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

I’m wondering if “Since we just got a new couch, blinds, and chairs for our house, I don’t need anything for our anniversary” is wife-speak for “You better get me something good for our 20th anniversary.” SInce that's coming up Wednesday, I guess I should spend my lunch hour today shopping. (We are doing our official celebration on the 10th and 11th, though.)
 
Planit said:
You have to say the words! Don't just stand there holding your bag open. Say. The. Words.
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Wifey and I were working at Fernley City Hall, where thousands of kids came through the "Haunted Hallway."

We heard quite a few "smell my feet" variations . . . not sure why kids think that's funny.

Jim
 
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michaelskis said:
Wow, dude! I love the number stats but it makes me wonder if you used a clicker or just kept tally marks on a clipboard. Have you thought about using AI and a security camera for the count?
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I love this!

Do you keep track of the top costumes each year, too?
 
michaelskis said:
Wow, dude! I love the number stats but it makes me wonder if you used a clicker or just kept tally marks on a clipboard. Have you thought about using AI and a security camera for the count?
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I do have a few more points of information in my spreadsheet... maybe I should feed it into AI (Claude is pretty good with data and spreadsheets IME).

I don't have a clicker but have thought about getting one. We never get that many kids so it's easy to just make tally marks on a pad of paper, but I think it would be funny to stand there by the door with a clicker. There is a street in our 'hood one block over that is a nice little half-mile loop. Even though they have no sidewalks they get a lot of kids over there because there is very little vehicle traffic. Most of the little kids in our neighborhood go over there so they can run around and go crazy (the older kids usually go to the neighborhoods like the ones our older daughter went to since there are sidewalks and parties).

jumbach said:
I love this!

Do you keep track of the top costumes each year, too?
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I tried keeping track of costumes the first few years but I got bogged down trying to categorize things. These days I do still make a note if I see something particularly good of if there are a ton of the same thing. Nothing stood out in either of those regards this season though when we went to the Halloween parade at the elementary on Wednesday there were a ton of KPop Demon Hunters (as expected) but also like two dozen kids of various ages in pink or blue or grey axolotl onesies. That was sort of weird... I wonder if it was just a coincidence or if there is something going on where axolotls are really cool this year or in pop culture or something?
 
WSU MUP Student said:
We had 17 trick-or-treaters on Friday evening - down a bit from the past few years (we had 22 last year and a record 35 in 2023) but up from our average of 14 since we've lived here. I bought enough full size candy bars and packs of Skittles and Sour Patch Kids that each child could have taken a big handful and I'd still have plenty left over. I do that every year though because I love to eat the candy too.

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When I was getting Halloween decor out of the garage a couple weeks ago I found a bag of 250 small bouncy balls leftover from a science thing at the high school last year (they ended up with many more than they needed so our daughter brought us back one of the unopened bags we had donated). I dumped all the balls into another bowl and would hold out bowls with candy and/or the balls for kids. I didn't think the bouncy balls would be that popular but the kids seemed to love them, especially the really little kids, and they took some big handfuls.

Our oldest and her friends are all 15 and 16 and sophomores so this is probably the last year they can get away with going out for candy. She went to a friend's house in the fancy part of town to watch movies and go up and down their street where a bunch of the houses go all out with the decorations. There was a house with a food truck from a local cider mill giving out fresh cider and donuts and another house had an actual carousel and pirate carnival ride set up for people to ride on. My wife dropped our daughter off over there early, around 4:00 pm, and said it was already like a massive block party going on with kids and adults all over the place. A lot of the houses in our neighborhood, myself included, give out full size stuff... our daughter came back from there with 4 king size candy bars and a giant bag of individual bags of Skittles among her candy (she said the house giving out the bags of bags of Skittles had cartons of them next to the door and you could pick between sour, original, or gummy, but they were all Skittles so maybe they work for the company or something? Seems like an odd thing to go all out on). She and her friends walked nearly a mile on that street all the way down closer to our side of town where a house at the very end had been setting up a huge haunted house all month with all sorts of animatronic things. I had walked past this house a bunch and saw the haunted house being built out front and thought it was excessive but our daughter said it stretched all the way around into the backyard and there was even more stuff back there.

The best thing either of our kids got though was our youngest got 2 full size Coffee Crisp bars (one was hers and then her friend gave her the one he had gotten because he didn't know what it was and this 9-year-old wasn't about to try something new). Coffee Crisp is probably my favorite candy bar but a hard one to find on this side of the border. Total score!
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Austin Powers Nerd GIF
 
I found the "haunted house" that my daughter and her friends walked through:


Apologies for whoever set the video to an annoying 4x speed.

Edit:
Here's a better video from TicToc:

 
I finally tossed some old exercised stuff in our garage over the weekend. The people bought it from us in November 2019 and said they'd come back to get it. I gave them time, then COVID happened so I gave them more time . . . but it's now been six years. I don't have a way of getting a hold of them since they didn't give me any contact info (just the $50 payment.)

They can come get the stuff at the thrift store, and if they do come for it, I'll explain "Sorry, I donated it to St. Vincent's but here's your $50 back." I could also argue my storage of it all those years is worth more than that so it's a wash. I think we waited a reasonable amount of time, and any judge would agree.
 
Salmissra said:
Yep! Not the Town Next Door . . . .

It's the Town 2 doors down.

Straight shot on one highway to the street exit, then about a mile on a side street to work. Commute time is around 35 minutes, barring bad weather or accidents.
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About the same commute as mine, give or take, driving across Ft Worth.
 
Christmas lights went up on City Hall property yesterday. They'll have a tree lighting ceremony the week after Thanksgiving and will turn all the Christmas lights on at that time.
 
Halloween was a big hit per usual. Our candy & rings were wiped out by about 8pm.
  • we had some goodie bags for the kids we know well on a 2-block radius
  • kept my tradition of having a bunch of full-size candy bars--those go to homemade creative costumes specifically vs. store-bought (regardless of quality)... favorite of the night was a pretty great one of a robot made out of boxes that the kid had clearly made himself with no/minimal help from parents which earned him two full-size candy bars
  • light-up rings were a big hit, and we'll likely bring those back next year. Gummy eyeballs were also a big hit.
The downer was the day after Halloween. There was a bad shooting downtown that left two injured and one dead. Our downtown is showing signs of growing crime issues that isn't great, and I'm concerned our City Council and leadership lack the wherewithal to address it in a smart, effective manner instead of handwringing and talking it to death. Our police chief has yet to impress me, and the night commander is not known for her proactivity.
 
Well, the Christmas tree is up. In my moment of weakness, I said to Mrs. STTG, while at HD yesterday, to get the tree she has been coveting. And, she works so I told her to spend her hard earned money as she sees fit. Our old tree is only 3 years old. So, we had to set it up to make sure the lights work and it has 8(?) different settings and it has foot pedal to control the lights. No point in then taking it down. Lights are also up on the house. We pay for that service. I'm done climbing on a ladder and and the peak over the garage is too steep to walk on so I'm out.
 
Halloween decorations are down. We didn't do much. I just sat in the driveway handing out candy. Fall decorations are up. Christmas decorations are waiting for turkey day to be over. I do forgive those in cold climates that want to get the work done before it's to cold for it, but I'm not in that kind of weather so stop with the Christmas stuff.
 
A lot of people coming in to City Hall to vote. Even though it's the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, there is no election anywhere in Nevada today, so the people are confused. No sample ballots went out or anything . . .
 
Went to a client's house today and she had her Christmas tree up and Christmas carols playing. And of course this was the second song I heard. I guess I am out of the challenge before it even began!

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dandy_warhol said:
Went to a client's house today and she had her Christmas tree up and Christmas carols playing. And of course this was the second song I heard. I guess I am out of the challenge before it even began!

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I was a Christmas-in-November hater but a few years ago I decided.... it doesn't hurt me so why get aggravated that someone else likes Christmas decorations and Christmas music?
 
Getting a lot of collection calls all of a sudden for my predecessor, who had this number before me. They don't seem to believe I am not that person, I don't know where he is, and besides that it's illegal to call one's workplace after being told to stop.

The other numbers you have for him don't work? Not my problem--not sure what I can do for you.

JIm
 
Gedunker said:
UPS flight crashed on takeoff at Louisville Muhammad Ali International. Massive smoke cloud visible from my office ~6 miles north of the crash site.

Scary.
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That happened to me back in 2000. A cargo plane took off from Mather east of Sacramento, and crashed into an auto wrecking yard a minute or so later. (Turns out it had been misloaded and there was a center of gravity issue.) Because it happened late in the afternoon when the yard was closed, nobody on the ground was killed--only the crew members.


Saw the big plume of smoke to the south of my house and wondered what it was. It hit the news shortly thereafter. That one actually ended up on Air DIsasters on NatGeo a few years ago.

By the way, Mather is the same airport where I had my flying lessons, and which hosted my first solo in 1993.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emery_Worldwide_Airlines_Flight_17 (Emery Worldwide Airlines Flight 17 - Wikipedia)
 
Tragic. Number 1 engine was on fire well before takeoff and fell off on the runway but I think they were beyond the point of no return and had to try to fly out of it. Seven fatalities including three crew as of last night.
 
Driving to get a quick bite to eat before coming back to the office for a zoning meeting last night, I saw a massive, thick cloud of smoke in the distance. So large it was difficult to estimate its source, and I first thought our entire downtown was on fire. When I finished eating, I got a better look at it and thought it might be a chemical fire from the numerous plants on Louisville's west side. When I made it to my office and logged on I learned it was UPS at Muhammad Ali/Standiford Field (SDF).

Video does show flames on the left wing area during the take-off roll. I think @Doohickie is correct, they were probably past V-1 and had no choice but to try to get it airborne, declare Mayday and try to get her back safely. Apparently, though, they never got above ~175'. The two main businesses impacted were a fuel oil recycling facility and an auto-parts place (pick-a-part, type, I think). Three crew of theMD-11, four people on the ground killed and 11 injured being reported so far.

During our not-very-fun ZBA meeting, the wind shifted and I got to drive home a little past 10PM through a low-hanging, thick plume of acrid black smoke. I'm going to have to wash my coat tonight as I could still smell the smoke on it today.
 
Found this on FB - Fire response
Reader Kameron Brown compiled this run card from last night's cargo plane crash + commercial building(s) + petroleum recycling facility just off runway at Louisville International Airport. Note the number of departments with foam resources. That's due to the many distilleries in the state.

COUNTS BY TYPE
ARFF crash trucks - 6
Bat Chiefs - 10
Other Chiefs - 18
Engines - 36
Foam Trailers - 4
Foam Resources, Other - 3
Fuel Trucks - 1
Haz-Mat Units - 9
Quints - 14
Rehab - 1
Rescues - 5 (but not ARFF units, also Rescue designation)
Tankers - 2 (or more?)
Trucks/Aerials - 3
Utility Units - 4

AIRPORT FIRE DEPARTMENTS
Louisville International Airport - R46, R47, R48, C1, C2
Air National Guard - R68, R61, R62, R65

JEFFERSON COUNTY
Okolona (first-due) - C75, C76, C77, BC76, Q76, E77, E78, Q78, E177, E178, U576, U578, Foam Trailer, R76, HM78
Fern Creek - C60, E65, E62, E73, BC71, E71, Q66, HM66, TNK64
Louisville - E10, E20, E1, HM1, E15, T8, Q9, BC3, BC5, C4, C5, Rehab 12, BC2, R2, A9, E19, HM19, DCN19, E18, E16, Fuel Wagon, Q7, R11, C3, BC10, BC11, C1, T1, E21, HM21
Pleasure Ridge Park - C85, C87, BC87, E93, Q86, Q87, E90, HM90, E88, R88, Foam Trailer
Fairdale - E81, E82, BC81, C80, C82, C83, E83, U581
Jeffersontown - C51, Q52, E53, HM53, Q51, BC51, S51, E54
Anchorage Middletown - Q31, HM31, R33, E39, HM39, S230
St. Matthews - E48
American Synthetic Fire Brigade / Michelin (parent company) - E_ - Likely Engine 1 as a 2011 International DuraStar 4400 / 2014 Ferrara (1500/1000/30F), from Fire Wiki
Dow Chemical Fire Brigade - Likely Squirt 99, a 1996 Freightliner FL80/National Foam 1250/250/500F/54' Squrt

OUTSIDE COUNTIES
Shepherdsville (Bullitt) - C91, C92, Q92, Q94, E93, Foam Trailerr
Zoneton (Bullitt) - Q79, E84, C81, U82, F82
Mount Washington (Bullitt) - E35, Q36
Nichols (Bullitt) - _149
Lebanon Junction (Bullitt) - E51
Southeast Bullitt - E63
La Grange (Oldham) - E__, T__
Simpsonville (Shelby) - T4451
Bardstown (Nelson) (40 road miles) - Foam, 1200 gallons - From Fire Wiki, roster includes Foam Tanker 1, 1991 International/Omco/Shop/TFT/Clarks Daily, 500/1000F
Lexington (Fayette) (70+ road miles) - E2, MA2, C230, Foam Trailer + 1000 gallons of foam
Covington (Kenton) (98 road miles!) - Foam, 600 gallons

LAP IN (COVERAGE)
Shelby County (Shelby) - TBD
Shelbyville (Shelby) - One or two engines? Or possibly to scene.
Vine Grove to Bullitt County stations
West Point to Bullitt County stations
Fort Knox to Bullitt County stations
 
kms said:
I looked out the window at 6:00 AM and see that someone put up the Christmas lights on the utility poles. I may not like this colder weather, but I love Christmas lights.
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Maister said:
Christmas lights went up on City Hall property yesterday. They'll have a tree lighting ceremony the week after Thanksgiving and will turn all the Christmas lights on at that time.
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The city puts lights on all the small trees along our two main streets through town and they've been lit up for about a month now. They seem to like to get all the lights up well before things get cold, which makes a lot of sense. When I run through downtown early in the morning this time of year it does look really nice. They're just clear lights so I sort of wish they'd they'd leave them up all year.

The actual Christmas decorations and the tree and the menorah at the park downtown will all go up the weekend after Thanksgiving. The city has a vaguely-German themed "Winter Markt" each winter the first week of December and that's when they have the tree lighting and carriage rides and that stuff.


Doohickie said:
I was a Christmas-in-November hater but a few years ago I decided.... it doesn't hurt me so why get aggravated that someone else likes Christmas decorations and Christmas music?
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I used to be a hater too but not only do I not get aggrieved by it anymore, I look forward to it now!

I was bummed last year when SiriusXM didn't launch their holiday channels until the middle of November. This year they launched some of them yesterday and there are bunch more on the app. I had the day off yesterday and spent the morning putting away lawn furniture for the season, storing Halloween decor back into the attic, and cleaning the garage and then I went inside and took a nap on the couch in front of the fireplace... with the holiday music playing on the radio.

Early Saturday morning I went for a run through downtown and not only were the lights mentioned above lit up, but a bunch of stores had already put up holiday displays in their windows and there were a few stores and restaurants in the process of doing it at like 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning I went for a walk and had more time to meander around town and look in the store windows like an old person... This year we actually have two Christmas stores in town. They look to be some sort of pop-ups that are utilizing the space in storefronts that don't get much foot traffic (one is a small storefront for a cabinetry designer that is now full of Christmas trees and the other is a place that just sells blinds but is now hocking holiday-themed stationary and wrapping paper and all that stuff). I like seeing all the Christmas stuff.

SlaveToTheGrind said:
Well, the Christmas tree is up. In my moment of weakness, I said to Mrs. STTG, while at HD yesterday, to get the tree she has been coveting. And, she works so I told her to spend her hard earned money as she sees fit. Our old tree is only 3 years old. So, we had to set it up to make sure the lights work and it has 8(?) different settings and it has foot pedal to control the lights. No point in then taking it down. Lights are also up on the house. We pay for that service. I'm done climbing on a ladder and and the peak over the garage is too steep to walk on so I'm out.
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I used to put lights up around the roof each year but I've got some back problems that progressed enough that I stopped doing that a few years ago. Our house is just one story but it's large. I've thought about paying somebody to come put the lights up, since I figure our house would be relatively easy/quick but I haven't done so. We have a giant pine tree off to the side in the front of our house and one of these years I want to get a crew to put lights all the way up and around the tree. If/when I do that, I'll probably have them do lights along the roof too.

When I was putting the Halloween stuff back in the attic yesterday, I was really tempted to get the Christmas stuff down because I would have put the tree up but I know everybody else in the house would complain. We used to wait until a week or so into December but now all the indoor stuff goes up the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. We don't do as much outdoor stuff anymore, but most of that will likely go up on Veterans Day. That's my traditional day to do a bunch of yardwork and holiday decorating - it's before it gets too terribly cold and I have the day off of work but my kids are at school so there aren't interruptions.
 
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