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RTDNTOTO 🐻 Random Thoughts Deserving No Thread Of Their Own 20 (2025)

Big Owl said:
NC State has the Howling Cow Creamery. The wolf tracks is delicious. The farm location is cool place to enjoy a scoop but the on campus location is convenient.
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Funny story my wife and son were visiting my SIL and her family down in Raleigh and they went to Howling Cow. It was about 15 minutes before closing time and they were turned around by a police officer who stated, emphatically, that they were closed/closing, despite the time. My BIL, the native NCer and good ol' boy, tried to sweet talk him but Ice Cream Cop was having none of it. A bizarre experience.
 
World's Largest Potato Masher in Plover, Wisconsin.

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Planit said:
Knew 3 of 4 grandparents. Maternal GF died 10 years before I was born. Paternal GF died when I was 10. Both GMs died in 1984.

I was working my first real planning job out of school & had been there about 4 months when 1 GM died. I went to my boss & said my grandmother died & needed time off for the funeral. No problem. Well 3 months later, I went into my bosses office & said my grandmother died & needed time off for the funeral. He said to me that I already used that excuse. I told I knew that & this was the last grandmother. We both kinda chuckled awkwardly.
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I'm gonna say I knew 2.5 / 4 of my grandparents. My father's father died a year before I was born. From all accounts his wife, my grandma (who lived with us... or us with her... my parents had moved in with them before grandpa died) was much happier when he was still alive. I just knew her as a dour old lady who liked to yell at us kids.
 
SlaveToTheGrind said:
one reason I am here is a that a person had to die for me to exist.
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Woah. That's deep.

Not exactly the same but my great grandfather died when my grandmother was an infant. Because of that, my great grandmother moved from Auburn, NY, to Buffalo to marry someone else. Because of that move, when she was teenager my grandmother was living down the street from my grandfather and well, you know...
 
Bubba said:
Mine died 27 years before I was born (killed in action on D-Day, Omaha Beach, Dog White sector). Grew up with a step-grandfather who was always just my grandfather to me.
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My maternal grandparents died before I was born. My paternal grandmother died when I was 5 or 6, and my paternal grandfather died when I was 20. My only memory of my dad's mom is of her being in a hospital bed after suffering a stroke. My granddaddy was someone we visited when we went to KY. I didn't know him well.
 
Doohickie said:
Lived there 6 years, and never.... oh nevermind. Those musicians weren't even BORN when I lived there.
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I thought that "April in the D" song was sort of catchy (if not extremely cheesy) the first time I heard it during a commercial break for a Tigers' game maybe 7 or 8 years ago. I probably heard it three times that first spring. Then suddenly the next few years it. was. everywhere. during every Tigers, Red Wings, and Pistons game in April and the Fox Sports Detroit network drove it into the ground. They seem to have wised-up to the complaints and mockery because they've cut back on how often they play it over the past couple Aprils, I still cringe when I do hear it though.

I miss ringtones. 20some years ago I had fun ringtones on my phone clips from the themes to A-Team and Knight Rider, 8-bit Mario Brothers and Zelda music, the Star Wars Imperial March...

These days I haven't turned my cellphone's ringer on in at least a decade.

Does anybody still use fun, custom ringtones?
 
WSU MUP Student said:
I miss ringtones. 20some years ago I had fun ringtones on my phone clips from the themes to A-Team and Knight Rider, 8-bit Mario Brothers and Zelda music, the Star Wars Imperial March...

These days I haven't turned my cellphone's ringer on in at least a decade.

Does anybody still use fun, custom ringtones?
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My phone is always on silent, and it rings only if it's one of my contacts with the generic ringtone.

Once upon a time, my ringtone was "Voice of Truth" by Casting Crowns. I love that song.
 
When the grocery store has them on sale for like 4 or 5 of them for $3, I like to buy those Starbucks frappuccinos in the glass bottles. If I open one and drink it straight from the bottle it will last me about 40 seconds. If I put a bunch of ice in an insulated mug and pour it over that, I can make it last a few hours.
 
WSU MUP Student said:
I thought that "April in the D" song was sort of catchy (if not extremely cheesy) the first time I heard it during a commercial break for a Tigers' game maybe 7 or 8 years ago. I probably heard it three times that first spring. Then suddenly the next few years it. was. everywhere. during every Tigers, Red Wings, and Pistons game in April and the Fox Sports Detroit network drove it into the ground. They seem to have wised-up to the complaints and mockery because they've cut back on how often they play it over the past couple Aprils, I still cringe when I do hear it though.

I miss ringtones. 20some years ago I had fun ringtones on my phone clips from the themes to A-Team and Knight Rider, 8-bit Mario Brothers and Zelda music, the Star Wars Imperial March...

These days I haven't turned my cellphone's ringer on in at least a decade.

Does anybody still use fun, custom ringtones?
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The Apri in the D cutback also coincided with the Pistons and Red Wings deciding to no longer be relevant in the playoffs, which typically start in April for both sports.

My wife still has a ringtone for when she gets calls and also for when certain people text her.
 
Bubba said:
Mine died 27 years before I was born (killed in action on D-Day, Omaha Beach, Dog White sector). Grew up with a step-grandfather who was always just my grandfather to me.
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My grandfather was in the 305 Army Air Corps as a top turret gunner on a b-17 flying fortress bomber. His main interaction with France was after his plane was shot down in Germany near the boarder he and the rest of the surviving crew snuck back through France to safety. I am not sure if it was the Black Thursday event or not, but he would have been there.

On Monday we were at the National WWII Museum. We spent 4 hours and got through 1/3 of the museum. This is one of those places that I absolutely encourage people to visit. The whole thing was amazing and a large part of the beginning is dedicated to the D-Day invasion. I cannot imagine everything that your grandfather went through. Seeing the details hearing the stories. Everything from the weather to the ground conditions, it is really remarkable and terrifying all at the same time.
 
DVD said:
Does every AG school have an ice cream shop? Kansas State does.
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Auburn doesn't have an on-campus ice cream shop, their dairy is not close to the main campus. They do have a pretty awesome Meat Lab. They have just about any cut of beef, chicken, and pork. You can also get eggs and honey. They'll have fresh shrimp and campus raised fish pretty a few times a year. They'll also roll out the smokehouse (sausage, bacon, and Christmas hams) stuff here soon.

My brother worked for the Washington State dairy when he was in grad school at the University of Idaho. They were famous for their cheese.
 
Speaking of sports, hockey season is mere days away.

I made some upgrades to the lighting at Rogers South over the offseason, and, with our couch-shopping this weekend (our current sectional is 20 years old), there will be some seating upgrades, too. But Rogers South doesn't come fully into play until the NFL season ends. BY then, the NHL is in full swing.

I'll be finalizing my in-game playlist this weekend.

Jim
 
JNA said:
Criminal Planner Behavior -
arrested, charged with felony theft, accused of creating fraudulent marriage and death certificates stealing FMLA pay from city

www.cleveland.com

Cleveland city planner arrested, accused of forging paperwork for paid leave

Cleveland’s chief city planner has been arrested and charged with felony theft.
www.cleveland.com www.cleveland.com
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My first fulltime gig in Montana 1997...employee previous to me created false conference documentation to get travel money and expenses. Was caught when he left a copy of a conference agenda on the copier.
 
SlaveToTheGrind said:
My first fulltime gig in Montana 1997...employee previous to me created false conference documentation to get travel money and expenses. Was caught when he left a copy of a conference agenda on the copier.
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The guy who sat next to me for a few years at work was let go for travel fraud. He asked for it though. He took a (legit) business trip from Fort Worth to Orlando... by car. He submitted the analysis that showed it was no more expensive than air fair. He had his wife and kids with him and they stayed at a Disneyworld hotel (within the cost guidelines) and he drove to our company's facility during the day which was over a half hour drive and submitted the mileage for reimbursement. He complained when he got audited for that trip. I think he was arguably within the rules on that but it was mighty unusual.
He complained to me about getting audited for it but I told him that was so strikingly uncommon that I told him was begging to get audited, and told him he could expect to get audited more, especially if anything on his expense report was out of the ordinary.

He was constantly doing stuff like that right up to (in his mind) the line of what policy allowed, but I think eventually he got caught going over that line. I knew he left and I suspected that was the reason, but his boss when he got fired is a friend of mine and in a conversation a while later he let slip that his first action when he was hired into that position was firing the travel fraud guy.

Last I heard, travel fraud guy was working for the government.
 
^^ My sister's coming for Christmas this year, so I'm going to put up all my decorations! It will look like Christmas threw up in here!**

**this excludes outside lights. I hate ladders, and Hubby hates outside decorations. I think I've mentioned before that he's a Scrooge.
 
Doohickie said:
The guy who sat next to me for a few years at work was let go for travel fraud. He asked for it though. He took a (legit) business trip from Fort Worth to Orlando... by car. He submitted the analysis that showed it was no more expensive than air fair. He had his wife and kids with him and they stayed at a Disneyworld hotel (within the cost guidelines) and he drove to our company's facility during the day which was over a half hour drive and submitted the mileage for reimbursement. He complained when he got audited for that trip. I think he was arguably within the rules on that but it was mighty unusual.
He complained to me about getting audited for it but I told him that was so strikingly uncommon that I told him was begging to get audited, and told him he could expect to get audited more, especially if anything on his expense report was out of the ordinary.

He was constantly doing stuff like that right up to (in his mind) the line of what policy allowed, but I think eventually he got caught going over that line. I knew he left and I suspected that was the reason, but his boss when he got fired is a friend of mine and in a conversation a while later he let slip that his first action when he was hired into that position was firing the travel fraud guy.

Last I heard, travel fraud guy was working for the government.
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We had a former Council member who would book a conference and always drive. They get a hotel ($250 each way) because of the distance and then only stay at the conference for a day. At least twice they spent over $2000 just to get to/from the conference with over $1,000 being reimbursable mileage. The conferences are places that airfare would be under $300. The accountant wanted to push the item, but we realized that elected officials weren't required to follow our travel policy.
 
bureaucrat#3 said:
Auburn doesn't have an on-campus ice cream shop, their dairy is not close to the main campus. They do have a pretty awesome Meat Lab. They have just about any cut of beef, chicken, and pork. You can also get eggs and honey. They'll have fresh shrimp and campus raised fish pretty a few times a year. They'll also roll out the smokehouse (sausage, bacon, and Christmas hams) stuff here soon.

My brother worked for the Washington State dairy when he was in grad school at the University of Idaho. They were famous for their cheese.
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After college one of my nephews got a job in purchasing for an automotive supplier here in the Detroit area and was transferred down to the Auburn area a few months later. Somebody down there pointed him towards the Meat Lab and he raved about it. His mom (my sister) and dad went down there to visit and they came back with a bunch of sausage and bacon and beef and some other stuff. I remember them serving up a bunch of the sausage at Christmas brunch that year and it was fantastic.
 
On Friday I get to go see one of my favorte artists play at a bar show. I love music but I don't enjoy stadium concerts. I much rather watch a bar show.
 
Doohickie said:
The guy who sat next to me for a few years at work was let go for travel fraud. He asked for it though. He took a (legit) business trip from Fort Worth to Orlando...
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My aunt worked for your employer for a few decades and retired from that place in Orlando.

Their office was across the street from SeaWorld and not far from one of the entrances to Disney World. She liked to say she worked at "War World".
 
WSU MUP Student said:
My aunt worked for your employer for a few decades and retired from that place in Orlando.

Their office was across the street from SeaWorld and not far from one of the entrances to Disney World. She liked to say she worked at "War World".
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I would have thought a defense contractor would have sold the prime real estate and moved out to the swamps. Maybe its a good place to blow off some steam or maybe Micky helps sell missiles.
 
bureaucrat#3 said:
I would have thought a defense contractor would have sold the prime real estate and moved out to the swamps. Maybe its a good place to blow off some steam or maybe Micky helps sell missiles.
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My aunt was a records librarian there at their Orlando facility and I remember looking at a book she had about the local history of the company and from what I recall reading they had been there since the '50s when it was all swamp and did sell off some land for other development but they never really had a big manufacturing or testing presence right there. They did do some mining in the area for aggregate and limestone or phosphates or whatever (that's how that branch came to be) and when they exhausted those natural resources was when they sold off a lot of their land. They kept their engineering facility there and used it as "main office" for a lot of the work being done at Cape Canaveral since there was really nothing out there on that part of the coast in much of the '50s and '60s and '70s. They probably had an easier time attracting and retaining talent to Orlando in the '50s and '60s than they would have had if their big office was in the Cape Canaveral area. Even back then, Orlando had about 100,000 people which was about the same as the entire population of Brevard County (where the space center is). I think Melbourn was the "big city" in Brevard County at the time and that only had like 10,000 people back then.
 
Really really really like my current job, coworkers and location. Salary is very hard to pay the bills on, even in this region. I'm not saving anything, living paycheck to paycheck, don't have money for emergencies, forget about travel, leisure, continuing education etc.

I ultimately think the experience I am gaining here is priceless and worth sticking around long term for, but after being dumped this weekend (one of her reasons was my salary other was my weight) I am kinda depressed about it. She was a bit younger than me and with this kind of vain rationale, its a bullet dodged. But I still cant help but feel lonely.

I see all my cohort from HS/College/Grad School all partnered up and it makes me angry at myself for letting my health go, and not trying to meet anyone after being burned by a bad Montreal relationship when I was 26.
 
The Terminator said:
Really really really like my current job, coworkers and location. Salary is very hard to pay the bills on, even in this region. I'm not saving anything, living paycheck to paycheck, don't have money for emergencies, forget about travel, leisure, continuing education etc.

I ultimately think the experience I am gaining here is priceless and worth sticking around long term for, but after being dumped this weekend (one of her reasons was my salary other was my weight) I am kinda depressed about it. She was a bit younger than me and with this kind of vain rationale, its a bullet dodged. But I still cant help but feel lonely.

I see all my cohort from HS/College/Grad School all partnered up and it makes me angry at myself for letting my health go, and not trying to meet anyone after being burned by a bad Montreal relationship when I was 26.
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I am sorry she left you, but you deserve better anyway if that's her honest reason. :-(

I remember the days of being on Section 42 and SNAP . . . she stuck with me all these years and now we are doing quite well. Sometimes, patience is what is needed.
 
jumbach said:
Planning on wearing my hockey jersey tomorrow in honor of the start of another season.
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What is this "hockey" of which you speak? Are you not aware that this is football season??? :ha:

I miss the Flames and the Thrashers - Atlanta has had two shots at a NHL franchise, and has gotten screwed over by terrible ownership both times.
 
The Terminator said:
Really really really like my current job, coworkers and location. Salary is very hard to pay the bills on, even in this region. I'm not saving anything, living paycheck to paycheck, don't have money for emergencies, forget about travel, leisure, continuing education etc.
<snip>
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Don't be afraid to advocate for yourself with The Man. You had a great review, demand more money. (Okay, in this economy, a Planner I probably asks for more money, not demands it, but you get my point: you are worth it!)

Go get 'em, T-man!
 
Bubba said:
What is this "hockey" of which you speak? Are you not aware that this is football season??? :ha:

I miss the Flames and the Thrashers - Atlanta has had two shots at a NHL franchise, and has gotten screwed over by terrible ownership both times.
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I have similar sentiments with the Minnesota North Stars. The North Stars relocated from Minnesota to Dallas in 1993 due to owner Norm Green's desire for a better arena, a sexual harassment lawsuit against him, and the NHL's need to award an expansion team to Anaheim, preventing the North Stars from relocating there. After the NHL blocked Green's move to Anaheim, Green was granted permission to choose any other city for the franchise, eventually selecting Dallas.
 
Bubba said:
What is this "hockey" of which you speak? Are you not aware that this is football season??? :ha:
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Hockey - A fast paced sport consisting of 82 regular season games where you run the risk of being hit with more force and velocity than any football game, catching a frozen hard rubber puck in the face or other area at speeds exceeding 100 miles an hour, or having the crap kicked out of you by the a member of the opposing team, all while standing on a sheet of polished ice with razor blades between your feet and the cold surface below. It is where you play with dislocated joints, missing teeth, and occasionally a sliced jugular. There isn't padding on the outside of helmets, or flopping around like a wounded dove because someone brushed up against you. It is where rink temp is in the 30's and you sweat through several layers of clothing, and if someone gets in your way, you knock them the hell over.

Those who fail the NHL can step down to something less violent, like the NFL, NBA, or knitting.
 
michaelskis said:
Hockey - A fast paced sport consisting of 82 regular season games where you run the risk of being hit with more force and velocity than any football game, catching a frozen hard rubber puck in the face or other area at speeds exceeding 100 miles an hour, or having the crap kicked out of you by the a member of the opposing team, all while standing on a sheet of polished ice with razor blades between your feet and the cold surface below. It is where you play with dislocated joints, missing teeth, and occasionally a sliced jugular. There isn't padding on the outside of helmets, or flopping around like a wounded dove because someone brushed up against you. It is where rink temp is in the 30's and you sweat through several layers of clothing, and if someone gets in your way, you knock them the hell over.

Those who fail the NHL can step down to something less violent, like the NFL, NBA, or knitting.
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Here are some images of Buffalo Sabre players duking it out with the Maple Leaf jabronis

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BUFFALO VS EVERYBODY!!!!
 
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