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

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Ugh. Ours went out a couple of years ago. Was not cheap to fix. In our case the problem was the type. It required us to replace the whole door.

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IIRC, this has happened here once previously. At least tonight, unlike last time some decade or so back, I found someone to call for a quote tomorrow and a couple other options in the general vicinity.

Last time around the Athens area was down to literally one company between here & Gwinnett Co who still worked on em. (which is actually better than what you find here to look at in-ground sprinkler systems)

[NobodyHere]

Why is it called menopause and not menostop?

[cuervo72]

We had one of our garage door springs go some years ago (double-wide door). Sucker was loud. Didn't quite realize how much work it did before I tried to open the door w/o it. Decided to get a new door as well, the old one was no great shakes (and I think it had been slightly rolled into at some point as well so it was not without a bit of a dent). New one had some cutouts to allow a little light in.

(Do we have cars in our garage? No, we do not. Have a couple of seats from the old HS auditorium in there though, along with all other sorts of crap.)

[stevew]

The flying car being a Nissan Altima is the most Nissan Altima thing ever.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

IIRC, this has happened here once previously. At least tonight, unlike last time some decade or so back, I found someone to call for a quote tomorrow and a couple other options in the general vicinity.

Last time around the Athens area was down to literally one company between here & Gwinnett Co who still worked on em. (which is actually better than what you find here to look at in-ground sprinkler systems)

We had someone out in a few hours and he fixed that night. It was like 10 o'clock to midnight.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

We had someone out in a few hours and he fixed that night. It was like 10 o'clock to midnight.

Fingers crossed that my unusual luck this morning holds. They're due between 10a-2p, with a flat rate cost IF it's just the spring as we believe

[jcard]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Why is it called menopause and not menostop?

Or womenostop?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Fingers crossed that my unusual luck this morning holds. They're due between 10a-2p, with a flat rate cost IF it's just the spring as we believe

My luck didn't quite hold :/

It'll be roughly double what the best case was -- the springs are a non-standard size & have to be cut to order -- and the cable on one side was in REALLY bad shape. Like 6 months or less before it snapped kinda bad.

Aaaaand cutting to order will take until next Thurs before it gets installed.

edit to add: screw it, I ain't trying to be coy about the cost. Best case was $375 (parts, labor, all). New total is $699.45

[Kodos]

Oof. The joys of owning a home.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

My luck didn't quite hold :/

It'll be roughly double what the best case was -- the springs are a non-standard size & have to be cut to order -- and the cable on one side was in REALLY bad shape. Like 6 months or less before it snapped kinda bad.

Aaaaand cutting to order will take until next Thurs before it gets installed.

edit to add: screw it, I ain't trying to be coy about the cost. Best case was $375 (parts, labor, all). New total is $699.45

Still cheaper than I got out. They had to replace the whole door. I want to say right at $1,100

[Lathum]

I have to pay $1400 to have some shit done to our irrigation well. Not drinking water, just for the sprinkler system. Joy.

Also shelling out $800 for a new slider and back windows. Plus about 7K for a new shed.

I love owning a house.

[GrantDawg]

We are probably replacing the whole septic system this year. Early estimates starting at $10k.

[Atocep]

We just had to replace our roof. Decided to replace all sun facing windows (10 in total, half the windows in our home) with energy efficients, and had our gutters replaced. 40k total for the project.

We replaced the furnace and added a heat pump a couple years ago. 15k for that.

We've owned this house less than 4 years. Absolutely love it, but yeah being a homeowner is expensive.

[Ksyrup]

I think I've posted this before, but the way online contact lens companies deceptively price contacts is bullshit and should be investigated. I've gone to 3 or 4 different sites and see pretty similar prices, only to get to the checkout page and see something along the lines of a $55 processing fee. They basically come out to the same price as other places that don't try to screw you over (once you start comparing prices between the cheapest and more expensive sites), but the deal is that they artificially drop the price so you'll click on the site, input all of the information, upload your prescription, and then find out at checkout that the $35 per box price is actually $65 once you factor in the absurdly high processing fee.

I expect a shipping charge, and even a minimal processing fee. Dumping half the cost of the boxes into the processing fee so you can advertise an "online promo 50% off cost per box" ... this seems like low-hanging fruit for an Attorney General (except Ken Paxton, he's got his hands full).

[GrantDawg]

My optician wife says just buy them from your eye doctor, cheapskate.

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[Ksyrup]

I'll pay what they cost but don't try to con me into paying regular price at your site by faking a cheaper price.

[miami_fan]

The A/C went out yesterday and we are able to get someone to come out a little later today. At this point, the technician will get an applause similar to the ones doctors and nurses got during COVID.

[NobodyHere]

Kayaking with 15 mph wind blowing in your face is hard.

[NobodyHere]

Has anyone elses adblockers started failing?

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Has anyone elses adblockers started failing?

No.

I use AdBlock Plus & Chrome if that helps. Sometimes I have to turn it off or the website won't let me read the content, but no massive failures.

[Edward64]

We went to Cracker Barrel every 1-2 months pre-Covid. And I've been back 3 times since late last year.

The prices are still pretty decent. They've not inflated them like some other restaurants. All 3 times were less crowds than pre-Covid. The couple times at breakfast 7am, it was maybe 3 other tables when previously it was jam packed.

The service has slowed some. They supposedly don't bring your biscuits & jam before your meal (have to ask for it WTF). This may be to reduce the no. of biscuits a table will eat?

So yeah, I've noticed the lack of customers but unsure why. The prices are not too inflated and food is just as good.

Cracker Barrel Hit by Dining Decline. The Stock Falls as It Misses on Earnings.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store CBRL –3.28% stock was falling Tuesday after the restaurant chain missed revenue and earnings expectations for its fiscal third quarter as traffic declined.

[GrantDawg]

I have no idea what they have done to their greens or why, but I have been to two different Cracker Barrel's on multiple occasions (FIL favorite restaurant), and the greens have a been a nasty, slimy mess. Just terrible.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I have no idea what they have done to their greens or why, but I have been to two different Cracker Barrel's on multiple occasions (FIL favorite restaurant), and the greens have a been a nasty, slimy mess. Just terrible.

I wouldn't trust anybody who tells me their favorite restaurant is a chain. I guess it would be nice that your favorite restaurant could be with you in different locations.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Edward64

We went to Cracker Barrel every 1-2 months pre-Covid. And I've been back 3 times since late last year.

The prices are still pretty decent. They've not inflated them like some other restaurants. All 3 times were less crowds than pre-Covid. The couple times at breakfast 7am, it was maybe 3 other tables when previously it was jam packed.

The service has slowed some. They supposedly don't bring your biscuits & jam before your meal (have to ask for it WTF). This may be to reduce the no. of biscuits a table will eat?

So yeah, I've noticed the lack of customers but unsure why. The prices are not too inflated and food is just as good.

With one exception (recently, in north Florida) every CB I've tried since Covid has suffered from the same issues: poor to abominable service, reduced menu (which was the first big blow to them), lower food quality and consistency (the kitchens border on atrocious at times).

All I can say is that I'm happy to read that they're paying for the steady & sharp decline at least a little bit

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

I wouldn't trust anybody who tells me their favorite restaurant is a chain. I guess it would be nice that your favorite restaurant could be with you in different locations.

This is a tough one because I feel like 80% of the restaurants in Frederick are chains. Maybe that's not quite right, but generally it seems like we're large enough to attract them, but not "city" enough to have neighborhoods or a lot of individual places outside of downtown (for us, not worth going down to really), Asian places, or bars/sandwich/pizza places. I mean, we're getting out of a 20 years of kids phase and are not into going anywhere fancy, so for ages, chains it was.

[thesloppy]

Maybe the hole kids/family thing is a crucial difference. I don't have to consider that stuff, but I can see the appeal of a place that you know what to expect (both in how they treat kids, and how kids react to their food) every time you go.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

This is a tough one because I feel like 80% of the restaurants in Frederick are chains. Maybe that's not quite right, but generally it seems like we're large enough to attract them, but not "city" enough to have neighborhoods or a lot of individual places outside of downtown (for us, not worth going down to really), Asian places, or bars/sandwich/pizza places. I mean, we're getting out of a 20 years of kids phase and are not into going anywhere fancy, so for ages, chains it was.

Location seems like a pretty significant aspect of this, it's never been hard for me to find areas where a chain topped anything "local", or at least was every bit its equal. And if several options are equal then "favorite" can simply be a matter of which one is pizza vs steak vs Italian vs Chinese, depending on what you like best.

And I've never remotely understood the anti-chain bias when the floor is usually lower with "local" locations consistently over my whole lifetime.

[GrantDawg]

Up until recently, there weren't any local places that were better than chains. Most family-owned places were all owned by the same family here, and their interest was cost not quality. There are some good Mexican restaurants (one of those used to be my favorite), and at one time there were some excellent Chinese places, but then they all went buffet style and the quality plummeted.
The last ten years last has changed. There are many good independent restaurants of a variety of types. It is still a roll of the dice if you don't know which are great and which are pretty crappy.

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[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

and at one time there were some excellent Chinese places, but then they all went buffet style and the quality plummeted.
\

And just to prove that Athens is its own deal unlike anything else here ... we're down to one Chinese buffet and it's been abysmal for years now.

*For those who don't know the geography, assuming he's still in the same place me & GDawg are only about 45 minutes apart counting traffic

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

With one exception (recently, in north Florida) every CB I've tried since Covid has suffered from the same issues: poor to abominable service, reduced menu (which was the first big blow to them), lower food quality and consistency (the kitchens border on atrocious at times).

All I can say is that I'm happy to read that they're paying for the steady & sharp decline at least a little bit

My 3 visits were for breakfast & brunch. I really have not noticed a difference in the breakfast menu/quality but can't say about lunch & dinner.

Do agree service could be better.

(And they aren't selling those Virginia peanuts in a can anymore)

[cuervo72]

Ok - Mexican (Honduran, etc.) is actually pretty easy around here to find something that isn't chain, or even a "local" chain (DC area, or maybe has a FRE location and something in Hagerstown).

I mentioned a buffet place up in Thurmont the other day to my wife, wondering how things were going up there -- but not seriously thinking about eating there any time soon. It's the kind of place that has been around for eons, packs in the locals, but would have Robert Irvine making all sorts of barfing motions. Kind of place where they offer green beans...fresh from a two-gallon can. (They have a large variety of pies, at least.) Or an old place that we tried once on the other side of town (closed years ago) were you go in, feel extremely out of place, and get the same canned quality food. I mean, I love going to our local diner but realize some of the offerings are not much above that, but it's a diner. (And some of the offerings actually are half-decent.)

With chains at least you know that there is going to be some semblance of quality control. Well, until they don't. We used to go to the Lob, Applebee's. Don't much anymore.

(Honestly though, I think some of our favorite options have gone belly-up; we've lost Carrabba's, Macaroni Grille, Famous Dave's, Hard Times. Between that, kids either having flown the coop or expressing tricky dietary preferences, and the pandemic/working from home we've just filled in with Cava, Chick-Fil-A, Chipotle, WaWa, Noodles, etc. and not looked back. It's not worth getting out of sweatpants most of the time.)

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Atocep

We just had to replace our roof. Decided to replace all sun facing windows (10 in total, half the windows in our home) with energy efficients, and had our gutters replaced. 40k total for the project.

We replaced the furnace and added a heat pump a couple years ago. 15k for that.

We've owned this house less than 4 years. Absolutely love it, but yeah being a homeowner is expensive.

After a couple of weeks of seeing the impact of the energy efficient windows we decided to just schedule them to come out to do the rest. So we're in for 10k more but all major projects for the house should be done for some time.

[GrantDawg]

Seething over the idea of paying a $100 co-pay for a "phone visit" to set up a colonoscopy. I'm not even talking to a doctor. This is just scheduling an appointment.

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[Edward64]

I'm surprised the co-pay is that much for telehealth consultation.

Are you sure that's your co-pay portion?

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Seething over the idea of paying a $100 co-pay for a "phone visit" to set up a colonoscopy. I'm not even talking to a doctor. This is just scheduling an appointment.

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Why isn't your insurance covering it? If it's just a routine cancer screen it should be covered. But you're not wrong.

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Seething over the idea of paying a $100 co-pay for a "phone visit" to set up a colonoscopy. I'm not even talking to a doctor. This is just scheduling an appointment.

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WTF? Here in Iowa if the time for the colonoscopy has come I ask my Dr. during my annual physical to set it up. Done at no cost with insurance paying for the annual physical. I've never had a secondary appointment with anyone that I had to set up myself. The doctor or doctor's staff has always done it and let me know when and where. Even if done outside an office visit there is never a charge.

[thesloppy]

Aliens & UFOs: I do not give a shit.

Like absolutely zero interest. Which kind of surprises me. I like conspiracy theories and science fiction and absurdities, but I am just not willing to give UFOs or aliens a second of attention until they are alive and vaporizing our leaders (oh please)

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by Edward64

We went to Cracker Barrel every 1-2 months pre-Covid. And I've been back 3 times since late last year.

The prices are still pretty decent. They've not inflated them like some other restaurants.

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

With one exception (recently, in north Florida) every CB I've tried since Covid has suffered from the same issues: poor to abominable service, reduced menu (which was the first big blow to them), lower food quality and consistency (the kitchens border on atrocious at times).

It's almost as if these two things were linked.

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Why isn't your insurance covering it?

In America, paying a co-pay for any care whatsoever is "your insurance covering it".

[PilotMan]

The vast majority of insurances cover preventative care at 100%. It was part of ACA.

[GrantDawg]

The scan is free, but for some idiotic reason my primary has referred me to a gastro for the scan and they charged me the specialist co-pay for the "consult."

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[PilotMan]

That's asinine. Any reason you can't go back to the primary and tell him to find someone else who can do it?


I just did mine, and I literally just talked with the nurse over the phone for about 5 minutes so she could send the scripts and instructions out. They didn't charge for that. But it's very American that they would find a say to start.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

Aliens & UFOs: I do not give a shit.

Like absolutely zero interest. Which kind of surprises me. I like conspiracy theories and science fiction and absurdities, but I am just not willing to give UFOs or aliens a second of attention until they are alive and vaporizing our leaders (oh please)

lmao

[Edward64]

Heresy.

[Ghost Econ]

Having to work remote from my work from home job every morning this summer so I can get my daughter to and from gymnastics.

So far the rankings are: Panera, ChickfilA, the gym itself, and way down below that is Starbucks.

Nothing like sitting outside a chickfila on a zoom while two birds are doing it at the table next to you.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Ghost Econ

Nothing like sitting outside a chickfila on a zoom while two birds are doing it at the table next to you.

I need to know if you're British or not before I evaluate this.

[Ghost Econ]

Nope, guvnah

[Edward64]

Downloaded Adobe Acrobat Reader (free) for pdfs.

WTF are they still doing with the silly download McAfee (checked by default)? Aren't they frakking big enough to not worry about piddly stuff like that?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Downloaded Adobe Acrobat Reader (free) for pdfs.

WTF are they still doing with the silly download McAfee (checked by default)? Aren't they frakking big enough to not worry about piddly stuff like that?

The answer was, traditionally, that it's paid placement by McAfee. If they're paying enough then the answer is that it isn't piddly I guess.

[thesloppy]

One wonders how McAfee antivirus could be paying anybody anything in this day and age.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

One wonders how McAfee antivirus could be paying anybody anything in this day and age.

They've been bought out and rebranded under Trellix, which has a government contract. The McAfee name is still used for parts of their AV, likely because the brand is known.