Random Thoughts That Don't Deserve Their Own Thread Go Here

[JPhillips]

I know it's an arbitrary number, but two guys broke two hours in the London Marathon and that's amazing.

[GrantDawg]

I have had a sore throat for the last several days, really ever since working out in the smoke from the forest fires a couple hundred miles away. It hadn't gotten to where it was veey painful. The last two nights I had a hard time sleeping, and this morning I woke up with a low grade fever. I figured I need to go to Urgent Care just to make sure I didn't have strep throat or Covid. When I got to Urgent Care I suddenly lost my ability to breath, and my blood pressure crashed. One ambulance ride and several tests later, I have a pulmonary embolism along with slight pneumonia. They have admitted me for or a day, maybe two. They shot me up with blood thinners and antibiotics. That sore throat might have saved my life.

[JPhillips]

Yikes. Take care. We're all getting too old.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I have had a sore throat for the last several days, really ever since working out in the smoke from the forest fires a couple hundred miles away. It hadn't gotten to where it was veey painful. The last two nights I had a hard time sleeping, and this morning I woke up with a low grade fever. I figured I need to go to Urgent Care just to make sure I didn't have strep throat or Covid. When I got to Urgent Care I suddenly lost my ability to breath, and my blood pressure crashed. One ambulance ride and several tests later, I have a pulmonary embolism along with slight pneumonia. They have admitted me for or a day, maybe two. They shot me up with blood thinners and antibiotics. That sore throat might have saved my life.

Yoinks.

And having just had discussions with family members in two states about a weird bug making the rounds the past couple weeks that is typified by a sore throat & "congestion in the throat" , I'm struck by just how easily you could have blown this off.

[Breeze]

Get better quickly GD

[albionmoonlight]

Damn. Glad they caught it.

[Lathum]

Wow. Way scarier than my glued together head. Glad you got help quickly.

[Ksyrup]

Hope you get over that quickly.

I had one of those "not on my bingo card" deals at the end of last week. I'm GC for several companies, including one that arranges service repairs for consumer goods/appliances. We work with warranty companies and manufacturers to handle the service dispatch process for claims. One of these is a company that makes TVs. As part of the claim entitlement process, the company requires customers to send them proof of purchase through a text/email link.

Late last week, one particular customer uploaded a camera picture of his file explorer with the pic of his receipt for his TV open. Unfortunately for him, he had his file explorer set to show thumbnails of all pictures in that folder, one of which was apparently child porn. I haven't seen the pic, but my IT guy (and the company rep who first viewed the attachment to verify the date of the receipt) says it's pretty obviously child porn.

So, I spent a couple of days gathering info, figuring out exactly what our obligations are, and filling out an online tip form from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. I have no clue how they act on this stuff (I assume they'll refer it to our state police (they linked to the NCMEC site to file a report)), but I'm waiting for a call.

Like I said, not on my bingo card of legal issues to deal with last week...

[Kodos]

Glad you’re okay, GD.

Crazy story, Ksyrup. Hope they nail him.

[albionmoonlight]

In my experience (federal public defender), the feds take this stuff seriously and move on it pretty quiclky, and that guy will be getting federal agents with search warrants showing up to take a gander at all of his electronics pretty soon.

On a related note, you'd be surprised to learn that some of these guys get caught b/c they bring their CP-containing laptop to GeekSquad when they can't get it to boot up.

[Lathum]

That is insane.

If your following and there is a news story about it would love to see the outcome, if you are able.

Hopefully the outcome is he gets run over by a bus.

[Ksyrup]

It appears he's in Texas so if it ever gets that far, I assume he'll get what's coming to him pretty quickly.

[albionmoonlight]

Mr. Blue Sky came on this morning, and having re-listened to it, I do not blame myself at all for having spent the majority of my life believing it was a Beatles song.

[flere-imsaho]

Holy shit, GD, that's crazy scary! Get well soon!

[flere-imsaho]

In my years in IT support I luckily never had to deal with child porn, but the number of times I stumbled across guys (it's always guys) who had stashes of porn on their work computers was... way too much.

[JPhillips]

Big fire at a restaurant at South of the Border in SC.

I always wanted my dad to stop, but he never did.

[21C]

Went to have a biopsy on my prostate at hospital in the day surgery. It went well apparently but I have to stay overnight for observation. Happy days.

[Lathum]

It suck's when you have to give your kid bad news you know gonna crush them but you’re waiting to get home. Found out today her best friend isn’t coming to her birthday party. She’s all happy right now and it sucks knowing what’s in store when we get home from this doctors appointment .

[Ghost Econ]

The good news is I don't think my daughter remembers who came to any of her parties, except maybe the last one. So the pain is real, but hopefully it doesn't last.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

The good news is I don't think my daughter remembers who came to any of her parties, except maybe the last one. So the pain is real, but hopefully it doesn't last.

yeah, I get it but in the moment for a 13 year old girl it is tough. Compound it with her favorite uncle dying 2 days ago and last night she got a potential long term injury that may keep her from softball the timing is tough. The friend also plays on all 3 softball teams with her and they do everything together.

The father agreed to have her guest play for another team not realizing the party was the same day.

[Ksyrup]

I went to the eye doctor and heard an acoustic/adult contemporary version (no vocals) of Since You Been Gone by Rainbow. I don't know what the point is except it just seems weird to imagine that song/band being covered in that way.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I went to the eye doctor and heard an acoustic/adult contemporary version (no vocals) of Since You Been Gone by Rainbow. I don't know what the point is except it just seems weird to imagine that song/band being covered in that way.

Reminds me of the time I got in an elevator and heard muzak. Once I figured out what the song was I died laughing out loud. It was
We don't have to take our clothes off to have a good time oh no
we can dance and party all night
and drink some cherry wine

[GrantDawg]

Kurt Loder turned 81, and reading that caused ME to break a hip.

[dubb93]

They really need to remove local races from the primary system where you have to pick a party and can only vote in those primaries. As a guy who leans blue but lives in an area that is 100% red locally I can either vote for dem candidates that have a shot at the state/federal level and have zero say in local representation or I can do the opposite choosing my local representatives while having zero say in state/federal candidates I would be willing to vote for.

Locally all the races are decided in the republican primary. Rarely are there any dem candidates on the ballot at the general election. Just seems like something could be done about this at some point.

[miked]

Totally random, anyone here ever create a will using LLMs? We don't have a ton of spare cash right now and most lawyers want to charge my wife and I almost $4k for a simple will. We only own our joint accounts, retirement accounts, and have a house that is like 60% paid off. Two kids and not much other family around. Why is it $4k for a stock document that is most likely just edited to fit our specific case?

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by miked

Totally random, anyone here ever create a will using LLMs? We don't have a ton of spare cash right now and most lawyers want to charge my wife and I almost $4k for a simple will. We only own our joint accounts, retirement accounts, and have a house that is like 60% paid off. Two kids and not much other family around. Why is it $4k for a stock document that is most likely just edited to fit our specific case?

You are paying for someone to look at your situation and ensure that you are not missing anything. It's not so much the work they will do as the expertise to know what work needs to be done.

[flere-imsaho]

I just realized that in texts my Mom does not click on a statement someone else made and select the "thumbs-up" button to signal agreement. She instead finds the actual "thumbs-up" emoji and replies with that.

[Atocep]

We're flying to Omaha for my son's college graduation today. I got pulled aside for additional screening because the security scan flagged my groin as a possible weapon. The wife has not heard the end of it since and I'm pretty sure she was ready to leave me in Seattle.

[Lathum]

Not sure who thought giving a group of 4/5 graders a 7:30 Disney mash up to perform at last nights spring choir concert was a good idea.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

I just realized that in texts my Mom does not click on a statement someone else made and select the "thumbs-up" button to signal agreement. She instead finds the actual "thumbs-up" emoji and replies with that.

I've still never used an emoji. Nor have I ever taken a true selfie. I'm holding onto as much of my dignity as I can for as long as possible.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by Atocep

We're flying to Omaha for my son's college graduation today. I got pulled aside for additional screening because the security scan flagged my groin as a possible weapon. The wife has not heard the end of it since and I'm pretty sure she was ready to leave me in Seattle.

You can't let that kind of opportunity go to waste.

[Ghost Econ]

I don't know who thought cilantro lime rice was a good idea, but I wish they hadn't.

[RainMaker]

There isn't a true crime thread here but it seems really bizarre they never found out what happened to Savannah Guthrie's Mom. Like kidnapping an old lady out of her home with cameras everywhere seems like it'd be hard to do.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

There isn't a true crime thread here but it seems really bizarre they never found out what happened to Savannah Guthrie's Mom. Like kidnapping an old lady out of her home with cameras everywhere seems like it'd be hard to do.

And the video of the guy who did it didn't exactly strike me as a criminal mastermind. At this point I think it was a kidnapping gone wrong, and she has been dead since that night.

[flere-imsaho]

I'm a consistent reader of Leafs' columns over on the Athletic and I don't know how he keeps on coming up with fun column ideas, even in the middle of the playoffs! Anyway, the column on the Maruk trophy is great.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

There isn't a true crime thread here but it seems really bizarre they never found out what happened to Savannah Guthrie's Mom. Like kidnapping an old lady out of her home with cameras everywhere seems like it'd be hard to do.

Speaking of True Crime, Alex Murdaugh gets a new trial for killing his wife and son because the court clerk told the jury "not to fooled" by anything Alex said at trial. The clerk went on to write a book about the trial.

I get why the conviction was overturned but on the other hand I doubt a person with a public defender would get this kind of outcome.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

I get why the conviction was overturned but on the other hand I doubt a person with a public defender would get this kind of outcome.

Never underestimate the leanings of the judge making a ruling. My observations of routine outcomes being more frequent than they used to be have given me a lean toward the attorneys having less impact -- on either side and in either direction -- than the inherent bias(es) of at least 80% of judges.

I think it's more like how (those of us who believe) NASCAR might not be fully rigged -- cause they can't control who has a mechanical failure -- but the deck is often stacked.

[cuervo72]

Mildly surprised if he hasn't sought a pardon on the federal side of his financial crimes.

(Separately, I have no idea of the logic behind the pronunciation of his name.)

[Lathum]

This is outstanding.

- YouTube

[GrantDawg]

https://x.com/Todd_Spence/status/205...702136792?s=20

[RainMaker]

I love when the ticketmaster fees cost more than the actual ticket.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I love when the ticketmaster fees cost more than the actual ticket.

I don't think I've actually had one of those, have been close a few times.

I DID however have one with some random obscure one recently. Tix dot com is probably as bad as it gets. I had to look up the exact
$46.50 ($25.00 + $21.50 fees)
with an additional $5 surcharge for e-ticket/print-at-home. Meaning a $25 ticket costs $51.50

That's not just Ticketmaster bad, that's worse than Ticketmaster.

As are most of these random ones I've seen lately.

[Lathum]

I’ve never been in a waffle house.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I’ve never been in a waffle house.

Would you go to one if there was a gas station attached?

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Hey Lathum, we're getting a Wawa less than 5 minutes from our house. Unfortunately. Not specifically about Wawa, but just that they are starting to build up around us way too quickly. It's actually starting a big community issue because we're 15-20 minutes from Lexington, and people want this town to remain small and mostly rural.

Anyway, I'll definitely give it a shot if I can easily go get the food and bring it home. I'm not eating in, but I'll give it a try on your recommendation. It'll probably be mid-late next year before it's built.

update?

[cuervo72]

Related, there was a huge to-do out in Colorado surrounding the proposed building of a Buc-ees down towards Colorado Springs, with the proposal ultimately being withdrawn. Same basic concerns.

(Also, NH's Wawa callback made me chuckle.)

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Lathum

update?

We've been out of the country for the past 2+ weeks but when we left, they were only just pushing dirt around and setting up the outline of a road/parking lot for the shops going in the new development. I'll be surprised if it happens before next year but maybe they'll hurry up to get it done before winter.

[Passacaglia]

I just recently learned Ctrl-Shift-Esc takes you to the task manager. Why have we all been using Ctrl-Alt-Del then clicking task manager? Does anyone use Ctrl-Alt-Del for anything other than getting to the task manager? Is Ctrl-Shift-Esc a newer shortcut, compared to Ctrl-Alt-Del, such that by the time it came around, everyone was already so used to Ctr-Alt-Del that Ctrl-Shift-Esc never caught on?

[NobodyHere]

I always right clicked the windows start menu button to get to the task manager

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

I just recently learned Ctrl-Shift-Esc takes you to the task manager. Why have we all been using Ctrl-Alt-Del then clicking task manager? Does anyone use Ctrl-Alt-Del for anything other than getting to the task manager? Is Ctrl-Shift-Esc a newer shortcut, compared to Ctrl-Alt-Del, such that by the time it came around, everyone was already so used to Ctr-Alt-Del that Ctrl-Shift-Esc never caught on?

I didn't know that. I always get to task manager by right clicking the task bar and it's one of two options. Task manager/ taskbar settings.