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

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Lathum

merry Christmas!!

I hope on Xmas you wake up and find a copy of Maximum Football in your stocking.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

I hope on Xmas you wake up and find a copy of Maximum Football in your stocking.

Doug flutie is so intense
He scares me

[Ksyrup]

how is this more horrifying than an anime body pillow pic.twitter.com/XGrJMbcydZ

— kit marks (gull) 🏴🚩Ⓐ (@ident1kitt) December 21, 2022

[NobodyHere]

I got a lotta problems with you people, and now you're going to hear about it!

[Edward64]

Went to Costco this afternoon.

Costco has great shopping carts. I've not had a rusty, squeaky wheel etc. yet.

The checkout line was the length of the warehouse. There were a couple lines for cash only. It didn't seem that busy when shopping, but this was the longest line evah for checkout.

[Critch]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Went to Costco this afternoon.

Costco has great shopping carts. I've not had a rusty, squeaky wheel etc. yet.

The checkout line was the length of the warehouse. There were a couple lines for cash only. It didn't seem that busy when shopping, but this was the longest line evah for checkout.

According to reddit, Costco has been having a nationwide credit card outage today.

Happily we got there first thing and avoided the outage.

[Ksyrup]

I'd never heard of Andrew Tate until yesterday and now he's made the news (or social media) twice in 2 days for 2 apparently separate reasons.

[Ksyrup]

Dola.

Although the 2 incidents are connected in one way. Tate's blow-up with Greta Thunberg which resulted in him posting a viral video on social media yesterday allowed LE to confirm he was in Romania thanks to the pizza box on the table in his video. Hilarious.

[Ksyrup]

2022 going out with a sucker punch to the nuts... Our refrigerator died. We noticed the freezer was crystallizing last night but that happens sometimes when someone accidentally leaves it cracked so we didn't think much of it. This morning, there was a puddle of water in the water/ice dispenser and the milk was less than cold. Still shows 0/37 degrees for freezer and fridge so... Ending the yard with a big purchase it looks like.

[PilotMan]

I feel you. We dropped $1200 to have a new dishwasher put in literally right before Christmas. At least the company was fast and got it installed the next day. I've never shopped for an appliance entirely online and placed the order without leaving the house, or looking at it. So far so good though right now.

[Ksyrup]

It might just be a coincidence but I wonder if the multiple electricity outages last weekend caused it. It worked fine this week though, so it didn't happen right after the power came back on for the final time. But it went on and off 2 separate days 8-10 times.

[B & B]

So Random.

Unless you have an allergy I think most of us would agree Snickers > Milky Way

I have never chosen the latter over the former but were talking about 5 candy bars annually consumed.

At Christmas I got mini versions of both. I suppose on Halloween you might get stuck with a few Milky Ways also. Just happened to have a bottle of dry roasted salted peanuts in the cabinet and with a few bites of them and the candy bar everything was perfect.

Dare I say even better than a regular Snickers especially if you want a higher salt/nut ratio to chocolate, caramel and nougat. Highly recommend.

[Lathum]

Milky Way is far better and Milky Way dark is one of the best candy bars ever.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by B & B

Unless you have an allergy I think most of us would agree Snickers > Milky Way

I agree.

To further elaborate - Snickers > Milky Way > Three Musketeers

[Kodos]

Milky Way is good. The other two listed are crap!

[Critch]

I got a soup maker for Christmas. It's crap, the soups are too thin. Dont believe the hype.

And Almond Joy is better than Snickers.

[NobodyHere]

I've honestly never heard of a soup maker. What exactly does it do?

[Critch]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

I've honestly never heard of a soup maker. What exactly does it do?

It's like an electric kettle combined with a blender. Bung in the ingredients, switch it on and in 18 mins you have soup.

On some groups the Soup Maker hype is reaching Air Fryer levels. Air Fryers do obviously deserve the hype.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Critch

And Almond Joy is better than Snickers.

I would agree with you if the Almond Joy bar was just as thick as the Snickers bar (e.g. coconut & chocolate all around and over the almond). I always feel a little shortchanged.

[Edward64]

Who the frak at State Farm thought the smelling beard commercial will get them more business?

And why the frak is it still on?

[cuervo72]

Yeah, I mean...soup. Either on the oven or in the crock pot, it's still throw bunch of crap in a pot, apply heat. If I need soup that fast I'll just open a can.

[miami_fan]

Inspired by 'Office Space' film, Washington software engineer steals over $300K from employer, prosecutors say | CNN

Yes, you should not steal from your employer at all.

That being said, I am not a criminal mastermind but why don't these people ramp up slowly in situations like this? Start off with a transfer of $50 and go up from there if there are no ramifications. Of course, someone is going to notice $302,278.52 disappearing over a three month period and going to a personal bank account.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Inspired by 'Office Space' film, Washington software engineer steals over $300K from employer, prosecutors say | CNN

Yes, you should not steal from your employer at all.

That being said, I am not a criminal mastermind but why don't these people ramp up slowly in situations like this? Start off with a transfer of $50 and go up from there if there are no ramifications. Of course, someone is going to notice $302,278.52 disappearing over a three month period and going to a personal bank account.

And if they were inspired by the movie, they should know not to steal too much all at once. And to check for flaws in the software.

[stevew]

Did anyone get that Keirig type thing that makes alcoholic beverages? I’m too lazy to google its name but I think it’s like “Brewvada” or something like that.

[stevew]

Obviously went pretentious with it when “Stir Mix A Lot” was worth the licensing bucks.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Although the 2 incidents are connected in one way. Tate's blow-up with Greta Thunberg which resulted in him posting a viral video on social media yesterday allowed LE to confirm he was in Romania thanks to the pizza box on the table in his video. Hilarious.

This was like a clue in a 90's Sierra Adventure Game.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by molson

This was like a clue in a 90's Sierra Adventure Game.

hahahaha I adore this reference!

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by stevew

Did anyone get that Keirig type thing that makes alcoholic beverages? I’m too lazy to google its name but I think it’s like “Brewvada” or something like that.

Is this it? Keurig says they've discontinued it

https://www.keurig.com/drinkworks

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Is this it? Keurig says they've discontinued it

https://www.keurig.com/drinkworks

That isn't it. The one he is thinking of is

Sorry! Something went wrong!


Wife and I looked into in, more out of curiosity but we didn't even consider it

[CrimsonFox]

SorrY LATHUM! SOMETHING WENT WRONG!~

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

SorrY LATHUM! SOMETHING WENT WRONG!~

story of my life

[albionmoonlight]

Few things feel as good as having a weird tech problem and encountering that unicorn of a tech support guy who totally understands what is wrong, and is willing, nay, even eager to fix it for you. I’m going to ride this high into 2023.

[stevew]

Bartesian. That’s what it was.

[NobodyHere]

Life needs a "New Game +" option to where you can go back to any point in your life but still have the knowledge and money you've accumulated.

[molson]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

hahahaha I adore this reference!

Gabriel Knight 2 ruled.

I listened to a podcast on that game within the last few years. There were layers to that shit.

[Ksyrup]

Is it just my imagination or are there more (and different) cruise commercials running right now than ever? We're going on our first cruise in 40 days so maybe I'm just noticing them more now, but I swear I've seen more in the past few weeks than in the past 2 decades combined.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Is it just my imagination or are there more (and different) cruise commercials running right now than ever? We're going on our first cruise in 40 days so maybe I'm just noticing them more now, but I swear I've seen more in the past few weeks than in the past 2 decades combined.

I have, but that's possibly because I see so few commercials a year, I'd overestimate whatever happens to be running heavy. Also, I haven't watched anything aside from bowl games so it's really only a subset.

[Ksyrup]

I'm guessing it's because cruise lines are desperately trying to fill cruises for the next 2-3 months. Boats have not been near the capacity they expect. There were some major sales in the fall and there are still some great deals out there if you are able to travel in January and February. I think that's the reason.

[Ksyrup]

Does this belong here? Maybe Strange Stories. Holy crap!

Just like it was drawn up!

Down 2 with 2 seconds left calls for a back to the basket behind the head heave to win it at the buzzer! #SCTop10 @SportsCenter pic.twitter.com/QX2Ttbt7jV

— CJ Lohmiller™ (@lohmillerconnor) December 31, 2022

[CrimsonFox]

<3 u guys....here's to another lousy year

[Ghost Econ]

I love my dog and it's cute he likes to cuddle, but I've been fighting a fever the last 2 days and his body heat is not helping. We have a king bed and he's almost pushing me out.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Is it just my imagination or are there more (and different) cruise commercials running right now than ever? We're going on our first cruise in 40 days so maybe I'm just noticing them more now, but I swear I've seen more in the past few weeks than in the past 2 decades combined.

Which cruise line are you going on?

The Mrs and I did our first last year, and then we did our 2nd in the fall.

[Ksyrup]

We are doing a Carnival cruise for 6 nights out of Miami with my wife's parents. Cheap-ish, but we got a nice suite on a mostly segregated deck to hopefully insulate us a little from the drunk partiers which Carnival is known for.

In September, we're finally going on the Alaska cruise we had to cancel back in June 2020. This one will be on Celebrity. I got a premium cabin and thanks to my Delta perks, we're flying 1st class so that's going to be the most luxurious vacation we've ever taken.

We're tentatively planning a trip to the UK in May of 2024. If we enjoy the cruises, I may add a 4 night cruise to that trip with stops in Amsterdam and Bruges.

What line(s) did you take, and what were your impressions?

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

We are doing a Carnival cruise for 6 nights out of Miami with my wife's parents. Cheap-ish, but we got a nice suite on a mostly segregated deck to hopefully insulate us a little from the drunk partiers which Carnival is known for.

In September, we're finally going on the Alaska cruise we had to cancel back in June 2020. This one will be on Celebrity. I got a premium cabin and thanks to my Delta perks, we're flying 1st class so that's going to be the most luxurious vacation we've ever taken.

We're tentatively planning a trip to the UK in May of 2024. If we enjoy the cruises, I may add a 4 night cruise to that trip with stops in Amsterdam and Bruges.

What line(s) did you take, and what were your impressions?

We did Princess on the first cruise, and Celebrity on the 2nd.

We had fun on both for different reasons. Princess was good, and we really liked having the wearables to scan in for purchases, instead of needing to break out a card, or phone. We were below the average age on both cruises, but Celebrity was quite a bit older than we were. Might have had more to do with the time of year we went though, as we were on their boat in the fall.

I liked the Celebrity boat better, with far more places to hang out and chill. Plenty little bars, and corners to hole up in for a while. We liked the rooms on Celebrity better than Princess as well. We had a great experience with the food on Princess, but both ships tried really hard to make her food that she could eat and tried to get creative. We really felt like VIPs on both ships as well. When everyone gets a list of food allergies and special needs word travels around the boat and they start to recognize you.

The first cruise was a 7 night cruise, and the second was a 9 night. I have found that I really love the at sea days more than the in port days, but it all comes down to the port anyway. So many of them are virtually identical that you need to pick and choose what you want to do to make it unique.

My wife was very concerned about motion sickness, and we had some pretty big waves and wind on Princess and kept her feeling ill a couple days, but there were things we could do to counter it too, and we managed well enough that she didn't really stress about it on the 2nd, even though there were a couple days there where she wasn't feeling top notch either.

All in all, it's enough that I'm sure we'll be doing it more and more. The value that you get for the money is untouchable really. There's so much there between the rooms, service, and food, and then add a drink package, and you can't beat it.

[Lathum]

Carnival is definitely known for partiers and is kind of the white trash of cruise lines. We have done Royal Caribbean several times. disney once (was supposed to be twice but covid) and Princess twice to Alaska.

We are going back to Alaska next July and doin RC since the kids are going. They are easily the most family oriented with lots of stuff for kids to do.

Princess to Alaska was amazing. Crown skews a bit older, but they were the first ones there so they have the best ports, excursions, etc...we did it twice and was amazing.

Disney it is all about the kids and the ship, and typical of Disney they leave no stone unturned. Easily the best cruising experience we ever had. The kids had an amazing time.

I have yet to be on a cruise where the food wasn't awesome, and plenty of it. Lots of bats, pools, stuff to do, etc...It really is an awesome way to travel.

[PilotMan]

I'm very happy at this point if I can go on a cruise and not need to deal with any children at all. I want to curse, drink, and not worry about any other peoples kids along the way. It's been a hallmark of our own vacations alone the past few years, and we've gotten rather used to it.

Many people love Celebrity. I could easily see making it a regular line for us.

[Lathum]

Most cruises have an adults only area.

[Lathum]

The IRS is such a fucking disaster. Around Oct 2021 I got a notice saying we underreported our income from 2019 and owe and additional $39K. Umm, the fuck we do.

Long story short went to a specialist, at my own cost, who redid everything from 19 and 20 and there was something minor. Turns out the IRS basically fucked up, and I owed an extra $100 or so. I resubmitted everything Dec of 2021 with the warning from the accountant it would take a while. I continued to get notices for a while then they stopped. Then the checks I sent the IRS were cashed, so cool, all good.

About 10 days before Xmas I get a letter with reference to my 2019 taxes, which stated they are still reviewing and if I don't hear anything for 90 days to contact them. Literally 2 days later I get a bill for $1700 owed for adjustments. Literally 3 days after that I get another bill for $1100 owed for adjustments. For the same year!!!

[Ksyrup]

Without stepping foot on any cruise line yet, that's been my thought when booking Celebrity - it seems like the right fit for us. I guess we'll see.

Down the road a couple years, I have my sights set on a European Christmas market river cruise on the Rhine. I just think it would be something different and put a bit of spark back into the holiday season. Viking looks to be the way to go for that kind of cruise.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Most cruises have an adults only area.

Yeah, I get that, it's not enough. Having been to enough adult only resorts with adult behavior there's a lot to be said for getting away from them after 20+ years of raising them.