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RTDNTOTO 🐻 Random Thoughts Deserving No Thread Of Their Own 19 (2024)

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Got the C/O for the new house today! Finally! Still have some punch list items but that's ok and need to get sod installed and finish up other landscaping probably next week. Porch gets screened in Monday. But I'm looking forward to hanging on my back porch.

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non sequitur/ˌnän ˈsekwədər/

noun: a conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the previous banana.
 
I’ll be volunteering for relief work in the North Carolina mountains this Saturday. The organization I’m working with mandates background checks, most of the bigger organizations do and should, and I’m pleased to share that I’ve received confirmation of my successful clearance. While I never doubted I’d pass, there’s a slight sense of pride in knowing that I did. Maybe I’ll even hang that approval letter on the refrigerator! 😊
I am glad you passed. I actually was hired for '20 census, but got so offended by the questions we were to ask that I refused to work. Too many questions about color, race, and "ethnicity".
 
Class of '95 checking in. We were all about tilting the radio just right to pick up some Canadian goodness:


Love me some Sloan!

I just went down to Hamtramck over Labor Day weekend to see Sloan play during a holiday festival. Not my video but they still rock!


This one is still in heavy rotation with me and on a lot of the playlists I have for running:

 
Yesterday I walked into town to meet a buddy for lunch. I took my phone, a credit card, my driver's license, and a little cash and had everything in my inside jacket pocket.

When I got home I went to empty my pockets and didn't have my driver's license. I must have dropped it somewhere along the route when I had pulled out my phone to change podcasts or whatever. I got on my bike to retrace my steps and look for it and had no luck. I figured some high school kid had picked it up and was going to use my youthful good looks to try and buy some beer!

Once I got home I went on to our Secretary of State website to see about replacing the license. I figured I'd have to make an appointment and waste a morning sitting in the SOS office to get it taken care of but was surprised that I could do it all online relatively easily. I paid the $24 and ordered a replacement license and texted my buddy to tell him I couldn't find the license but it was pretty easy to get a new one. And then I made a joke that of course, now that I paid for a new one, somebody was going to show up with my license in 10 minutes.

I was standing in the kitchen putting some dishes away a bit later and looked out the window and saw a lady stop her car in front of our house and get out with a little white envelope. She had my license! I looked at the clock and it was EXACTLY. 10. MINUTES. AFTER. I. SUBMITTED. THE. PAYMENT. FOR. THE. NEW. LICENSE!
 
The caller didn't know there was a utility easement in his side and rear yards, and he was not at all happy that a cable company was apparently going to "dig up my garden". I really, really, really wanted to tell him his attitude wasn't going to make things better, but I sensed that wouldn't go over very well, so I kept my mouth shut. I did say that the cable company probably wasn't looking to wreck his yard, hoping that might calm him down a little.

I am curious how things turned out but I'll probably never find out.:barrier:
 
The caller didn't know there was a utility easement in his side and rear yards, and he was not at all happy that a cable company was apparently going to "dig up my garden". I really, really, really wanted to tell him his attitude wasn't going to make things better, but I sensed that wouldn't go over very well, so I kept my mouth shut. I did say that the cable company probably wasn't looking to wreck his yard, hoping that might calm him down a little.

I am curious how things turned out but I'll probably never find out.:barrier:
That is a unicorn in my book. In my 27 years, I don't think I've ever known of a side or rear PUE that has been used by a utility.
 
10 or 11 sounds about right. That was around the time my oldest had a teacher who showed them some clips from The Twilight Zone and then she got really into it watching a bunch of old episodes at home.
Personally, I always liked the Burgess Meredith episode with all the books. I can relate to that one.
 
That is a unicorn in my book. In my 27 years, I don't think I've ever known of a side or rear PUE that has been used by a utility.
Extremely common here in my part o' the Hoosier state. I've got a 10' easement in my own rear yard, with a sanitary sewer below and electric/comms above.
 
Extremely common here in my part o' the Hoosier state. I've got a 10' easement in my own rear yard, with a sanitary sewer below and electric/comms above.
Same "here in my part o' the Hoosier state."
 
I got to experience the northern lights last night. It was cool to see down my way. Here's some pics that I took with my phone.

View attachment 63415

View attachment 63416

Great photos!


I had seen some photos from friends near me who were able to see them so I tried as well but no such luck. I think there was just too much ambient light and too many trees around us to get a good look. If there happens to be another day where there supposed to be visible near us, I'm driving out to a nearby park with a big wide open field with a sledding hill in the middle of it. Hopefully I can get a better view there.
 
Great photos!


I had seen some photos from friends near me who were able to see them so I tried as well but no such luck. I think there was just too much ambient light and too many trees around us to get a good look. If there happens to be another day where there supposed to be visible near us, I'm driving out to a nearby park with a big wide open field with a sledding hill in the middle of it. Hopefully I can get a better view there.
In town, I could see a tinge of color. Out in the hinterlands, I could a little bit more color; however, when I looked through the camera on my phone, I could see the colors. I guess it's the night mode on my phone's main camera because I could only see them through the main lens and not the wide angle.
 
I hate it when I ask a question via text that calls for a simple "yes" or "no," and the response I get is "call me."

Why? It's a simple question with only two possible answers--no need to call. I'm not asking "What is the meaning of life?" or "Who put the bomp in the bomp sha bomp?"

Jim
 
Yesterday I walked into town to meet a buddy for lunch. I took my phone, a credit card, my driver's license, and a little cash and had everything in my inside jacket pocket.

When I got home I went to empty my pockets and didn't have my driver's license. I must have dropped it somewhere along the route when I had pulled out my phone to change podcasts or whatever. I got on my bike to retrace my steps and look for it and had no luck. I figured some high school kid had picked it up and was going to use my youthful good looks to try and buy some beer!

Once I got home I went on to our Secretary of State website to see about replacing the license. I figured I'd have to make an appointment and waste a morning sitting in the SOS office to get it taken care of but was surprised that I could do it all online relatively easily. I paid the $24 and ordered a replacement license and texted my buddy to tell him I couldn't find the license but it was pretty easy to get a new one. And then I made a joke that of course, now that I paid for a new one, somebody was going to show up with my license in 10 minutes.

I was standing in the kitchen putting some dishes away a bit later and looked out the window and saw a lady stop her car in front of our house and get out with a little white envelope. She had my license! I looked at the clock and it was EXACTLY. 10. MINUTES. AFTER. I. SUBMITTED. THE. PAYMENT. FOR. THE. NEW. LICENSE!
That will go in the memoir you write later...
 
That will go in the memoir you write later...
This is the sort of thing I covered in my "Standing On My Head" column back when I had it. I've had similar experiences.

Hard to believe it was one year ago this weekend that I got up even earlier than I usually do and drove several hours east to a random rest stop in the middle of Nevada to see the annular eclipse . . .

That was a great experience.

Jim
 
That is a unicorn in my book. In my 27 years, I don't think I've ever known of a side or rear PUE that has been used by a utility.
We have a section of town that was built by a textile mill outside the city limits. They figured the easiest way to run power and other utilities was along the backyards because they could serve both sides without being in the street. It was probably fine when they owned every house lot and could fire you and kick you out of the house at the same time, but now our utility companies absolutely hate having to get to overhead power lines in the middle of a block when everyone has fences.
 
Is this really a trail ?
Mount Huasan is the most dangerous hike in the world.The 12 kilometers trek is comprised of almost impossible pathways carved all over the crags,treacherous and clumsy stairs,steep mountain trails and the most difficult part are these wood planks thousands feet high with nothing assuring to cling onto.

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Maybe we should break this off into a "pet peeves" thread, but here's another:

Calling me 20 seconds after I don't answer the first time, and then 10 seconds after the second call. If I am not available now, I won't be available in 20 seconds. Especially for something that is not urgent (a question about setbacks). If I am with a customer, I am not answering.

Jim
 
Why do wives always wait until overtime is starting to say they need you to go run to the store to get something right now??

Nope.
 
Maybe we should break this off into a "pet peeves" thread, but here's another:

Calling me 20 seconds after I don't answer the first time, and then 10 seconds after the second call. If I am not available now, I won't be available in 20 seconds. Especially for something that is not urgent (a question about setbacks). If I am with a customer, I am not answering.

Jim


YES! So much this!
 
Try snowshoeing!

It's still a lot of work (probably more than downhill skiing) but somehow feels more relaxing.
I like snowshoeing too! We have done a few snowshoeing treks. Surprisingly not as many snowshoeing options around here. As they all love to ski and apres-ski.
 
We actually need to try more cross-country skiing. I have horrible memories as a child of trying to cross-country ski while wearing moon boots. I don't know what my parents were thinking.
 
Wondering if it's about time to start thinning our DVD/Blu-Ray collection. We seldom use our player and can stream just about anything we want to anytime. It's faster to call up a movie from (streaming option of choice) than to hunt through the 600+ discs looking for what we want. I think if we got rid of 90% of them, we wouldn't notice, and would have a lot more space.

In related news, I discovered last week that the RedBox machine at our local Safeway is still fully operational and dispensing movies. Oddly, my card wasn't charged.

Jim
 
What is your break point for the Menards 11% off rebate? For me it is about $60.00. Man I hate that thing.
 
I'm not a shopper, I'm a buyer. I know generally what I want and how much I'm prepared to pay. I don't typically mess with rebates, unless they are instant. If I don't find what I want at a price I'm willing to pay, I won't buy.
 
What is your break point for the Menards 11% off rebate? For me it is about $60.00. Man I hate that thing.

I don't shop at Menards often but when I do, the threshold for me to bother actually sending in the rebate form is about 5¢ :rofl:
 
I like snowshoeing too! We have done a few snowshoeing treks. Surprisingly not as many snowshoeing options around here. As they all love to ski and apres-ski.
Isn't snow shoe season pretty limited? Downhill skiing can justify making snow so you can get a few months as long as its coldish, but you can't really do the same with the forest....
 
How have I gotten to be this old and didn't know about this product? It's a game changer for painting patio furniture. So much easier to do a good job.

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