock up so as not to have to leave home for a couple three or four days. That’s just common sense.

 

[Trenchfriend]

And the "kids", born since 1990?

I mean, I'm (as an 39 year old-fashioned fart from East-Germany) always thinking:

"Um, did no one ever "told" them about Haferflocken, Knäckebrot, Müsli Bars, classic packet soup, Zwieback, Rollmops and so on??"

Müsli Bar Ready To Eat

Are the old "stock-goodies" really that out-of-focus?? I am 93, not 39?

 

[tonyb]

Surely a worldwide phenomenon.

One day before a holiday, the grocery stores are FULL of people. But why??

Tomorrow is our National Day of Gluttony. And football. Many make a four-day weekend of it. There’s usually lots of leftovers to consume and always football to take in over the entire stretch.

I went to my regular supermarket during the 9 o’clock hour this morning to fetch the ingredients for our traditional Thanksgiving feast of chicken enchiladas and corn casserole and Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and Pepperidge Farm cookies, just like the Pilgrims had, lo those many years ago.

It was only moderately busy. I’d bet on it being more crowded as the day progresses. The fellow shoppers I encountered were, to a person, polite and friendly, willing to let the other person by, happy to share a pleasantry. It was kinda pleasant, really.

 

[Edward]

Over here in God’s Country we’ve gotten to stretching holidays into long weekends. We may have overnight houseguests and/or a sizable gathering to feed and water and otherwise make comfortable. So we like to be well provisioned without having to interrupt the festivities.

Similarly, the supermarkets here in greater Denver get very busy when a significant snowfall is in the forecast. It might snow nonstop for a full day or longer with accumulations well over a foot. So of course people stock up so as not to have to leave home for a couple three or four days. That’s just common sense.

It's an observable phenomenon in Britain and Ireland as well, specifically at Christmas. Thing is, it goes for many WA beyond stocking up for the family vising over four days, regularly descending into the sort of panic-buying that would lead you to think the shops might never reopen - rather than closing early evening on the 24th Decembe,r and reopening by 10qam on the 26th... I get that seems a lot for the sort of folks who are used to shopping daily, but when weekly shopping is the norm....

I'll never forget 2002; three days before Christmas Day my dad had us up at 6 and in the supermarket by seven, to "beat the crowds". It was already bedlam. According to the girl on the til (she'd been on duty since midnight, this being one of those supermarkets that. for a week or so before Christmas, open 24/7) replying to my dad's expression of surprise that it was already bunged - "Oh, it's been like that since about 2am."

 

[FOXTROT LAMONT]

Economic game theorist who anticipates market projection professionally and all this surprises even me
when personally out and about holiday shopping. Fun in a strange way and I don't mind so much trial and trib.

 

[Zombie_61]

Do we all ski now??
Or why all stores want to sell tons of "ski jackets" to us??

In southern California ski jackets (the kind with the polyester outer shell and down filling) were quite popular during the 70s and early-80s, available in almost any color. Eventually the fad wore off, and everyone moved on to whatever the next big thing was (Member's Only jackets, I think). Give it time, and ski jackets won't be so popular.

Edit 12-01-23: Or not. On the news this morning they said these "puffer" jackets are making a comeback:

 

[tonyb]

You know those outrageous asking prices for vintage stuff we sometimes see?

It occurred to me just today that what we’re witnessing in some cases may well be money laundering. Crooks could easily enough put up online listings for merchandise which may or may not exist and then “sell” it for several times what it might fetch in a legit transaction. And then that pile of money they’ll spend on automobiles or real estate or whatever has the appearance of being legally obtained.

It would seem that numerous smaller transactions at only slightly outrageous prices would accomplish the same thing without sending up red flags. But crooks aren’t always the most prudent bunch.

And then there’s the knockdown effect. Innocents looking to sell off Grandma’s houseful of vintage stuff see those listings and use them as price guides. Some might actually realize those prices — not many, but some. So it would have an overall inflationary effect on the legit business.

 

[Benny Holiday]

Oh man, this news story is SO spot-on:

https://www.news.com.au/technology/...m/news-story/b60421a3c8cdea36a901b9f69aaafd1c

Roadwork signs on major roads telling motorists to slow down to 40km/h and there are no roadworks to be seen! Everyone bemoans this in Sydney.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Oh man, this news story is SO spot-on:

https://www.news.com.au/technology/...m/news-story/b60421a3c8cdea36a901b9f69aaafd1c

Roadwork signs on major roads telling motorists to slow down to 40km/h and there are no roadworks to be seen! Everyone bemoans this in Sydney.

Here in the U.S. there is a more sensible variation of these signs reading "Construction Zone Ahead. Speeding fines doubled when workers are present." The conditional clause makes all the difference.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^^
And I’m all for it.

 

[Benny Holiday]

Indeed. As the writer points out, putting the signs out when there are no workers or works being done time and time again, all over the city, creates frustrated drivers who then later go on to speed through legitimate construction sites, creating a hazard for road workers.