OT - What are you doing right now?

lousubcap

Given the current temperature in the world of politics (yes third rail mention), I posted an article in the below thread that is worth a read if you are curious about why we are where we are with Ukraine.  FWIW-
OT subject but worth a main-stream read- OT News Feeds...  

JohnInCarolina

at the game

nolaegghead

There are people who have a sense of pride in what they do without incentives, and then there are millennials.  

I kid.  There is a special section of the bell curve where people don't give AF, and it will always be occupied by someone.

alaskanassasin

Foghorn said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

Soapbox, 1st world problem time but what's the point of grocery pick up if when I get here I have to sit and wait for 30min past my scheduled pickup time. I might as well have gone inside. I do this for the convenience of working it into my schedule not because I'm lazy. Plus I'm sure when the 15 year old gets out here to give me my groceries half my list will be unfulfilled like usual and yet I'll go inside and be able to get almost everything they couldn't fill. I know I know some kid in Angola is eating a maggot infested rat right now but maybe give a guy a call to tell him it's gonna be an extra 30min so I can go do other shite. Soapbox complete......

@TEXASBGE2018, it's a 1st world problem to be sure, but it's a larger society problem.  Attention to detail and communication have gone into the trash lately.  About 50% of our recent Amazon deliveries have had to be returned for one reason or another (wrong color, broken because it was poorly boxed, etc).  I routinely see articles with typographical errors on news websites (CNN, Fox, etc - I try to read broadly).  Multiple local stores that will "call you when it arrives" - that don't.  There are numerous other examples.

I can’t believe 50% of recent Amazon purchases are retuned.  In 2020 Amazon delivered over 4 billion packages.

Botch

nolaegghead said:

My neighbor's texted me a pic of my cat in their dog-van. 

That is the funniest picture I've seen this year.    

HeavyG

Foghorn said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

Soapbox, 1st world problem time but what's the point of grocery pick up if when I get here I have to sit and wait for 30min past my scheduled pickup time. I might as well have gone inside. I do this for the convenience of working it into my schedule not because I'm lazy. Plus I'm sure when the 15 year old gets out here to give me my groceries half my list will be unfulfilled like usual and yet I'll go inside and be able to get almost everything they couldn't fill. I know I know some kid in Angola is eating a maggot infested rat right now but maybe give a guy a call to tell him it's gonna be an extra 30min so I can go do other shite. Soapbox complete......

@TEXASBGE2018, it's a 1st world problem to be sure, but it's a larger society problem.  Attention to detail and communication have gone into the trash lately.  About 50% of our recent Amazon deliveries have had to be returned for one reason or another (wrong color, broken because it was poorly boxed, etc).  I routinely see articles with typographical errors on news websites (CNN, Fox, etc - I try to read broadly).  Multiple local stores that will "call you when it arrives" - that don't.  There are numerous other examples.

To be fair tho I think one also has to factor in that in the past couple of decades employers have increasingly put pressure to increase production with fewer and fewer employees.

Kinda hard to always do a good job when the time squeeze is constantly shouted out by management.

bucky925

JohnInCarolina said:

at the game

That was a good one!

Ozzie_Isaac

nolaegghead said:

Looks like the LA railroad switch yard.

GrateEggspectations

TEXASBGE2018 said:

Soapbox, 1st world problem time but what's the point of grocery pick up if when I get here I have to sit and wait for 30min past my scheduled pickup time. I might as well have gone inside. I do this for the convenience of working it into my schedule not because I'm lazy. Plus I'm sure when the 15 year old gets out here to give me my groceries half my list will be unfulfilled like usual and yet I'll go inside and be able to get almost everything they couldn't fill. I know I know some kid in Angola is eating a maggot infested rat right now but maybe give a guy a call to tell him it's gonna be an extra 30min so I can go do other shite. Soapbox complete......

For safety, I can understand pre-ordering for pickup. I haven’t yet tried it, but mostly because I couldn’t imagine it being all that smooth. Too many steps - online, then wait at the store, then off to another store to enter in person to get the stuff left off of my online order from the first place. Plus, if picking it up at the store, you have to physically be there anyway. How do you even gauge how much of a given item you need until you see it. I cannot imagine it being very easy to buy products by weight or quantity without seeing them. A lot of produce varies wildly in size. One onion can be three times bigger than the next. On the other hand, if I’m punching an order by weight,  how many onions are in half a pound? Just seems like it might be rather impractical and require a lot of calculation. As I say though, I’ve never done it, so perhaps the system is quite intuitive. One of the turn offs for me was hearing from so many people describe how their orders had gone awry. Missing items, inappropriate substitutions, receiving other customers’ orders, etc. 

JohnInCarolina

bucky925 said:

JohnInCarolina said:

at the game

That was a good one!

A lot closer than I expected.  Ugly win but I’ll take it!

Foghorn

alaskanassasin said:

Foghorn said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

Soapbox, 1st world problem time but what's the point of grocery pick up if when I get here I have to sit and wait for 30min past my scheduled pickup time. I might as well have gone inside. I do this for the convenience of working it into my schedule not because I'm lazy. Plus I'm sure when the 15 year old gets out here to give me my groceries half my list will be unfulfilled like usual and yet I'll go inside and be able to get almost everything they couldn't fill. I know I know some kid in Angola is eating a maggot infested rat right now but maybe give a guy a call to tell him it's gonna be an extra 30min so I can go do other shite. Soapbox complete......

@TEXASBGE2018, it's a 1st world problem to be sure, but it's a larger society problem.  Attention to detail and communication have gone into the trash lately.  About 50% of our recent Amazon deliveries have had to be returned for one reason or another (wrong color, broken because it was poorly boxed, etc).  I routinely see articles with typographical errors on news websites (CNN, Fox, etc - I try to read broadly).  Multiple local stores that will "call you when it arrives" - that don't.  There are numerous other examples.

I can’t believe 50% of recent Amazon purchases are retuned.  In 2020 Amazon delivered over 4 billion packages.

@alaskanassasin - you're correct.  But 4 of our last 8 items have had to be returned.  When my wife suggested that "Amazon sux", I countered with "Amazon is a miracle of the modern world and I wouldn't want to go back to a world without Amazon and the innovation they have led other companies to incorporate into their practices - but they do seem to be having some issues in our location right now..." - so we settled there.  I was using Amazon as an example of a place the usually pays attention to details, and even they seem to be having some issues - at least where our recent deliveries are concerned.

It now occurs to me that given the original complaint that led to this string of posts, maybe all the "attention to detail and communication" issues are in Texas.  

poster

Should have just stayed home today

alaskanassasin

@GrateEggspectations you can never have too many onions. We tried the grocery service, I ordered a large bag of dog food and they gave me two small ones which was much more expensive. I ordered a pork butt and they put in a piece of pork loin. What really brought it to a vault was I ordered a ipa and they apparently couldn’t find a substitute and sent no beer. 

alaskanassasin

Foghorn said:

alaskanassasin said:

Foghorn said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

Soapbox, 1st world problem time but what's the point of grocery pick up if when I get here I have to sit and wait for 30min past my scheduled pickup time. I might as well have gone inside. I do this for the convenience of working it into my schedule not because I'm lazy. Plus I'm sure when the 15 year old gets out here to give me my groceries half my list will be unfulfilled like usual and yet I'll go inside and be able to get almost everything they couldn't fill. I know I know some kid in Angola is eating a maggot infested rat right now but maybe give a guy a call to tell him it's gonna be an extra 30min so I can go do other shite. Soapbox complete......

@TEXASBGE2018, it's a 1st world problem to be sure, but it's a larger society problem.  Attention to detail and communication have gone into the trash lately.  About 50% of our recent Amazon deliveries have had to be returned for one reason or another (wrong color, broken because it was poorly boxed, etc).  I routinely see articles with typographical errors on news websites (CNN, Fox, etc - I try to read broadly).  Multiple local stores that will "call you when it arrives" - that don't.  There are numerous other examples.

I can’t believe 50% of recent Amazon purchases are retuned.  In 2020 Amazon delivered over 4 billion packages.

@alaskanassasin - you're correct.  But 4 of our last 8 items have had to be returned.  When my wife suggested that "Amazon sux", I countered with "Amazon is a miracle of the modern world and I wouldn't want to go back to a world without Amazon and the innovation they have led other companies to incorporate into their practices - but they do seem to be having some issues in our location right now..." - so we settled there.  I was using Amazon as an example of a place the usually pays attention to details, and even they seem to be having some issues - at least where our recent deliveries are concerned.

It now occurs to me that given the original complaint that led to this string of posts, maybe all the "attention to detail and communication" issues are in Texas.  

That is a interesting question, Is the world a better place because of Amazon? I have to say they have created a lot of jobs for rural economies and that is absolutely making things better. But do the services they provide make the world a better place? More convenient yes but better? I don't know

Foghorn

alaskanassasin said:

Foghorn said:

alaskanassasin said:

Foghorn said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

Soapbox, 1st world problem time but what's the point of grocery pick up if when I get here I have to sit and wait for 30min past my scheduled pickup time. I might as well have gone inside. I do this for the convenience of working it into my schedule not because I'm lazy. Plus I'm sure when the 15 year old gets out here to give me my groceries half my list will be unfulfilled like usual and yet I'll go inside and be able to get almost everything they couldn't fill. I know I know some kid in Angola is eating a maggot infested rat right now but maybe give a guy a call to tell him it's gonna be an extra 30min so I can go do other shite. Soapbox complete......

@TEXASBGE2018, it's a 1st world problem to be sure, but it's a larger society problem.  Attention to detail and communication have gone into the trash lately.  About 50% of our recent Amazon deliveries have had to be returned for one reason or another (wrong color, broken because it was poorly boxed, etc).  I routinely see articles with typographical errors on news websites (CNN, Fox, etc - I try to read broadly).  Multiple local stores that will "call you when it arrives" - that don't.  There are numerous other examples.

I can’t believe 50% of recent Amazon purchases are retuned.  In 2020 Amazon delivered over 4 billion packages.

@alaskanassasin - you're correct.  But 4 of our last 8 items have had to be returned.  When my wife suggested that "Amazon sux", I countered with "Amazon is a miracle of the modern world and I wouldn't want to go back to a world without Amazon and the innovation they have led other companies to incorporate into their practices - but they do seem to be having some issues in our location right now..." - so we settled there.  I was using Amazon as an example of a place the usually pays attention to details, and even they seem to be having some issues - at least where our recent deliveries are concerned.

It now occurs to me that given the original complaint that led to this string of posts, maybe all the "attention to detail and communication" issues are in Texas.  

That is a interesting question, Is the world a better place because of Amazon? I have to say they have created a lot of jobs for rural economies and that is absolutely making things better. But do the services they provide make the world a better place? More convenient yes but better? I don't know

You ask a good question that is deeper than I originally considered in my analysis.  I also don't really have an answer as I like to reach conclusions based on facts/data and there could be a whole debate on what data to analyze to answer the question.  I'll leave it to others at this point.

fishlessman

alaskanassasin said:

Foghorn said:

alaskanassasin said:

Foghorn said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

Soapbox, 1st world problem time but what's the point of grocery pick up if when I get here I have to sit and wait for 30min past my scheduled pickup time. I might as well have gone inside. I do this for the convenience of working it into my schedule not because I'm lazy. Plus I'm sure when the 15 year old gets out here to give me my groceries half my list will be unfulfilled like usual and yet I'll go inside and be able to get almost everything they couldn't fill. I know I know some kid in Angola is eating a maggot infested rat right now but maybe give a guy a call to tell him it's gonna be an extra 30min so I can go do other shite. Soapbox complete......

@TEXASBGE2018, it's a 1st world problem to be sure, but it's a larger society problem.  Attention to detail and communication have gone into the trash lately.  About 50% of our recent Amazon deliveries have had to be returned for one reason or another (wrong color, broken because it was poorly boxed, etc).  I routinely see articles with typographical errors on news websites (CNN, Fox, etc - I try to read broadly).  Multiple local stores that will "call you when it arrives" - that don't.  There are numerous other examples.

I can’t believe 50% of recent Amazon purchases are retuned.  In 2020 Amazon delivered over 4 billion packages.

@alaskanassasin - you're correct.  But 4 of our last 8 items have had to be returned.  When my wife suggested that "Amazon sux", I countered with "Amazon is a miracle of the modern world and I wouldn't want to go back to a world without Amazon and the innovation they have led other companies to incorporate into their practices - but they do seem to be having some issues in our location right now..." - so we settled there.  I was using Amazon as an example of a place the usually pays attention to details, and even they seem to be having some issues - at least where our recent deliveries are concerned.

It now occurs to me that given the original complaint that led to this string of posts, maybe all the "attention to detail and communication" issues are in Texas.  

That is a interesting question, Is the world a better place because of Amazon? I have to say they have created a lot of jobs for rural economies and that is absolutely making things better. But do the services they provide make the world a better place? More convenient yes but better? I don't know

my fly tying supplies are so depleted right now that im at the point of booking a fishing trip to montana just to hit the fly shops for feathers.  amazon sells the junk online just to move it, even when the best stuff is in front of me i have to pick thru it to find what i want, the quality, color etc. if you want something you dont really care about, youre buying a name,etc, go amazon, even their deliveries from china are quicker than expected

JohnInCarolina

alaskanassasin said:

Foghorn said:

alaskanassasin said:

Foghorn said:

TEXASBGE2018 said:

Soapbox, 1st world problem time but what's the point of grocery pick up if when I get here I have to sit and wait for 30min past my scheduled pickup time. I might as well have gone inside. I do this for the convenience of working it into my schedule not because I'm lazy. Plus I'm sure when the 15 year old gets out here to give me my groceries half my list will be unfulfilled like usual and yet I'll go inside and be able to get almost everything they couldn't fill. I know I know some kid in Angola is eating a maggot infested rat right now but maybe give a guy a call to tell him it's gonna be an extra 30min so I can go do other shite. Soapbox complete......

@TEXASBGE2018, it's a 1st world problem to be sure, but it's a larger society problem.  Attention to detail and communication have gone into the trash lately.  About 50% of our recent Amazon deliveries have had to be returned for one reason or another (wrong color, broken because it was poorly boxed, etc).  I routinely see articles with typographical errors on news websites (CNN, Fox, etc - I try to read broadly).  Multiple local stores that will "call you when it arrives" - that don't.  There are numerous other examples.

I can’t believe 50% of recent Amazon purchases are retuned.  In 2020 Amazon delivered over 4 billion packages.

@alaskanassasin - you're correct.  But 4 of our last 8 items have had to be returned.  When my wife suggested that "Amazon sux", I countered with "Amazon is a miracle of the modern world and I wouldn't want to go back to a world without Amazon and the innovation they have led other companies to incorporate into their practices - but they do seem to be having some issues in our location right now..." - so we settled there.  I was using Amazon as an example of a place the usually pays attention to details, and even they seem to be having some issues - at least where our recent deliveries are concerned.

It now occurs to me that given the original complaint that led to this string of posts, maybe all the "attention to detail and communication" issues are in Texas.  

That is a interesting question, Is the world a better place because of Amazon? I have to say they have created a lot of jobs for rural economies and that is absolutely making things better. But do the services they provide make the world a better place? More convenient yes but better? I don't know

I don’t think it’s necessarily one or the other.  Some things have gotten better due to Amazon, but there are surely many downsides.  I think about all the small businesses that have had to close because they simply couldn’t compete, for example.

Even though we are Prime members and it’s super convenient to buy almost anything through Amazon, we do make an effort to buy local when we can.  

Ozzie_Isaac

Listening to Jazz while I try and get started this morning.  Really struggling to get traction.  Jazz album covers are usually pretty unassuming.  However, this album cover made me do a double take.

nolaegghead

I have ordered thousands of items through Amazon through the early years when they were only selling books until 10 minutes ago, and maybe I’ve been lucky because only 3 or 4 shipments have had a problem and that problem was receiving stuff I didn’t order, presumably by mistake on their side because they never showed up on my ordered inventory.  In all cases they told me to keep the items ( a Casio keyboard, a dial indicator kit, etc…)

more often I’ve received broken stuff like a lead acid battery, brake sensor for electric bike, etc

I have never received a few items but I have always received refunds. 

In summary, most of my problems were from the manufacturer or shipping side.

Ozzie_Isaac

nolaegghead said:

I have ordered thousands of items through Amazon through the early years when they were only selling books until 10 minutes ago, and maybe I’ve been lucky because only 3 or 4 shipments have had a problem and that problem was receiving stuff I didn’t order, presumably by mistake on their side because they never showed up on my ordered inventory.  In all cases they told me to keep the items ( a Casio keyboard, a dial indicator kit, etc…)

more often I’ve received broken stuff like a lead acid battery, brake sensor for electric bike, etc

I have never received a few items but I have always received refunds. 

In summary, most of my problems were from the manufacturer or shipping side.

I had a friend order an 18" Weber Smokey Mountain.  They sent him two.  They told him to keep the second one.  I also only try to order direct from Amazon.  Most issues I have had have been 3rd party sellers.

Battleborn

Lunch with a view. Our gun range has one of the best views in the valley. 

GrateEggspectations

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Listening to Jazz while I try and get started this morning.  Really struggling to get traction.  Jazz album covers are usually pretty unassuming.  However, this album cover made me do a double take.

You mean you don’t lick toes while enjoying jazz? Where do you think the musical reference to “licks” came from?

The strangest part is that the tongue to toe scale would almost suggest a minor. Oh, I got an “impression” alright. 

We listen to quite a bit of jazz over here - mostly passively and not actively, as we often put it on for dinner or when entertaining. Have some faves. We have some Google “smart” speakers and my young daughter will make me laugh with some of her dinner time requests. “Hey Google, play smooth instrumental jazz.” The kids love when we listen and eat by candlelight only.

What are you into, Ozzie? The music, I mean. 

Botch

GrateEggspectations said:
You mean you don’t lick toes while enjoying jazz? Where do you think the musical reference to “licks” came from?

Nailed it.  

GrateEggspectations

Did you play jazz when you were more musically active, @botch? I don’t recall that genre being listed in your repertoire, but my memory only takes me so far. 

Botch

GrateEggspectations said:

Did you play jazz when you were more musically active, @botch? I don’t recall that genre being listed in your repertoire, but my memory only takes me so far. 

Yes, in Jr High/High School/College; played in the stage/jazz bands, I was sorta proud of being the top-seated trombonist at ISU who wasn't a music major.  I could solo easily over major/minor/pentatonic scales, but once the music got into modes (Ionian, Phrygian, Pepto-bysmalian, etc) I couldn't "hear" it anymore, and couldn't play those things.
 
I still love to listen to most of it.  Miles, Evans, Trane, big band, Yellowjackets, Snarky Puppy, etc.  I may not understand it all, but it makes me happy.  
 
 

EDIT:  Next month is the 20th anniversary of my band's performance at the '02 Winter Olympics here in Utard.  I need to find that DVD, figure out how to post it to EweTube, and post it here.  

GrateEggspectations

Botch said:

GrateEggspectations said:

Did you play jazz when you were more musically active, @botch? I don’t recall that genre being listed in your repertoire, but my memory only takes me so far. 

Yes, in Jr High/High School/College; played in the stage/jazz bands, I was sorta proud of being the top-seated trombonist at ISU who wasn't a music major.  I could solo easily over major/minor/pentatonic scales, but once the music got into modes (Ionian, Phrygian, Pepto-bysmalian, etc) I couldn't "hear" it anymore, and couldn't play those things.
 
I still love to listen to most of it.  Miles, Evans, Trane, big band, Yellowjackets, Snarky Puppy, etc.  I may not understand it all, but it makes me happy.  
 
 

EDIT:  Next month is the 20th anniversary of my band's performance at the '02 Winter Olympics here in Utard.  I need to find that DVD, figure out how to post it to EweTube, and post it here.  

Nice collection of artists there. Kind of forgot about Snarky Puppy. I will have to revisit as I can’t even really recall the style. 

Would love to hear (and see) a sample of that playing if ever you get to figuring it out. What a great and exciting opportunity. 

WeberWho

Botch said:

GrateEggspectations said:

Did you play jazz when you were more musically active, @botch? I don’t recall that genre being listed in your repertoire, but my memory only takes me so far. 

Yes, in Jr High/High School/College; played in the stage/jazz bands, I was sorta proud of being the top-seated trombonist at ISU who wasn't a music major.  

I know absolutely nothing about music but my cousin (From Waconia) plays the trumpet. He was given a full ride (I think) or very close to a full ride to a private college school just outside Fargo. I had no idea that was even possible. Just shows you I know nothing about music or the education that goes with it. 

Ozzie_Isaac

GrateEggspectations said:

What are you into, Ozzie? The music, I mean. 

I like both kinds of music.  Country and Western.


Jokes aside, I like all genres of music except contemporary rap.  What I listen too is very mood dependant, but Jazz, Blues, Classic Country, Progressive Metal, and Texas/Outlaw/Red Dirt country are my main types.

Chris Ledoux, Apocalyptica, Cody Jinks, Miles Davis, Coltrane, Godsmack, Five Finger Death Punch, Ryan Bingham, Pink Floyd (entire catalog, not just Roger Waters era), Lords of Acid, Widespread Panic, Jamey Johnson, Uncle Luscious, Chris Stapleton, Thelonous Monk, Kate Earl, Amos Lee, Joss Stone, Jason Boland, Gordon Lightfoot, Poe, Loretta Lynn.

That is just off the top of my head.  So much amazing music.

Eoin

WeberWho said:

Botch said:

GrateEggspectations said:

Did you play jazz when you were more musically active, @botch? I don’t recall that genre being listed in your repertoire, but my memory only takes me so far. 

Yes, in Jr High/High School/College; played in the stage/jazz bands, I was sorta proud of being the top-seated trombonist at ISU who wasn't a music major.  

I know absolutely nothing about music but my cousin (From Waconia) plays the trumpet. He was given a full ride (I think) or very close to a full ride to a private college school just outside Fargo. I had no idea that was even possible. Just shows you I know nothing about music or the education that goes with it. 

Tough business to make a living at, you definitely need some good fortune. My father retired from playing a long time ago, he was a top level orchestral trumpet player, grew up playing cornet in the Salvation Army band from a very young age.

GrateEggspectations

I feel like this music discussion should rightly be happening in the “What are you listening to now” thread. 

@Ozzie_Isaac

Lolz. That’s a nice list. Many names I am well acquainted with there. Others are new to me, so I’ll have to check them out. I agree with your comment about contemporary rap. Not at all my thing either, except that I’ve found myself sometimes listening to Future as a guilty pleasure while doing yard work. Never in other contexts. It has a sound that I would describe as trashy, but there’s something about some songs that clicks for me.

If you want a country/metal-ish mashup that’s very minimalist, soulful and well executed, try Grady. Kind of in line with Left Lane Cruiser or Henry’s Funeral Shoe, but maybe heavier? Fronted by a Canadian guy who previously led Big Sugar (great band!), but moved to Texas and formed a power trio. I’ve seen both Grady and Big Sugar many times.

@WeberWho

Neat story about your cousin. Takes years of work to get to that point, so it’s nice that it pays off for some. He must be quite accomplished. My wife, now a full-time working musician, obtained both her bachelor and master’s degrees in music on full scholarship as well. But as @Eoin points out, the issue for so many musicians, even those who are highly accomplished or hold degrees, is that they so often have difficulty finding work.

What’s the difference between a musician and a medium pizza? The pizza can feed a family of four.