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

[Ghost Econ]

Yeah my dad was my age when he decided to be a preacher instead of being the office worker he had been the last ~20 years. He didn't even go to church for most of his adult life. When I was 8 we just up and moved to a new state and my dad went from having a nice engineering job to being a divinity student working in a bookstore. Two years later he had a church, was the lead in local musicals, proceeded to kick out the racists in the church and was somehow named the local NAACPs man of the year in a town 60% African American. This from a guy who hadn't been in plays or socially/politically active since college.

[cuervo72]

I am now the age my dad was when I got married. By that time he had fallen (literally, working on a building) almost a decade before, went back to college, divorced my mom, and either had or was about to move to Hawaii.

[GrantDawg]

I didn't know your brother was in eye-care, Ksyrup. My wife is an optician and a big eye nerd.

[Ksyrup]

Yeah, he's an ophthalmologist in NC. Bought 2 retiring doctors' practices and merged them and is doing really well. His wife is a nurse and they don't have kids so... He and I are the control and experimental versions of what would happen with and without kids.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Yeah, he's an ophthalmologist in NC. Bought 2 retiring doctors' practices and merged them and is doing really well. His wife is a nurse and they don't have kids so... He and I are the control and experimental versions of what would happen with and without kids.

That's rare any more, finding a non-huge conglomerate to buy out practices. Especially now when young doctors come out of school with huge debt loads. Most have to work for decades before they get out from under it.

[Ksyrup]

He worked for a huge eye practice in the area before going up to Rhode Island for a few years, then they relocated back to Ashville when these practices came available and he competes against his old group. But he's not interested in expanding or adding any doctors to his practice. He's making hand over fist doing 50-60 cataract surgeries a month. I expect he'll be retired in less than 10 years (he's 47).

[Edward64]

I'm sure these drugs won't be over the counter anytime soon as it'll take a while and more FDA required testing. But I want this (or similar) now.

My workouts are coming along nicely but I'll take every bit of help I can get in the reality of slower metabolism.

The weight loss drug Wegovy was shown to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke or heart disease-related death by 20% in a major clinical trial in people with cardiovascular disease, the first to show a weight loss drug alone can have such protective effects.

Novo Nordisk studied Wegovy against placebo in addition to standard of care for prevention of major adverse cardiac events in 17,604 adults with heart disease and obesity or who were overweight, but who didn’t have diabetes. It called the five-year trial “Select.”

The finding of a 20% reduction in heart risk is higher than many experts had anticipated. A similar trial for the type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic, which uses the same ingredient, semaglutide, previously showed it could reduce cardiovascular risk by 26% — but no trial had yet shown a risk reduction in people without diabetes.

[Lathum]

I have polluted myself this summer between 2 vacations where I drank and ate WAY too much. I actually didn't gain any weight, just feel gross.

Kids are back in school just after labor day and I plan on hitting the gym hard.

[CrimsonFox]

vanful of magic cards was stolen from gencon.
also a rumble broke out over lorcana promo cards
I hear that's also why the alabama brawl started

[Ghost Econ]

Me at work: runs script at work that auto-generates an email when it's done.

Also me at work: 5 seconds later wondering who the fuck is emailing me now when the outlook icon pops up.

[bob]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Kids are back in school just after labor day and I plan on hitting the gym hard.

Our kids are back to school as of yesterday. Crazy how different the schedule is across the country.

[Edward64]

Have to go talk to my attorney about my $1.58B winnings.

If you need a donation, just each out.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Have to go talk to my attorney about my $1.58B winnings.

If you need a donation, just each out.

Money, please!

[GrantDawg]

My dream of winning one of those major landfalls ($1b+) is that after I established long term trust that will provide for my family forever I would then put $200 million dollars or so into creating the American football manager game I have always dreamed of. I have fantasized many times about the process of finding the right developers to head the program, and laying out how the game would play in my dreams.
You should all wish I win the big lottery someday.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by bob

Our kids are back to school as of yesterday. Crazy how different the schedule is across the country.

Yeah. When we lived in Ohio this always threw me for loop.

[Ksyrup]

In KY, it varies but is usually no later than around the 15th or 16th. Some schools in Louisville and Lexington go back this week (usually mid-end of week so that the "real" classes start fresh on the following Monday). My daughter teaches at a more rural school north of Lexington and they go back on the 16th.

About 6 or 7 years ago, the KY legislature passed a law that incentivizes schools to delay the start of school to near the end of August. I'm pretty sure it was signed into law, but it doesn't appear that any of the big school districts have adopted a start closer to August 25th than August 1st. Of course, we also have a fall break here which was not a thing when I was in school. And depending on snow days, the last day of school is typically before Memorial day. When I was a kid, we went into June. I think I graduated June 15th-ish.

So, yeah, August is definitely still part of "summer" and it feels weird for kids to be in school in early August, but I don't think it has to do with having less of a summer break. I think it's just shifted summer (here anyway) from mid-June to late August to Memorial Day to early August. About a 2 week shift. And they added a full week off for fall break.

[jcard]

I am not a college football fan, but I happened to see some lists of current conference members. If the NCAA powers that be switched fields, you might see Venezuela and Japan as Eurovision finalists.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

So, yeah, August is definitely still part of "summer" and it feels weird for kids to be in school in early August, but I don't think it has to do with having less of a summer break. I think it's just shifted summer (here anyway) from mid-June to late August to Memorial Day to early August. About a 2 week shift. And they added a full week off for fall break.

One of the quirky things I didn't remember until digging into the subject of school starting dates a few years ago was that school opening has moved a lot more than the start of HS football season (which is next week here in GA)

Looking back through some historical schedules from the 70s and 80s made me realized / remember that football season actually started _before_ school in some years. We had an after Labor Day start my whole K-12 best I can figure but football season started in the Aug 25-Sept 2 range throughout.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

One of the quirky things I didn't remember until digging into the subject of school starting dates a few years ago was that school opening has moved a lot more than the start of HS football season (which is next week here in GA)

Looking back through some historical schedules from the 70s and 80s made me realized / remember that football season actually started _before_ school in some years. We had an after Labor Day start my whole K-12 best I can figure but football season started in the Aug 25-Sept 2 range throughout.

I remember the same thing. They would have camp then play the first game usually the weekend before school started. Am I wrong, but weren't those first games usually a team you never play? Many times different classifications, like almost a scrimmage?

[Ksyrup]

Not sure where to put this. We have a kid from our local HS who has absolutely blown up as a potential basketball recruit. He's a 5 star 2025 guard. His dad is the AD and FB coach at our HS, was a former UK football player and I think played a bit in the NFL but nothing special.

Anyway, I've watched this kid grow up and he was in 8th grade when Mack graduated and you could tell he was going to be good. His dad pushed Mack to play college ball but she didn't think her body would hold up (and even without college ball, she had another knee surgery in July to clean up scar tissue from a knee surgery when she was 10, so...).

Well, he's gotten so big that he is transferring to Link Academy in Missouri and just announced an NIL deal.

Hard to fault a guy for leaving home and it kinda sucks, but I guess that's the way it works for the top half-percent of recruits.

Welcome to the family @BruhJasperJ 🤞🏼 pic.twitter.com/b3hNgrcQL7

— Court XIV (@CourtXIV) August 9, 2023

[miami_fan]

Will you be able to get free tickets when he comes to a college or even better NBA arena near you? And if so, are you getting courtside, lower level, or nose bleed seats? I am just trying to establish the level of relationship.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I remember the same thing. They would have camp then play the first game usually the weekend before school started. Am I wrong, but weren't those first games usually a team you never play? Many times different classifications, like almost a scrimmage?

Scrimmages were, as I recall, a little less common back then than they are now.

Early part of most seasons have long been non-region games (which, in Georgia for those unfamiliar, are the same as exhibitions since they have zero bearing on playoff spots) and a quick look at 5 years either side of my HS days (so a 15 year span from the mids 70s to late 80s) we played mostly teams +/- one classification, with four years against a nearby new school (Forsyth Central who started, IIRC, with only a freshman class) and then it was non-region local rivals who had ended up in different regions/ classifications.

Funny thing that only Georgia folks will get. Then Class 2A Pickens (now 3A) played four season openers against a little class A team that had really never amounted to anything in football, more than two decades in existence without a season over .500 nor a playoff game. That team would be Dacula ... now in Class 7A, with 26 playoff appearances, 12 region titles, and 4 final fours in the forty years that followed.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Will you be able to get free tickets when he comes to a college or even better NBA arena near you? And if so, are you getting courtside, lower level, or nose bleed seats? I am just trying to establish the level of relationship.

I hope so lol. He's got offers from a TON of D1 schools. When FSU offered him, I reached out to his dad and was like, he's got to go play for HAM! My daughter knows him pretty well too. I guess we'll see.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

His dad is the AD and FB coach at our HS, was a former UK football player and I think played a bit in the NFL but nothing special.

A little Googling and his dad turns out to be part of a bit of trivia.

He might very well be the youngest player to ever play varsity football. SO young in fact that he (and his brother) were the reason for a change in national rules governing HS sports.

This 2003 draft article explains the nitty gritty of it
ESPN.com - Johnson's journey to NFL has been long

[Ksyrup]

Huh. Interesting.

His father, Alvin Johnson, was a legendary Kentucky HS FB coach. He passed away 2-3 weeks ago.

[Ksyrup]

That's also interesting because I am pretty sure that 7th grade rule is relatively recent, at least in terms of enforcement. Maybe they only really cared about the big sports or boys sports because I know when Caitlin was coming up, we played some small schools with JV players who were younger than 7th grade "filling in" on the varsity SB team. I specifically remember one team with a 2B who we were told was a 5th grader and who, frankly, looked like she was 8 years old.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

That's also interesting because I am pretty sure that 7th grade rule is relatively recent, at least in terms of enforcement. Maybe they only really cared about the big sports or boys sports because I know when Caitlin was coming up, we played some small schools with JV players who were younger than 7th grade "filling in" on the varsity SB team. I specifically remember one team with a 2B who we were told was a 5th grader and who, frankly, looked like she was 8 years old.

The rule is hard & fast here, at least outside of some tiny private schools that play in obscure organizations (i.e. not affiliated with nor managed by the main governing body): no varsity play before 9th grade. You get 4 years of varsity eligibility and 4 years to use that. 8th graders are allowed to play sub-varsity (i.e. JV team) at the HS their middle school feeds to, although that's pretty rarely used afaik.

[miami_fan]

New Jersey is the last state in America where drivers can't pump gas | CNN Business

1. I had no idea that people who pump gas at full service stations in Oregon were represented by unions.

2. I can't say that I ever thought that self service gas pumping would ever be described as a third rail by a governor of a state but...

On self-service gas, that’s been sort of a political third rail in New Jersey,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said last year.

[Lathum]

I was born and raised in Jersey and have been back for several years. I have never heard one peep about it being an issue at all.

[miami_fan]

Evidently I have really been living under a rock. Today I learned that shots used to smooth out wrinkles in a person's face are gendered. I had heard of Botox before. Today, I learned that the term Brotox used for Botox for men. From what I understand , there is no difference in the needle used, or the toxin in the needle. Everything is the same. The only difference is when the person getting injected is a man, it is called Brotox instead of Botox.

The more you know.

[cartman]

I'm now on Day 13 of broken air conditioning. Don't know what I'd be doing if I didn't have a portable AC unit in a room I've blocked off from the rest of the house. It is 78 in there while the rest of the house is over 100

[Kodos]

Yeesh. Glad I don't live in the southwest.

[Ghost Econ]

At least you're saving on electricity.

[Ksyrup]

I see the AP has picked up on the story about Louisville's disasterous first day of school in which they completely screwed up their bus schedule and kids were getting bussed home as late as 10 pm yesterday. They canceled school today and tomorrow to figure out a new schedule and apparently do a dry run of route before next week.

The husband of one of my co-workers is an elementary school teacher and said these plans (which included staggering school first bell/last bell schedules) have been in the works for 10 months and that some kids as young as kindergarten were having accidents on the bus because they waited so long between the end of school and getting home. The superintendent ought to resign.

[stevew]

I looked into being a bus driver and it wasn’t enough money to wake up for

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

The husband of one of my co-workers is an elementary school teacher and said these plans (which included staggering school first bell/last bell schedules) have been in the works for 10 months and that some kids as young as kindergarten were having accidents on the bus because they waited so long between the end of school and getting home. The superintendent ought to resign.

And on the other end of the spectrum, there's a mini-controversy (confined to social media) with people demanding that "not riding the bus should be made as painful as possible, no sense in these entitled parents driving their kids to school", combined with "foolish to cancel school for storms, these spoiled kids can sit in the hall with a book over their heads same as we did" (that one actually comes from someone who is in administration btw)

And sadly no, I couldn't make up any of that idiotic shit.

[Ksyrup]

I have absolutely no use for the Alexa/Siri/Echo/Roku voice-activated stuff, but I will admit that it's tons of fun to walk by my daughter's door and say "Alexa play death metal" and walk off and then she comes out of the bathroom to Cannibal Corpse.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by Edward64

I'm sure these drugs won't be over the counter anytime soon as it'll take a while and more FDA required testing. But I want this (or similar) now.

You're not going to see these drugs OTC any time soon, much like you don't see generic Lipitor OTC even though atorvastatin is pretty safe. The reason is that all require regular blood tests to ensure that the serious side effects (for which there might be a small chance, admittedly) don't happen, unnoticed.

[NobodyHere]

Imagine if Genghis Kahn lived in America after Star Trek 2 came out. Everyone would be trying to imitate Shatner and yell "KHAAAAAAAAN" to his face. It would drive him mad enough to conquer half of Asia.

[albionmoonlight]

I'm going to a training later this week. And they are making us download some weird app to get the schedule. And, of course, I am having trouble with the weird app and passwords, etc.

Why can't you just email us a pdf?

I mean, have your app too for those who really want it. But it would take you five minutes to send it out in a form that I could print in 1 minute.

[CrimsonFox]

I completely forgot about the idiot that ran across the North Korean border into NK. NK is FINALLY admitting he is there.
Now they are arguing what his status actually is. Whether he can be a POW or something. Pfff forget about this guy. No one will ever see him again.
I mean he doesn't even want to come back to america anyway.

[Ksyrup]

It is the Ides of August and we have the AC off and the windows open. It will back in the low-mid 90s by the weekend, but for now, I'll take an absolutely glorious day today (and tomorrow, it looks like). 75, cool breeze, partly cloudy.

I can't wait for fall. Of course, in 3 weeks I'll be cruising Alaska, so I guess I won't have to wait too long!

[cartman]

My AC won't be repaired until next Wednesday. One of the hottest summers on record, and I'll be without AC for nearly a full month

[Ksyrup]

It's odd how weather has been so extreme this year but here, it's been very mild. We had a mild winter with barely any snow and now we're at like a third of the number of 90 degree days we usually get in a typical summer by now.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by cartman

My AC won't be repaired until next Wednesday. One of the hottest summers on record, and I'll be without AC for nearly a full month

That’s terrible. Contractor doesn’t have any window units? When we replaced our central AC, the contractor put a window unit in every bedroom until the job was finished. Was about two weeks if I remember correctly.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by dubb93

That’s terrible. Contractor doesn’t have any window units? When we replaced our central AC, the contractor put a window unit in every bedroom until the job was finished. Was about two weeks if I remember correctly.

I went to Costco and picked up a portable AC unit. It works to keep one room around 76 degrees, so that's where I spend most of my time.

[Ksyrup]

That really sucks. When we had to replace our main floor unit in December one year, we suffered through upper 50s at night in the house, but at least we weren't sweaty and uncomfortable. I would rather freeze and put more clothes/blankets on than sweat.

Just got my electric bill and we still haven't had a month over $200 since March (which would cover mid-January to mid-February). Crazy. Of course, I suppose having both kids out of the house helps, but we still expect one or two $200+ months during the hottest part of the year just due to AC. But mild temps and fewer laundry days have helped.

[tarcone]

Still alive and doing much better. Much has transpired

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Still alive and doing much better. Much has transpired

Welcome back!

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Still alive and doing much better. Much has transpired

Welcome back! Good to hear you are doing better.