michaelskis
Sawdust Producer
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I really hope that isn't true...I don't think I've ever been taller than a refrigerator.
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RTDNTOTO 🐻 Random Thoughts Deserving No Thread Of Their Own 20 (2025)
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bureaucrat#3
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5 miles - first FT (could take an hour at rush hour so often I took a 10 mile route that took 30 minutes)
105 feet - 2nd FT
2 miles - same job but 1st house
49 miles - 3rd job
9 miles - 4th job
1.8 miles - current house/job
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WSU MUP Student
Cyburbian
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I've actually never owned a mini-fridge! I'm missing out in life!
SlaveToTheGrind
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Summer '72 This barber just closed a few years ago and was family run since 1957. I had (still) a big head.
Before:
After:
One of my strange hobbies is comparing old photos to new photos. In Google street view, you can see the area where the old barber pole was located due to the lighter color and the one dark brick above my mother's head can be seen, too.
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DVD
Cyburbian
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Finally doing the HR mandatory autism certificate training. I swear HR buys some education package and decides they need to get their money's worth by making us take it. This one has some good information if you know nothing about autism, but I caught everything I needed in the intro. The rest of the over an hour training has been a longer version of what was said in the intro.
I did learn children evolve like pokemon into adults. Bonus, this whole training was geared for the hotel industry.
I did learn children evolve like pokemon into adults. Bonus, this whole training was geared for the hotel industry.
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Nice. You're old. My mini-me photo is about 1982.
You went from hippie to high-and-tight. Like a real man's haircut.
SlaveToTheGrind
Cyburbian
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donk
Cyburbian
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Also note, that some vaccines don't take for everyone. My wife's body rejects chicken pox, she's had it the shot 3 times and it is not in her system. Same for me with the mmr. The measles portion will not stick to me. I've had shot before each of my kids and blood work showed it disappeared from my system.
Here is a rerun of my column from 2021. Although it was done as a fun holiday theme, it was my top-rated column of the year. Enjoy!
Standing On My Head
December 22, 2021
RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE
“We need a little Christmas, right this very minute,” says the classic Christmas favorite. But do we really need a little Christmas? Right now? Why not wait until Your Columnist has had his coffee? Or read his paper? Do we really need carols on the spinet? And what the heck IS a spinet, anyway?
“Spinet” is one of those terms that you never really hear outside of Christmastime, like “figgy pudding,” Whatever “figgy pudding” is, it doesn’t sound very appetizing, and I wish those carolers would leave, despite their singing that they won’t leave until the get some. Caroling is fun, but if you are going to stand there until you get some, you are going to have a very long wait.
For that matter, when was the last time outside of Christmas time that you heard the word “coursers?” I had always thought that it was related to the word “courier,” and indeed it is: the word “courser” in this context means “one who courses,” with the very “course” meaning “To proceed or move swiftly along a specified course.” Upon some digging in my dictionary, it turns out that the words are, in fact, both derived from the common Latin root, “currerre,” meaning “to run.”
So, where was I? Oh, yes: a spinet. A spinet is a small instrument similar to a piano or harpsichord, so “carols on the spinet” would refer to tunes played on a small piano. And, “carols on the spinet” sounds a lot better as a rhyme than “carols on the piano” and “right this very minute.”
While we are at it, how in the world does one dance “the new old-fashioned way?” What in the world is that supposed to mean? Is it a new dance, or an old dance? Is it more like a Dougie or a Charleston? I have no idea.
Apparently we are all supposed to pretend that the snowman is Parson Brown. But, in order to do so, I need to know who Parson Brown is. My guess had always been that Parson Brown somehow refers to a church official (as in “parsonage,” a home often found on church grounds). My dictionary confirms that: “parson” originally referred to an official in the Anglican church, and still does today, but it also has wider meaning to represent the leader of any congregation, even if that is not an official title. Be that as it may, whomever the snowman is pretending to be—Parson Brown, Pastor Bob, or Father Mitchell—he needs to hurry up and get us married while he’s in town. It likely won’t be legal once the folks down at the county courthouse find out that a snowman officiated, but that’s not my problem.
Maybe that’s why the snowman ran right past the traffic cop. Oh, wait—that’s a different song.
Finally, speaking of being a child, do you know how many years I heard a certain song and sang it as “Please Mom and Dad,” wondering why those words made no sense at all? Until the year I figured out that the line is “Feliz Navidad,” Spanish for “Merry Christmas.” Now that makes a lot more sense.
However you say it, Feliz Navidad, Mele Kalikimaka, Frohe Weihnachten, and Merry Christmas.
Standing On My Head
December 22, 2021
RIGHT THIS VERY MINUTE
“We need a little Christmas, right this very minute,” says the classic Christmas favorite. But do we really need a little Christmas? Right now? Why not wait until Your Columnist has had his coffee? Or read his paper? Do we really need carols on the spinet? And what the heck IS a spinet, anyway?
“Spinet” is one of those terms that you never really hear outside of Christmastime, like “figgy pudding,” Whatever “figgy pudding” is, it doesn’t sound very appetizing, and I wish those carolers would leave, despite their singing that they won’t leave until the get some. Caroling is fun, but if you are going to stand there until you get some, you are going to have a very long wait.
For that matter, when was the last time outside of Christmas time that you heard the word “coursers?” I had always thought that it was related to the word “courier,” and indeed it is: the word “courser” in this context means “one who courses,” with the very “course” meaning “To proceed or move swiftly along a specified course.” Upon some digging in my dictionary, it turns out that the words are, in fact, both derived from the common Latin root, “currerre,” meaning “to run.”
So, where was I? Oh, yes: a spinet. A spinet is a small instrument similar to a piano or harpsichord, so “carols on the spinet” would refer to tunes played on a small piano. And, “carols on the spinet” sounds a lot better as a rhyme than “carols on the piano” and “right this very minute.”
While we are at it, how in the world does one dance “the new old-fashioned way?” What in the world is that supposed to mean? Is it a new dance, or an old dance? Is it more like a Dougie or a Charleston? I have no idea.
Apparently we are all supposed to pretend that the snowman is Parson Brown. But, in order to do so, I need to know who Parson Brown is. My guess had always been that Parson Brown somehow refers to a church official (as in “parsonage,” a home often found on church grounds). My dictionary confirms that: “parson” originally referred to an official in the Anglican church, and still does today, but it also has wider meaning to represent the leader of any congregation, even if that is not an official title. Be that as it may, whomever the snowman is pretending to be—Parson Brown, Pastor Bob, or Father Mitchell—he needs to hurry up and get us married while he’s in town. It likely won’t be legal once the folks down at the county courthouse find out that a snowman officiated, but that’s not my problem.
Maybe that’s why the snowman ran right past the traffic cop. Oh, wait—that’s a different song.
Finally, speaking of being a child, do you know how many years I heard a certain song and sang it as “Please Mom and Dad,” wondering why those words made no sense at all? Until the year I figured out that the line is “Feliz Navidad,” Spanish for “Merry Christmas.” Now that makes a lot more sense.
However you say it, Feliz Navidad, Mele Kalikimaka, Frohe Weihnachten, and Merry Christmas.
We are actually getting phone calls and walkins today.
Salmissra
Cyburbian
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I've had one case related call, and a walkin that needed to be at Parks, not Planning. At least she was in the right building . . .
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Christmas adoptions would be pretty serious, no?
Those would happen at the District Court at the county courthouse.
We have Municipal Court using our chambers until April. It’s for minor criminal cases (traffic tickets, etc.) and civil matters. The hardened criminals go elsewhere. No murder trials here.
michaelskis
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I am down to 8 hours for the remainder of the year... and loving it.
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Two days to go, Wednesday is my usual work from home day.
I am ready for my mini trip to Nashville on the 27th. It’s been a busy month and very busy week. The police report came in from the accident, the young woman was cited for careless driving (2 points, $200 fine) and unregistered vehicle ($500 fine). She does have insurance.
My daughter’s car is out of the shop and looks good, only cosmetic damage except for the driver’s side mirror. Her boyfriend’s car was a total loss but he collected $12K in settlement. I took him on Saturday to find a new car, he’s been test driving things all week but nothing he was on fire about. Called my guy at Subaru who is the inventory manager so I took him there and he test drove all the cars. No pressure at all, walked him through all the finance scenarios with some suggestions about what I’d personally do, Subaru matched Navy Fed’s rate, and my husband and I donated our dealership points which they doubled for $1000 discount plus a veterans discount and family & friends discount. He settled on a 2026 Subaru Outback. The finance manager today said I heard you were in with kjel this weekend-she’s awesome so I’m going to give you our extended warranty for the employee price.
And today, his offer on a townhome about 15 minutes away from me was accepted. The townhome wasn’t even on the market but was listed for rent last week. We had looked at one and the same development a few weeks ago but the seller/agent were being silly. My daughter had a hunch they might sell if the offer was right and told his agent to call the listing broker and feel them out. They came back with a very reasonable price this evening. It’s in great shape, the condo association is financially solid, everything is well maintained. He’s already prequalified with his VA loan and will also get NJ’s first time buyer downpayment grant of $22K.
I am ready for my mini trip to Nashville on the 27th. It’s been a busy month and very busy week. The police report came in from the accident, the young woman was cited for careless driving (2 points, $200 fine) and unregistered vehicle ($500 fine). She does have insurance.
My daughter’s car is out of the shop and looks good, only cosmetic damage except for the driver’s side mirror. Her boyfriend’s car was a total loss but he collected $12K in settlement. I took him on Saturday to find a new car, he’s been test driving things all week but nothing he was on fire about. Called my guy at Subaru who is the inventory manager so I took him there and he test drove all the cars. No pressure at all, walked him through all the finance scenarios with some suggestions about what I’d personally do, Subaru matched Navy Fed’s rate, and my husband and I donated our dealership points which they doubled for $1000 discount plus a veterans discount and family & friends discount. He settled on a 2026 Subaru Outback. The finance manager today said I heard you were in with kjel this weekend-she’s awesome so I’m going to give you our extended warranty for the employee price.
And today, his offer on a townhome about 15 minutes away from me was accepted. The townhome wasn’t even on the market but was listed for rent last week. We had looked at one and the same development a few weeks ago but the seller/agent were being silly. My daughter had a hunch they might sell if the offer was right and told his agent to call the listing broker and feel them out. They came back with a very reasonable price this evening. It’s in great shape, the condo association is financially solid, everything is well maintained. He’s already prequalified with his VA loan and will also get NJ’s first time buyer downpayment grant of $22K.
Faust_Motel
Cyburbian
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Here today and half tomorrow, home for the 25th and then headed to the in-laws on Boxing Day.
"Planning Emergency:"
We have an applicant who did a combo site plan approval and BLA in November, got their approval, authorized to fo Final Plan and Plat, never filed anything, suddenly they need to record the BLA RIGHT NOW without filing the final site plan etc. We sent out a notice of decision letter six weeks ago listing conditions of approval and attached to a checklist for final plans, explaining everything they needed to do and they completely ignored it, now the paralegal is riding us to record the plat out of sequence...
The amount of time we waste as a staff handholding applicants who can't be bothered to just READ THE DAMN LETTER they get after approval is staggering...
Other than that I have a budget request memo to do, a guy who wants escrow release before we can inspect and issue a CO (it will be a cold day in hell...), a home business violation to write up...
And my car is in the shop with an awful electrical problem- it's blowing a fuse that protects the ECU, and sadly any one of literally 18 things could be causing the problem. Worst thing is it seemed fixed a week ago but after less than 100 miles it blew again, so even if it's "fixed" we might never know if it's really fixed or not.
"Planning Emergency:"
We have an applicant who did a combo site plan approval and BLA in November, got their approval, authorized to fo Final Plan and Plat, never filed anything, suddenly they need to record the BLA RIGHT NOW without filing the final site plan etc. We sent out a notice of decision letter six weeks ago listing conditions of approval and attached to a checklist for final plans, explaining everything they needed to do and they completely ignored it, now the paralegal is riding us to record the plat out of sequence...
The amount of time we waste as a staff handholding applicants who can't be bothered to just READ THE DAMN LETTER they get after approval is staggering...
Other than that I have a budget request memo to do, a guy who wants escrow release before we can inspect and issue a CO (it will be a cold day in hell...), a home business violation to write up...
And my car is in the shop with an awful electrical problem- it's blowing a fuse that protects the ECU, and sadly any one of literally 18 things could be causing the problem. Worst thing is it seemed fixed a week ago but after less than 100 miles it blew again, so even if it's "fixed" we might never know if it's really fixed or not.
I get calls occasionally from this company. What exactly do they do for their clients? People are always welcome to call us directly (or go to our online map) to get zoning info . . .
But then, I guess it's no different from taking my car to the shop for an oil change. I could change it myself--I just don't want to.
www.lightboxre.com
But then, I guess it's no different from taking my car to the shop for an oil change. I could change it myself--I just don't want to.
Zoning Data | LightBox
Core Datasets Comprehensive and Detailed Zoning Information LightBox Zoning Data offers detailed and comprehensive zoning information, essential for real
michaelskis
Sawdust Producer
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According to The Motley Fool, "Starbucks closed the 2025 fiscal year with a whopping gift card balance of over $1.8 billion, according to its SEC filings... If Starbucks were officially a financial institution, it would be larger than 87% of commercial banks today based on its gift card deposits alone."
That’s a lot of coffee.
Big Owl
Cyburbian
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I am not sure exactly, other than I like the picture. I'll fix it.
michaelskis
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Yes, and none of it is mine. I support local coffee roasters whenever I can!
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Salmissra
Cyburbian
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In the office til 3:00.
Big Boss technically at work, but is dealing with Building Inspection issues so I'm the only Planning person.
At least it's a jeans and holiday top type of day.
I've started a report, folded public notices, and created some maps. It's time for a nap!
Big Boss technically at work, but is dealing with Building Inspection issues so I'm the only Planning person.
At least it's a jeans and holiday top type of day.
I've started a report, folded public notices, and created some maps. It's time for a nap!
michaelskis
Sawdust Producer
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Yesterday was a very relaxing day for us. Today, we go into downtown Chicago to a museum, a restaurant, and the Lego store.
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Happy to hear you're in the region. Have fun and I'd recommend the Art Institute.
Easy to access on foot. Also, be sure to walk the riverwalk along the Chicago River. It's a very nice space.
I'd also highly recommend the Lincoln Park Zoo. It's free and really nicely located.
estromberg
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That was one of my favorite episodes of Community. We need to binge that show again after we finish British Baking Show.
estromberg
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OnlyOffice or LibreOffice. I've used LibreOffice for low use machines that need to open an occasional spreadsheet for years. Works great and can be set up to use MS formats by default.
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estromberg
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Such a great show.
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