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

[molson]

I'm a big fan of visiting and experiencing some big scene or hobby others are passionate about but which I'm ignorant of. I think it's one of my better traits - if you're super into whatever, say monster truck rallies, I totally want to go with you to a monster truck rally and see that through your eyes and appreciate it.

This weekend I got to that kind of thing - seeing Phish in the Vegas Sphere with some Phish friends. I was very a much a visitor to that whole thing, and, it was pretty crazy and awesome. Being around thousands of happy people who know everything that's going on when I didn't was somehow really relaxing. It's a rare time in my home or work life when I don't have to be an active participant or leader in something, here I could just sit back, take it in, and let everyone else move everything forward.

And I know Phish and Phish fans aren't everyone's cup of tea, but it is a happy, welcoming, bunch, and just seeing all these hardcore fans enjoying their thing in such a unique venue put me in a good mood.

Edit: I did feel a tad guilty as an imposter paying face value through my friend's ticket lottery win to see a show where seats were going for the thousands on the secondary market. But, my friends have that hipster Phish music philosophy of not wanting to take advantage of that market, so, I didn't feel bad for them not cashing in.

[Lathum]

My sister is huge into the Phish scene. I don't get it.

the sphere is wild. I have heard inside can be a bit dangerous because the stairs are steep and its dark and disorienting.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Lathum

the sphere is wild. I have heard inside can be a bit dangerous because the stairs are steep and its dark and disorienting.

I was kind of worried about that considering the amount of drug use I presume occurs at a typical Phish show. But, while you could tell people were having a good time and indulging, that part of it wasn't extreme at all. People had their shit together. And there's four different sections, so leaving and entering any particular one doesn't involve a ton of stairs.

But, you could tell the security people were trained on safety - every time someone moved from or returned to their seat they shined a flashlight at their feet the whole way.

[GrantDawg]

My Jordancon weekend was fantastic. We ended the weekend with "An Evening with Phil", where Phil Rosenthal from "Somebody Feed Phil" talked about his latest season and answered questions from the audience. That guy is such a sweetheart, and very funny.

[Kodos]

Would have loved to see the U2 Achtung Baby show there.

[Lathum]

Did you go on the High Roller? You get an incredible view of the Sphere from it.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Did you go on the High Roller? You get an incredible view of the Sphere from it.

No, but I've been on it pre-Sphere and I bet that view is amazing.

[molson]

I kind of wonder about the economics of the whole thing. It's been open for about 6 months and they've only had two performers - U2 and Phish. For the expense of putting together custom visuals for each show, you probably need an act that will sell out multiple shows. The only other musical act booked for the future is Dead & Company, who is spending about a month there. Otherwise they just run a daily "hey, check this thing out!" show, showing off what it can do.

Though looking it up now, UFC 306 is going to be there later this year. I am curious to see how that goes down. I don't think you can have mind-bending visuals up during fights, and, the stage area itself where I presume the cage would be is nothing special.

[Ksyrup]

Seems like Kohl's is trying anything to stay afloat.

We've shopped at Kohl's for a long time - back when we would visit my parents in Texas and they didn't even have Kohl's in either Florida or Kentucky. The gimmick has always been 15-30% off offers and Kohl's Cash to get people to come back in during times when the coupons weren't great. Over time, they started restricting use of the % off coupons on stuff like Nike and other name brand stuff, but overall, you could get some pretty good deals.

We noticed a few weeks ago when we went in to use 30% deal that only 1 of the 4 things we bought was eligible for the offer. So when we got a 40% off deal over the weekend, I went onto their website to see if I could figure out what the coupon would apply to. To my surprise, they were upfront with showing you which items a coupon would work for. That's new. The other surprise was that nearly everything other than (mostly) their brands were eligible. For instance, with men's dress clothes, the only brand that is eligible is Apt 9 - no Haggar, no Dockers. For jeans, it's Sonoma - no Levi's, Lee, Wrangler, etc.

My wife went into the store, and now they show on the pricing on the racks if the coupon is eligible. That means they either got a ton of shit or knew they'd get a ton of shit if they completely restricted the items the coupons could be used for without making it apparent.

So... I think that's effectively it for Kohl's in our house, other than a few limited purchases. I'll be shopping around way more than I used to when I knew I had that coupon buffer to bring the prices down. I know they've struggled, and going this route tells me nothing they've tried has worked.

[Edward64]

We shopped at Kohl's quite a bit when the kids were younger and growing quickly. Had their card and their specials/discounts were pretty good.

We noticed their coupons and marked-up-prices-before-coupons got much worse and stopped shopping there over 5+ years ago.

My guess is they are on their way to how Marshalls, SteinMart etc. is now.

[cuervo72]

Hey, I bought an Apt 9 sport jacket for a wedding a couple weeks ago! (Along with a couple of shirts and some Haggar pants).

Kohl's has always confounded me. They are not quite mall department store level in my mind, but they still do the shifty pricing thing where most things are hardly ever at full price, but have some rotating deal on them (today is 30%, next week 25%, week after BOGO 50% off, etc). Of course now ours has a huge Ulta or something in the middle of it.

[Ghost Econ]

Yeah Kohls stopped being worth it for us as the kid got older and I stopped working in an office. Once she had a say in her clothes, she wasn't finding anything there. Now my clothing consist of Costco athletic shorts, Costco hoodies, and various tshirts from my daughter's swim teams. Then I have a few collared shirts I rotate in for church or more important zoom meetings.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Hey, I bought an Apt 9 sport jacket for a wedding a couple weeks ago! (Along with a couple of shirts and some Haggar pants).

Kohl's has always confounded me. They are not quite mall department store level in my mind, but they still do the shifty pricing thing where most things are hardly ever at full price, but have some rotating deal on them (today is 30%, next week 25%, week after BOGO 50% off, etc). Of course now ours has a huge Ulta or something in the middle of it.

Sephora. I believe that was the big idea to save the company.

I don't necessarily have an issue with their brands but the list of name brands you couldn't use their coupons with used to be quite small. Now it's apparently nearly everything you've ever heard of.

[Ksyrup]

Regarding the new Dr. Pepper Coconut flavor, it's already hitting local shelves and I hope to pick some up by this weekend.

I found this review pretty interesting - it may have some promise more as a cocktail enhancer than a straight pop.

Dr. Pepper's New Creamy Coconut Flavor: Here's What We Think

[cuervo72]

Isn't this all just a spin on Laverne's milk and pepsi?

[Ksyrup]

There's also a Cherry Lime Sprite that's apparently out for a limited run through July.

[NobodyHere]

I don't care what anyone says. I like Applebees.

Quesadilla Salad for life yo'

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Quesadilla Salad

That sounds like a crime.

[jcard]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

I don't care what anyone says. I like Applebees.

Quesadilla Salad for life yo'

As long as we’re all coming clean, I’ll own up to something I’ve been hiding for three decades and is relevant to part of the current discussion:

I liked Crystal Pepsi.

What can I say? I was young and lacked taste. I am definitely older now.

[Ksyrup]

I picked up the Sprite Chill last night. Couldn't find the Dr. Pepper Coconut yet although my daughter saw it at her local Kroger 3 days ago and when she went back, it was completely gone. Not sure if they got a small advance shipment of it or what, but 2 other Krogers we went to didn't have it. Supposed to be widely available next week.

[sovereignstar v2]

Originally Posted by jcard

As long as we’re all coming clean, I’ll own up to something I’ve been hiding for three decades and is relevant to part of the current discussion:

I liked Crystal Pepsi.

What can I say? I was young and lacked taste. I am definitely older now.

All of the sudden I feel like listening to some Van Halen!

[miami_fan]

Who decided that there is enough of a difference between e-bikes and electric mopeds and electric motorcycles that the latter two require a license to operate but it is okay for an 11 year old to ride around on the e-bike unlicensed?

[Ksyrup]

If I see preposterous pano guy one more time, I will go killy-killy.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Who decided that there is enough of a difference between e-bikes and electric mopeds and electric motorcycles that the latter two require a license to operate but it is okay for an 11 year old to ride around on the e-bike unlicensed?

They are a total menace around here. I live on the jersey shore and there are idiot kids everywhere on them and every one of them makes it their goal to try as hard as they can to get killed.

[jcard]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Who decided that there is enough of a difference between e-bikes and electric mopeds and electric motorcycles that the latter two require a license to operate but it is okay for an 11 year old to ride around on the e-bike unlicensed?

I’ve asked the same thing; no helmets even. Right now they’re just a legal loophole exploit. Seriously, have you ever actually seen someone PEDALING their e-“bike”?

EDIT: “Peddling” —> “Pedaling” (Auto-Incorrect strikes again!)

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I picked up the Sprite Chill last night.

Tried this just now. Not revolutionary by any stretch, but I think it's successful in what it's supposed to be - a light summery drink. I can definitely see putting one of these in the freezer on a 90 degree day and getting it to the point of slushiness to have a kind of cherry limeaid slushy-like treat.

[Ghost Econ]

Driving today and traffic was shittily stupid. At one point it took 4 cycles to get through a light while going straight. People from the other side kept turning left and didn't care if they blocked the intersection. At one point it had turned red for their turn signal and cars were in the intersection. After traffic started moving 6 more cars just kept turning even though they had a red signal for about 15 seconds.

By the 3rd cycle I just laid on my horn because literally 2 cars were getting through going straight.

[JPhillips]

If you're in NYC go see Stereophonic. It's a fictional story, but it's basically Fleetwood Mac recording Rumors. The acting, writing, and especially production are all amazing. One of the best shows I've ever seen and so difficult technically that it will never be done off-Broadway.

[NobodyHere]

So my mail key decided to snap today. Just when I was expecting a new video game in the mail. Don't expect me to be pleasant today.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Tyson is 58.

My guess is fair chance in early rounds but if it goes past round 1-2, he’s going to be gassed.

I didn't know 2 min rounds were a thing in professional boxing, but hope this helps Iron Mike!

On Monday, Paul’s promotional company confirmed that his fight with Tyson will be an officially sanctioned professional boxing match
:
The heavyweight showdown will be contested over eight, two-minute rounds with each fighter using 14-ounce gloves, but no head gear.

[NobodyHere]

US Buys 81 Soviet Fighter Jets From Russian Ally for $19K Each: Report

Dang, we all missed out on buying ourselves some fighter jets. We could've had a FOFC Air Force!

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

US Buys 81 Soviet Fighter Jets From Russian Ally for $19K Each: Report

Dang, we all missed out on buying ourselves some fighter jets. We could've had a FOFC Air Force!

Nah, too much upkeep. We'd get spammed with "We've been trying to reach you about your MIG's extended warranty" calls. No thanks.

[flere-imsaho]

Put whomever did that deal in charge of all Pentagon procurement. The budget will be halved overnight.

[molson]

Which presidential candidate is willing to put a stop to the "what a pro wants" commercial that plays at every break during every sporting event?

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by molson

Which presidential candidate is willing to put a stop to the "what a pro wants" commercial that plays at every break during every sporting event?

Aw, come on… They’re just a little flat, it’ll get better.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by molson

Which presidential candidate is willing to put a stop to the "what a pro wants" commercial that plays at every break during every sporting event?

That thing deserves an award.

It's not easy to come up with what might very well be THE worst spot in sports advertising history but they made one hell of an effort.

[Ksyrup]

The number of bad/off-key singing commercials just boggles my mind. Apparently that's a hot trend right now?

[cuervo72]

I just wonder why they think those with diabetes love musical theatre done by fat people.

[Ksyrup]

It's those Rx commercials, BK (fucking shoot that dude), Cologuard, the 2 dudes from Scrubs, the one done to the Mission Impossible theme, etc. It's like an epidemic of commercials with over-done musical productions or just bad singing.

Whatever happened to the good ol' days of JG Wentworth commercials being played on ESPN at 11am or USA at 2am? Whoever came up with that concept was like 10-20 years ahead of their time.

[cuervo72]

I guess the musical numbers were a thing in actual Scrubs episodes? I didn't watch enough of it. But yeah, that's another one. I mean, generally we just mute commercials that we're not skipping anyway, but why antagonize your audience even more?

[Ksyrup]

The past month or 2, the wife and I have been fighting for the mute button like it's October in an election year.

[Sweed]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

The number of bad/off-key singing commercials just boggles my mind. Apparently that's a hot trend right now?

Inclusion, nobody is a bad singer? There's nothing wrong with being off key

[Ksyrup]

Tell that to my ears.

[cuervo72]

I can almost stand the BK guy. That's like they thought "oh, well if you liked Biz Markie, maybe you'll like this." For most of the other stuff, it's not even that I think the singing is bad, I just don't like being accosted with musical theater.

(The Pepto commercial I can kind of stand -- or at least I don't have the same visceral hatred for it -- that's more of a boy band style, probably. Though that one...seeps into the weight loss commercial, where I make it "I have type-2 diarrhea and I manage it well..."). My beef with that one is mostly the poor fit of the woman's pink pants.)

[cuervo72]

dola - the song and dance numbers also remind me too much of all that flashmob bullshit from a decade ago or whenever that was all the (obnoxious) rage.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

I can almost stand the BK guy. That's like they thought "oh, well if you liked Biz Markie, maybe you'll like this." For most of the other stuff, it's not even that I think the singing is bad, I just don't like being accosted with musical theater.

(The Pepto commercial I can kind of stand -- or at least I don't have the same visceral hatred for it -- that's more of a boy band style, probably. Though that one...seeps into the weight loss commercial, where I make it "I have type-2 diarrhea and I manage it well..."). My beef with that one is mostly the poor fit of the woman's pink pants.)

I don't like that commercial, but I will admit to being amused every time I see it when I think of these actors working hard to try to make it big and probably not figuring back when they were doing high school Shakespeare that in 10 years they'd be lip-synching about diarrhea while mime-touching their asses as if the audience didn't know where it comes from.

[Ksyrup]

Finally got my hands on a Dr. Pepper Coconut Zero - it took a while. Wife found 1 12-pack after both we and our daughter had tried multiple places in multiple cities. It's OK. It's definitely coconut-forward, so if you don't like coconut, don't try it.

We're actually enjoying the Sprite Chill quite a bit. I didn't realize it, but apparently it's formulated to taste colder the longer you drink it. I guess that's the reason for "Chill" in the name. It's not a game-changer, but it's a nice switch from the usual Sprite taste.

[NobodyHere]

I do not approve of the new toilet paper at my job.

[B & B]

There are things in life I do not skimp on.

TP is way up there. I can make over 1k in one day, go home and eat Ramen noodles, but low class, shredding TP? NFW.

[thesloppy]

I wonder what sandpaper manufacturer supplies my office with TP