GM's Thread About Everything/GM's Thread About Nothing

[Osaurus]

13 minutes ago, Pip's Invitation said:

It’s awful. The design of their security areas makes no sense. If I lived there or flew there a bunch I would totally spring for whatever to avoid those lines. 

Sometimes there are much better fares to be had flying out of Orlando vs. here in Tampa, but with all the rest of the #### I’d have to endure to save some  in Orlando, there is no way I’m doing it. I really like Tampa’s airport. 

[Dan Lambskin]

31 minutes ago, Pip's Invitation said:

It’s awful. The design of their security areas makes no sense. If I lived there or flew there a bunch I would totally spring for whatever to avoid those lines. 

CDG is the dumbest airport I have ever been to

[belljr]

Is it me or are a lot more known actors/actresses doing commercials these days

[facook]

1 hour ago, belljr said:

Is it me or are a lot more known actors/actresses doing commercials these days

 

Pretty sure they're all actors/actresses.   

[UOFI_316]

1 hour ago, belljr said:

Is it me or are a lot more known actors/actresses doing commercials these days

 

Not that they are "well known" but there are 3 current commercials with people from The Thundermans in current rotation.  Ms Wong is the lady in the Geico "There is an animal in the attic", Cousin Blobbin is in the Geico "75 years old" one, and Principal Bradford is in a gym commercial.   I assume it is a Actor's Guild thing where they need to be in something every few years to keep their membership active.

[Rustoleum]

11 minutes ago, UOFI_316 said:

 

Not that they are "well known" but there are 3 current commercials with people from The Thundermans in current rotation.  Ms Wong is the lady in the Geico "There is an animal in the attic", Cousin Blobbin is in the Geico "75 years old" one, and Principal Bradford is in a gym commercial.   I assume it is a Actor's Guild thing where they need to be in something every few years to keep their membership active.

Wasn’t that an episode of Friends or something, where Joey had to hide appendicitis or something until he got a gig so his benefits would kick back in? True or not, at any rate I run bad dad shtick all December. Whenever we spot somebody who hasn’t been visible in a while in a commercial, I claim they’re slumming to keep their union card.

Also, the Geico 75 guy is Guillermo from What We Do In the Shadows, isn’t it?

Edited January 11 by Rustoleum

[UOFI_316]

51 minutes ago, Rustoleum said:

Wasn’t that an episode of Friends or something, where Joey had to hide appendicitis or something until he got a gig so his benefits would kick back in? True or not, at any rate I run bad dad shtick all December. Whenever we spot somebody who hasn’t been visible in a while in a commercial, I claim they’re slumming to keep their union card.

Also, the Geico 75 guy is Guillermo from What We Do In the Shadows, isn’t it?

Friends Joey, yes you are correct.

A quick IMDB search, and we are both correct.  Same guy.  I see everyone based on what crappy kids show they were on since that makes it look like I am smart "Hey, do you know who that guy is?  It is Cousin Blobbin" makes me look smart to my kids.  Now that my kids have almost grown out of the Nick shows I need to update my TV watching.

[Osaurus]

7 hours ago, Rustoleum said:

Also, the Geico 75 guy is Guillermo from What We Do In the Shadows, isn’t it?

Yup. Gizmo’s gotta work. 

Edited January 11 by Osaurus

[DA RAIDERS]

felt mildly crappy yesterday.  feel great this morning.  might have the rona.  i'm going to test today.  i am allowing for as long of an incubation period  as possible.  slept down stairs last night.  wearing a mask anytime i am near the wife or the kid.  don't want to get it from the wife, don't want to give it to the kid.  for all i know i'm asymptomatic 

wife is laid out.  fairly bad upper respiratory issues.  she's in a lot pain.  coughing really hurts.  breathing is congested,  but fine.  no temperature, oxygen levels are normal.  glad she's tri vaxxed.  me as well.  

kid is vaxxed  wants nothing to do with either of us.  even more than normal.  didn't want to ride in the car with me to school this morning.    she is totally fine. 

we carry on.

 

[SWC]

i hope you are ok and get through it quickly take that to the bank brohan 

[heckmanm]

Well, we had an interesting New Years weekend. 

We flew to Florida just before Christmas to visit the kids and in-laws.  Spent the first week in Okeechobee at the in-laws' place.  Nice and relaxing, the kids spent Christmas weekend before returning to the Orlando area for work, and my wife and I stayed a few more days.  Went to the beach on both coasts over a couple days.

Interesting part came up in the second half. We took Amtrak up to Orlando - uneventful - and arrived on NYE evening to find out that our son had been sick for a couple of days.  Daughter had to work late so we just hung out at her apartment and rang in the new year pretty quietly.

Saturday AM, wife scores some COVID tests and sure enough, the boy tests positive.  He's quarantined in his apartment while we stay upstairs in our daughter's. 

Saturday evening my wife decided to make a store run to get him some provisions. On her way out to the car, she tripped over a parking block in the handicap space at the end of the sidewalk.  It's basically invisible in the dark and there's no lighting hitting that parking space.  Off to the ER we go, and 6 hours later (3:30AM) she's in a boot with a broken foot.

So rather than getting out and doing fun things over the second week of the trip, we mostly stay in the apartment.  And then get to fly home dealing with crutches and more luggage than I could reasonably deal with alone.

She saw the orthopedist yesterday and it's a pretty simple break (avulsion fracture, 5th metatarsal) that shouldn't require surgery.  But she's still going to be in the boot for 6+ weeks.

[DA RAIDERS]

tested negative.  wife still hurting.  kid entrenched in her room.

[Uruk-Hai]

7 minutes ago, DA RAIDERS said:

tested negative.  wife still hurting.  kid entrenched in her room.

Hope everyone heals up soon, my friend

[cosjobs]

12 hours ago, heckmanm said:

Well, we had an interesting New Years weekend. 

We flew to Florida just before Christmas to visit the kids and in-laws.  Spent the first week in Okeechobee at the in-laws' place.  Nice and relaxing, the kids spent Christmas weekend before returning to the Orlando area for work, and my wife and I stayed a few more days.  Went to the beach on both coasts over a couple days.

Interesting part came up in the second half. We took Amtrak up to Orlando - uneventful - and arrived on NYE evening to find out that our son had been sick for a couple of days.  Daughter had to work late so we just hung out at her apartment and rang in the new year pretty quietly.

Saturday AM, wife scores some COVID tests and sure enough, the boy tests positive.  He's quarantined in his apartment while we stay upstairs in our daughter's. 

Saturday evening my wife decided to make a store run to get him some provisions. On her way out to the car, she tripped over a parking block in the handicap space at the end of the sidewalk.  It's basically invisible in the dark and there's no lighting hitting that parking space.  Off to the ER we go, and 6 hours later (3:30AM) she's in a boot with a broken foot.

So rather than getting out and doing fun things over the second week of the trip, we mostly stay in the apartment.  And then get to fly home dealing with crutches and more luggage than I could reasonably deal with alone.

She saw the orthopedist yesterday and it's a pretty simple break (avulsion fracture, 5th metatarsal) that shouldn't require surgery.  But she's still going to be in the boot for 6+ weeks.

Damn dude, that's really tough. At least you and your wife avoided Covid even taking an Amtrak across Florida, so that' s something. We took a trip to NYC/New England around Thanksgiving and wanted to go somewhere xmas, but things are starting to get so weird again, I'm going to lay low a while and stay close to the house. All the best to you, my friend

[cosjobs]

9 hours ago, DA RAIDERS said:

tested negative.  wife still hurting.  kid entrenched in her room.

I wish I was as healthy as your crew, I would feel pretty positive about the limp-wristed omnicron. Best to you. Take good care of that kid. She's pretty special.

[cosjobs]

Wife and I have both been having horrible upper respiratory problems. Its cedar fever time and Austin and not unusual for anyone around here to nasal infections, uri's, and all kind of haywire allergy ####. So that's what we have assumed what we have. We're going to get a test Friday. If we were very concerned, we'd take one of the at-home tests we have stashed, but we really think its allergies and getting one of the good testing center tests to confirm.

[DA RAIDERS]

1 minute ago, cosjobs said:

Wife and I have both been having horrible upper respiratory problems. Its cedar fever time and Austin and not unusual for anyone around here to nasal infections, uri's, and all kind of haywire allergy ####. So that's what we have assumed what we have. We're going to get a test Friday. If we were very concerned, we'd take one of the at-home tests we have stashed, but we really think its allergies and getting one of the good testing center tests to confirm.

Be smart. Be cautious. My wife has bad allergies. She thought this Covid she has, was allergies in the beginning. 
 

kid is doing great, thx!

[rockaction]

Best to all of you dealing with COVID concerns. Thoughts go out. 

[cosjobs]

19 minutes ago, DA RAIDERS said:

Be smart. Be cautious. My wife has bad allergies. She thought this Covid she has, was allergies in the beginning. 
 

kid is doing great, thx!

Its started like  typical allergies, crescendoed over the weekend and we sounded and felt like ####. But Monday much better and Tues back to 90% of normal except a nagging, but much less nasty cough. I think we're in the clear, but getting the test Friday to confirm.

[El Floppo]

4 hours ago, cosjobs said:

Its started like  typical allergies, crescendoed over the weekend and we sounded and felt like ####. But Monday much better and Tues back to 90% of normal except a nagging, but much less nasty cough. I think we're in the clear, but getting the test Friday to confirm.

This sounds identical to the COVID we got.

[kevzilla]

In January, Austin is the Cedar Pollen Capital of the World. Lebanon thinks we need to dial it back. There's going to be a lot of undiagnosed omicron around here.

[heckmanm]

7 hours ago, cosjobs said:

Damn dude, that's really tough. At least you and your wife avoided Covid even taking an Amtrak across Florida, so that' s something. We took a trip to NYC/New England around Thanksgiving and wanted to go somewhere xmas, but things are starting to get so weird again, I'm going to lay low a while and stay close to the house. All the best to you, my friend

Yeah made it through the Amtrak ride plus the flight home.  So far no symptoms for either of us, and it's been 6 days since the flight.  We're both vaxxed and boosted and wore KN95 masks on the train.

[El Floppo]

20 minutes ago, heckmanm said:

Yeah made it through the Amtrak ride plus the flight home.  So far no symptoms for either of us, and it's been 6 days since the flight.  We're both vaxxed and boosted and wore KN95 masks on the train.

my wife is the only one who is boosted- she tested positive and had zero symptoms.

[Joe Bryant]

Hang in there y'all.

[cosjobs]

I did a Binax home test just now and it came back negative, so I'm guessing cedar fever

 

[mr. furley]

the number of posts on my facebook feed showing people heading to/on vacation one day, then 10 days later "welp, we got covid on vacation" is way too high

 

[BeTheMatch]

Hey @General Malaise

Oregon betting change

[El Floppo]

Our flight to ORL on Friday got delayed because of the huge snow storm here, which they told us only after we got to the airport. We were supposed to have a fitting for the Disney thing as soon as we landed, which kept getting pushed back. 

But 3 hours late, we finally board and taxi out- #5 in line to take off...until we turn around and head back to the gate- met by police cars on the tarmac. Ruh-roh. Police board the plane and immediately head to the back.

I hadn't heard any commotion, but I had also started watching a movie, so was tuned out to anything but something big. Police take a young couple off the plane. Didn't make a fuss or cause a scene.

I asked a flight attendant later (after offering my condolences to her for having to go through it)...only thing she said was that they weren't complying with flight attendants in regards to masks and more, so they followed procedure and alerted the authorities. 

We were delayed another hour over this and missed our fitting.

I wondered...the rules are crystal clear at this point- you have to wear a mask to fly (Delta). if this was going to be some big political statement, they didn't make much of, if any, a scene....so why bother? Maybe they spent the snow delay getting hammered and just couldnt cope. Dunno. Just seemed so very stupid, and ended up costing us a bit of money from missing the fitting.

[BeTheMatch]

1 hour ago, El Floppo said:

Our flight to ORL on Friday got delayed because of the huge snow storm here, which they told us only after we got to the airport. We were supposed to have a fitting for the Disney thing as soon as we landed, which kept getting pushed back. 

But 3 hours late, we finally board and taxi out- #5 in line to take off...until we turn around and head back to the gate- met by police cars on the tarmac. Ruh-roh. Police board the plane and immediately head to the back.

I hadn't heard any commotion, but I had also started watching a movie, so was tuned out to anything but something big. Police take a young couple off the plane. Didn't make a fuss or cause a scene.

I asked a flight attendant later (after offering my condolences to her for having to go through it)...only thing she said was that they weren't complying with flight attendants in regards to masks and more, so they followed procedure and alerted the authorities. 

We were delayed another hour over this and missed our fitting.

I wondered...the rules are crystal clear at this point- you have to wear a mask to fly (Delta). if this was going to be some big political statement, they didn't make much of, if any, a scene....so why bother? Maybe they spent the snow delay getting hammered and just couldnt cope. Dunno. Just seemed so very stupid, and ended up costing us a bit of money from missing the fitting.

I don't understand these people either. I'm about to board my own Delta flight....

[General Malaise]

22 hours ago, El Floppo said:

Our flight to ORL on Friday got delayed because of the huge snow storm here, which they told us only after we got to the airport. We were supposed to have a fitting for the Disney thing as soon as we landed, which kept getting pushed back. 

But 3 hours late, we finally board and taxi out- #5 in line to take off...until we turn around and head back to the gate- met by police cars on the tarmac. Ruh-roh. Police board the plane and immediately head to the back.

I hadn't heard any commotion, but I had also started watching a movie, so was tuned out to anything but something big. Police take a young couple off the plane. Didn't make a fuss or cause a scene.

I asked a flight attendant later (after offering my condolences to her for having to go through it)...only thing she said was that they weren't complying with flight attendants in regards to masks and more, so they followed procedure and alerted the authorities. 

We were delayed another hour over this and missed our fitting.

I wondered...the rules are crystal clear at this point- you have to wear a mask to fly (Delta). if this was going to be some big political statement, they didn't make much of, if any, a scene....so why bother? Maybe they spent the snow delay getting hammered and just couldnt cope. Dunno. Just seemed so very stupid, and ended up costing us a bit of money from missing the fitting.

 

What is a fitting?

[General Malaise]

23 hours ago, BeTheMatch said:

Hey @General Malaise

Oregon betting change

 

Unless I can bet on college sports, I won't be a user.  So dumb.

[El Floppo]

8 minutes ago, General Malaise said:

 

What is a fitting?

 

they have you try on different clothes for the shoot- pick the ones that work/fit best.

for fashion shows, they're actually fitting the clothes to your body (cutting, sewing, glue-gunning, whatever it takes), but for this it was just walking into a big room filled with clothes- the stylist had already picked out a bunch of stuff for us based on whatever look they were going for, matched to our sizes.

[GroveDiesel]

23 hours ago, El Floppo said:

Our flight to ORL on Friday got delayed because of the huge snow storm here, which they told us only after we got to the airport. We were supposed to have a fitting for the Disney thing as soon as we landed, which kept getting pushed back. 

But 3 hours late, we finally board and taxi out- #5 in line to take off...until we turn around and head back to the gate- met by police cars on the tarmac. Ruh-roh. Police board the plane and immediately head to the back.

I hadn't heard any commotion, but I had also started watching a movie, so was tuned out to anything but something big. Police take a young couple off the plane. Didn't make a fuss or cause a scene.

I asked a flight attendant later (after offering my condolences to her for having to go through it)...only thing she said was that they weren't complying with flight attendants in regards to masks and more, so they followed procedure and alerted the authorities. 

We were delayed another hour over this and missed our fitting.

I wondered...the rules are crystal clear at this point- you have to wear a mask to fly (Delta). if this was going to be some big political statement, they didn't make much of, if any, a scene....so why bother? Maybe they spent the snow delay getting hammered and just couldnt cope. Dunno. Just seemed so very stupid, and ended up costing us a bit of money from missing the fitting.

I would think they had to be drunk. I can totally see someone trying to see what they can get away with but then complying once instructed once or twice. Or I can see them completely freaking out once they’re made to wear the mask. But not complying and being quiet about it is pretty weird.

But the bottom line is people are just selfish. Everyone knows what the rules are and agree to the rules when purchasing a ticket. It’s fine if you don’t like the rules and don’t want to follow them, there are other travel options you are more than welcome to take. But if you buy the ticket, follow the rules and don’t screw everyone else over on the plane with you.

IMO, every single person on that plane that suffered any type of financial loss because of their actions should be able to sue them.

Edited January 13 by GroveDiesel

[DA RAIDERS]

on a flight last year, attendants are going through the preflight announcements.  lady asked the exit row questions, to those in the exit row.  one dude spoke VERY little english.  attendant says, we'll have to move you.  people in these aisles must be able to follow commands, given in english.  dude is confused.  manages to communicate that he paid extra for the seats.  but is more confused than angry.  muh freedoms #######, sitting behind him, that does NOT even know the guy decides, this is his moment to prove his patriotism and to stand up for this foreigners rights.  

#### knob goes ballistic on the flight attendants.  quoting his version of the constitution, arcane laws that may or may not have been real.  physically grabs the guys arm and tells him to stay in his seat.  IT'S YOUR RIGHT!!  YOU PAID FOR IT!!  trump's name was dropped.  dude is even more confused now.  air marshall shows up.  tells the guy he's off the plane and going to jail if he didn't ####, right now.  he begrudgingly chose to zip it.  confused guy got moved to business class.  guy that traded out of business, got a voucher.  and free drinks.  duh.

about a 30 minute delay.

thanos was right.

[rockaction]

11 minutes ago, DA RAIDERS said:

guy that traded out of business, got a voucher.

Not sure I'd have liked that deal. 

Anytime somebody starts quoting the actual Constitution with regard to airline seating -- there's a 99.9999999% chance that they don't really know the law. 

Edited January 13 by rockaction

[heckmanm]

We originally booked our Florida trip as 2 1-way segments, because we spent the first week in Okeechobee with the in-laws and the second in Orlando with the kids. So the original plan was to fly into Sarasota and out of Sanford (on Allegiant). We only booked the first leg initially.

We were originally supposed to fly out the morning of Christmas Eve, but they cancelled that flight on the 22nd.  We were able to re-book an evening flight on the 23rd, going into Sanford instead.  Which worked out because we just drove down with the kids on the 24th and got there about the same time we would have otherwise.  

Anyhoo, Allegiant ended up giving us a voucher due to the cancellation, which we used toward our flight home which ended up only costing us about $15.  So that was cool.

[facook]

Decompressing between playoff games with DDD on in the background.  Jon Gruden shows up as a special guest co-host.  

[kevzilla]

My superpower is catching the absolute bottom on Southwest Airlines fares from Austin to Vegas. It's incredibly specific, so I'll pass on the cape for now.

[AAABatteries]

Wasn’t sure where to put this for our GB @SWC

https://twitter.com/super70ssports/status/1487270994691727360?s=21

[the rover]

who has squares/boxes going?

[Getzlaf15]

If you fly Southwest and have a C boarding pass, they should just stamp a big L on your forehead.  

[DA RAIDERS]

3 hours ago, Getzlaf15 said:

If you fly Southwest and have a C boarding pass, they should just stamp a big L on your forehead.  

L

[DA RAIDERS]

On 1/31/2022 at 11:02 PM, the rover said:

who has squares/boxes going?

Anyone?

[GroveDiesel]

Gonna try my hand at a couple of batches of homemade hot sauces today. Going with a pretty straightforward hot sauce and then a mango habanero sauce with a bit of a Caribbean vibe. 

[Joe Bryant]

2 hours ago, GroveDiesel said:

Gonna try my hand at a couple of batches of homemade hot sauces today. Going with a pretty straightforward hot sauce and then a mango habanero sauce with a bit of a Caribbean vibe. 

 

Can you share the recipes and how they turned out? I've made lots of salsas but never this. 

[GroveDiesel]

2 hours ago, Joe Bryant said:

 

Can you share the recipes and how they turned out? I've made lots of salsas but never this. 

The first one I made was a pretty straight forward hot sauce. Basically just peppers, salt, vinegar, and garlic. I used habaneros so it’s definitely on the hotter side but I’m enjoying it. It has a very fresh taste but not a lot of depth IMO. I think my next attempt on a traditional hot sauce may go the fermentation route which will obviously be a longer process but should give a lot more depth.

The other sauce I made I used this mango habanero one that I modified a bit. I omitted the onion, substituted about an inch of peeled fresh ginger for the ginger powder, went with 4 habanero and 3 serranos, and finished it with the juice from 1 lime. This one is pretty good with a nice Caribbean flair to it. It’s a touch on the mild side for my tastes so I may go with some scotch bonnets instead of Serrano next time. I think this one will be excellent on wings. I’m currently enjoying it on cold pizza.

Bottled product

I enjoyed the process and the freshness of the ingredients is definitely great. Looking forward to tinkering with them and trying some other ones. May have to try to find some better pepper sources though. Not a ton of variety at my typical local places. If I can find some ghost peppers, I’d love to try a blueberry ghost pepper sauce for my morning eggs.

[UOFI_316]

A direct result of the last 2 years is we no longer have snow days, they are just "remote learning days".  This week we were in the teens on Monday, today was a high of like 55, and tomorrow is supposed to be back in the teens with some crazy snow in the afternoon.  By 4 today the schools had already called tomorrow a remote day.  Thing is tomorrow was already just a half day for parent-teacher conferences and from what I see the snow isn't supposed to start until the afternoon.  So odds are the kids will be done with their school day before a snowflake falls.

[ren hoek]

going on a date tonight folks, wish me luck 🍀 

[rockaction]

7 minutes ago, ren hoek said:

going on a date tonight folks, wish me luck 🍀 

Good luck, ren. I wish you well on your new journey, man. 

[ren hoek]

well that was horrible.  i met this girl last weekend at a bar around here (the pitt) and we got to talking and stuff.  we kissed in the parking lot and she went on her way.  31, has a daughter, said she was in a toxic relationship in the past.  anyway we texted and made plans to hang out at this other bar around here (alcove) that i like.  

she’s a bartender and had to work til 1030/11 or so.  anyway she asks me to check things out at alcove beforehand, because she didn’t want to deal with big crowds and noise since she works around it all the time.  so i get into alcove and message her around 10:30 saying ‘yeah it’s actually pretty thick in here’, just waiting and seeing what she wants to do.  i’m waiting in there for about 40 minutes until she messages back around 11:15 saying she’s at this other place (mac’s) with some work friends.  it’s like 15 minutes away and i had no idea what was going on.  i say ‘i thought we were meeting up’ and she’s like… “we can”… “i didn’t drive soooo”.  she has a car, she’s an adult and can presumably make decisions for herself, she just decided to step out with some coworkers and didn’t bother to inform me until about 40 mins after the fact.  i’m pretty ####### salty at this point, so naturally i head over to mac’s anyway. 

i get there, it’s this roughneck bar with a $6 cover charge for a bunch of boomers playing some godawful country music.  it is loud as #### in this thing and i literally can’t even hear myself think.  i find her in there eating pizza with this girl friend of hers.  i sit down and eventually mention that a headsup would have been nice.  i know she doesn’t owe me anything but it just seems like basic human decency.  she looks at her friend like i’m some sort of clown and they just laugh.  

i ask her if she wants to get out of there and head somewhere we can talk.  i guess the idea was to talk & get to know her.  in a place where i could hear the words coming out of her mouth.  and heck, i confess, maybe spend some quality time with her if we hit it off like that.  

she says she didn’t drive out there, so i offer to take her back to her car and she says she doesn’t know me like that and ‘doesn’t want to end up on the news’.  i asked her again and she says the same line.  she’s kind of laughing but i don’t think i’m really in on the joke.  

at this point i’m convinced she’s made up her mind that i’m going to be some sort of punchline the rest of the night.  i lay $5 down on the table, point at the pizza, nodded at her friend and say thanks.  then i walked out.  i drive to a bar close to home and drink a rolling rock by myself.  

i don’t know you all.  i don’t think i’m cut out for this ####.  i know not all girls are like this and to keep trying and whatnot, but why’s it so hard to find something good and reliable.  just something simple.  i got a decent job, i have some character, i try to do right by people.  i try and stay positive but it’s just stupid ####### hard sometimes.  dating this day and age is different.  i don’t envy most guys that have been married for a long time, but at least they don’t gotta put up with this bs.  sometimes i don’t want to live on this planet anymore.  i know i’ll slog through it like i always have.  it’s just so tiresome honestly.  

i’ve got some other things lined up and i’ll probably try & follow up with a girl i seen on wednesday.  but i was looking forward to this.  now i just wonder how i could have been so stupid.